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The Latest Breaking News from the Smashing Pumpkins

“One day, my mom went to Costco and was like, ‘They’ve got these guitars on sale. Let’s get it for your dad’”: Kiki Wong on how a cheap Yamaha and a Metallica classic changed her musical trajectory

Wong went from playing piano and classical music – to shredding, metal and Metallica

Guitar World

“My dad said, ‘What happened to you?’ In six months I’d gone from a college-looking kid to looking like a real rock star”: From inventing the Quad Guitar to fast times with Yngwie, Michael Angelo Batio has stories for days – and no regrets

Determined to be a star from age 10, his highlights include seeing Yngwie Malmsteen's first US show, joining Manowar, being saved from a stage fail by Billy Corgan, and inventing the double guitar, Quad Guitar, and over 20 signature models

Guitar World

“It was an extremely agile move. It was so smooth, it was like we had choreographed it”: Michael Angelo Batio on the time Billy Corgan spared his blushes during a Smashing Pumpkins guest spot

The double-neck guitar shred icon once shared the stage with Smashing Pumpkins during their Riot Fest headline slot

Guitar World

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“The reason everybody knows Eric Clapton’s name is not because he’s a great guitar player”: Billy Corgan says virtuosic guitar solos mean nothing in the social media age – and argues guitar influencers need to make a bigger impact on popular music

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman sees virtuosos everywhere but he would like to see these talents being applied in the next generation of great alt-rock and metal bands

MusicRadar

“There’s nothing that impressive about being able to play the guitar at a decently high level anymore”: Why Billy Corgan changed the way he plays guitar solos

Social media burnout has impacted the role of guitar solos in the Smashing Pumpkins’ live show

Guitar World

“I walked into a Guitar Center one day and took it off the wall. It launched 1,000 ships of people chasing that sound”: The guitar that changed Billy Corgan’s life

It soundtracked two of the biggest alt-rock albums of all time, but as the Smashing Pumpkins leader remembers, the guitar itself was far from expensive

Guitar World

Don't Look Back in Anger at these classic 1996 tracks turning 30 this year

Life comes at you pretty fast

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“Watching Steven Tyler and Joe Perry together, the compromise is the magic. But for me, it doesn’t work”: Why Yungblud will never join a band – despite collaborations with Aerosmith and the Smashing Pumpkins

Rock's hottest ticket also revealed in a recent interview what he's learned from some of the genre's biggest legends

Guitar World

“Dom has one of the greatest voices in the history of music, and as grand as that may sound there is no hype in what I’m saying”: Billy Corgan heaps praise on Yungblud, who the Smashing Pumpkins have just collaborated with

“I truly believe when all is said and done, he will stand up there with the greats,” says Corgan

MusicRadar

“It’s one thing to be a visionary, but it’s another thing to have the gift to pull off the vision”: Why Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins collaborated with Yungblud

The alt-rock legend has become the latest big name to link up with Yungblud

Guitar World

“I sold my first guitar to my drummer. He paid me $50, put SpongeBob stickers on it, then lit it on fire”: Kiki Wong reveals her Smashing Pumpkins live rig, gear regrets and how a Line 6 amp made her the player she is today

Kiki Wong might be the only guitar player alive today who can recall from memory Ibanez S series model numbers. Here's what the S40DXQM means to her...

Guitar World

Yungblud announces new version of Zombie with The Smashing Pumpkins

Yungblud has reworked Zombie with the help of The Smashing Pumpkins.

BANG Premier

“We drove two hours down to meet the seller, who ended up being someone who worked on production for Slash”: Kiki Wong recalls her biggest amp bargain – when she found a vintage Marshall on Craigslist

At the time, Wong was touring with punk-rock supergroup She Demons and was in desperate need of an amp...

Guitar World

Mixtape hits pause: the musical coming‑of‑age game now arriving on Xbox Game Pass in 2026

Mixtape, a game set in the 90s that's all about crafting the perfect mixtape with one last night of teenage freedom, is now launching in 2026.

Windows Central

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MusicRadar

“It’s a pretty bizarre day when you find an email from Robert Smith in your inbox”: Electronic polymath Daniel Avery on the genre-blurring magic of new album Tremor and remixing the Cure

Now on his sixth studio album, we speak to Daniel Avery and hear how he mixed the distorted with the ethereal to create the sonic universe of Tremor

Louder

"When we would align, it was powerful." Billy Corgan praises estranged bassist D’arcy Wretzky's contributions to the Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins mainman appears to extend olive branch to bassist with whom he's waged longstanding war of words

Guitar World

“Turned each band member’s concept into reality”: The Smashing Pumpkins designed some wild Yamaha guitars to celebrate their first gigs in Japan in 12 years – and they were played live

The guitars designed by Billy Corgan, Kiki Wong, James Iha and Jack Bates are now on display

Guitar World

“The first time I heard the Smashing Pumpkins’ Cherub Rock, Ifell in love. He’s playing rhythm, but it’s about so much more than the rhythm”: Meet Phoneboy, the New Jersey indie rockers dialing up melody, artistry and singable guitar solos

New Jersey guitarists Wyn Barnum and Ricky Dana revisit their formative influences on new album, Heartbreak Designer

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Guitar World

“Whether or not my fingers bled, I don't remember”: Billy Corgan on the making of Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – and how one of its biggest hits nearly didn’t make the record

With no let-up for 86 days straight, Mellon Collie was the double album that spooked the label, pushed Corgan to the limit, and would become the ’90s own White Album. This is its story

Guitar World

“Isaw Kiki’s name, I stopped and thought, ‘Wait… I think I follow her on Instagram.’ …I was like, ‘Oh, that’s that person I really like’”: Billy Corgan and Kiki Wong on the guitar chemistry behind Smashing Pumpkins’ new era

How bonding over Dimebag Darrell and dressing like “Rob Halford's cousin” helped turn Wong into a Pumpkin overnight

Guitar World

“She's got that thing that I could never do – I have to cheat”: Billy Corgan reveals the technique Kiki Wong can do on guitar that’s beyond him

Wong was handpicked by Corgan and co. from over 10,000 applicants to join the Smashing Pumpkins, and it's safe to say she's been a powerhouse addition to the lineup

Guitar World

“I actually prefer people who play bass with their fingers. A pick has to be used just right to not blunt the guitar attack”:Billy Corgan takes us inside the zeitgeist of his low-end studio work with the Smashing Pumpkins

One of the most influential guitarists of his generation, Billy Corgan has also written and recorded the bass tracks on almost every album in the entirety of the Smashing Pumpkins’ history

Louder

"Shirley Manson sings like a pissed-off angel and has attitude to spare": Garbage's classic electro-grunge-goth-pop debut, revisited

Combining Massive Attack with Nine Inch Nails and the Smashing Pumpkins was always a great elevator pitch

TechRadar

Mixtape is filled with style, vibes, and heart and absolutely won me over at this year’s Summer Game Fest

Mixtape is a stylish, emotionally rich coming-of-age game that channels the energy of classic teen films with interactive flair, a killer licensed soundtrack, and heartfelt storytelling.

Guitar World

“Distortion, distortion, gain and more gain were my digs before I joined the Smashing Pumpkins. But they’ve introduced me to a whole new world of pedals”: Kiki Wong on her life-changing audition, and what she's learned from Billy Corgan and James Iha

Wong enjoyed a high-profile on social media and maybe that would have been enough. But when Billy Corgan called an open audition, she beat 9,999 others to live out her grunge dreams as guitar player for the Smashing Pumpkins

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