SMASHING PUMPKIN

Kiki Wong on her life, gear and technique before and since teaming up with Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and James Iha in the spring of '24

- ANDREW DALY

BEFORE SECURING THE gig as a touring guitarist with the Smashing Pumpkins, Kiki Wong had all but given up her dreams of large-scale success with a big-time act. That's not to say she wasn't capable; one glance at her millions-strong social media following showed she was certainly up to the task.

But an unruly music business and a devotion to family led her elsewhere. Outsiders called Wong a “social media shredder” and a “bedroom guitarist.” Forget that she was riffing heavy on gnarly guitars in front of millions of viewers; to her detractors, it wasn’t enough.

“My biggest advice is to accept failure like it is your best friend,” Wong tells Guitar World. “Some of your biggest failures will happen early on when you're just getting started or when you're in a vulnerable position. Failure sucks. It hurts. It stays with you. And you certainly don’t want to do it again.”

Wong processed the hurt and vulnerabil-ity the music biz slung at her and saw her star rise. So high, in fact, that when Billy Corgan held an open audition in the winter of 2024 to replace the departed Jeff Schroeder, he chose Wong for the gig over another 9,999 (seriously) applicants.

Since signing with the Pumpkins, things have gone well for Wong. She’s toured the world with Corgan and James Iha in support of the Pumpkins’ latest record, 2024’s Aghori Mhori Mei, and fans have been welcoming, even if some felt her to be “too metal.” Such is life as a Pumpkin; you can’t make anyone entirely happy.

“Joining the Smashing Pumpkins has helped me become a whole lot more well-rounded player, adding a little alternative music to my style as well, and I am so grateful for that,” she says.