Kiki Wong Thinks Joining Smashing Pumpkins Was A ‘Gift’

In a recent interview with Revv Amps, Kiki Wong has shared her experiences since joining Smashing Pumpkins, revealing that her skills as an electric guitar player have improved significantly since becoming part of the band.

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“This band has actually allowed me to diversify my playing 10-fold and more,” she admitted. “In the last however many years I’ve been playing, I would consider myself a one-trick pony prior to joining this band. I just love metal. I love chugs. I love unnecessary shreds, noise, and high-gain shenanigans. I barely played any acoustic guitar. This band has opened my eyes to a lot of new types of sounds and effects. I didn’t use a lot of effects in my own personal musicianship.”

The guitarist added that joining the band was a gift for her. “Coming into this world and being exposed to so much more depth, it’s a gift. I feel like I’ve just been pigeonholed, it’s just [been] me trying to figure out things by myself, and now I’ve got five people who are all in the music and have different backgrounds and interests.”

Wong had also previously shared on Instagram how joining Smashing Pumpkins gave a significant boost to her career. She shared her excitement about performing at her first stadium concert and reflected on how she almost gave up on touring just a few months ago. “Trying to play it cool but inside I am screaming,” the guitarist shared on Instagram. “What a chest-pounding, knock the breath out of you experience it was to play with the Smashing Pumpkins, my first stadium show of many on our US tour with Green Day, Rancid, and The Linda Lindas. I thought my first arena was unfathomable: this is beyond next level.”

In June of this year, Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their UK tour with Weezer in Birmingham. It was Wong’s first full show with the band.