Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan shared photos of wigs he has worn on Instagram. He shared a collage created by a fan, with the sarcastic caption: “Wig shaming?” Corgan shaved his head in late 1995 after he was showing signs of going bald. View the photo below, along with new photos of The Smashing Pumpkins rehearsing for their Shiny and Oh So Bright tour.
Corgan discussed Pantera and Vinnie Paul’s death in a recent Loudwire interview.
I know you’re a huge metalhead, Billy, and the community recently suffered a huge loss with the passing of Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul. Did that band have any influence on you? Did you know Paul?
Billy Corgan: Yeah, I knew Pantera quite well. I used to go see the band all the time, hung with them, drank with them. Dimebag gave me a guitar, gave James a guitar too. They had an influence on our record, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. [They were] one of the greatest bands ever. The fact that both Abbott brothers are gone — Vinnie was an incredible, sweet guy. He loved music. And obviously, the tragedy of his brother’s death and what he went through that day, that night, it’s something that I think all musicians [understand]. if you knew Vinnie, you loved Vinnie, you also couldn’t help but understand what he was going through, because we’ve all been in that position where you’re looking out in the crowd, and you don’t know what’s out there.
So the tragedy of the Abbott brothers and what Vinnie went through, I don’t know. I can’t even find the words, because it’s so sad. And obviously, we still have the music, but there was something special with those Abbott brothers that is very, very, very, very rare in rock ’n’ roll. They brought a lot of love and passion to fans. It’s just so sad.
