Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins has often been divisive about other recording artists. He might not always be right about what he says, but he says it loudly and clearly, so he frequently gets heard above the fray. And, sure...he is proud of the work he has produced, just as anyone should be proud of their music. But how one treats others matters, too.
It would appear that when Corgan and his band headlined the 1994 Lollapalooza, the singer/guitarist was not great to deal with. The evidence of this comes from a recently released book by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour titled Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival. One or two people did not just dislike Corgan, but many.
Corgan himself said that he was intentionally belligerent with fans who looked like the type who would bully him in high school. He had some pent-up rage, and he gave back what, at times, an angry audience gave him. But the paying concert attendees were not the only ones he unleashed his fury upon.
New book reveals Billy Corgan was extremely disliked on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour
Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, another musician who likes to speak his mind about other bands, not always with the most positive view, did not mince words when he recalled how Corgan acted towards many people involved in the tour.
Coyne said in the book, "Billy Corgan was such a raging (expletive), especially back then, that you didn’t want to stick around and watch them. We liked a few of their songs, but we would just despise him after a while. So we’d leave right after the Beastie Boys played to avoid the traffic, because the audience was also starting to clear out...We’re still avoiding him to this day."
31 years is a long time to harbor anger against someone, but this is the long-term impression that Corgan reportedly made.
The Smashing Pumpkins were not initially set to be the key headliner on the tour. They were among a group of bands, such as Green Day, who were going to play second-bill to Nirvana. Only, Nirvana dropped out of the tour shortly before the death of singer Kurt Cobain. This made the Smashing Pumpkins the alpha band, though based on how Corgan behaved, a wiser choice should have been made.
Kevin Lyman, who later would create the Warped Tour, recalled Corgan being abusive toward his guitar tech, Billy Howerdel. Lyman said, "Billy Corgan was treating (Howerdel) like such (expletive), throwing guitars at him, just being horrible."
Howerdel clarified by adding, "I got fired off that tour working for Billy and (bassist) D’arcy (Wretzky) — the first and only time I’ve been fired from a job. I don’t remember guitars being thrown at me, but there were a lot of behaviors that just didn’t seem healthy, that you definitely didn’t want to be around anyway..."
Maybe Billy Corgan would act differently today if the Smashing Pumpkins were headliners on a vast tour, but the truth is that their popularity has waned, and they would not be a headliner. We should hope that fact has helped Corgan be more humble.