The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan on '90s Feuds and Fandom — and How He “Really” Feels About Green Day (Exclusive)

The longtime rocker has gained lots of wisdom in his 30-plus years of music-making

• The Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan is busier than ever before and moving intentionally through family milestones and work life

• Not only is he in the middle of touring, but he's also growing his other businesses like the National Wrestling Alliance and Madame ZuZu's Emporium

• Corgan is also an involved husband and father, sharing kids Philomena and Augustus, as well as a baby on the way, with wife Chloé Mendel Corgan

After 36 years as a professional creative, Billy Corgan is still amazed at where his life has taken him.

A man of many talents, the 57-year-old is continuing to evolve alongside his bandmates in The Smashing Pumpkins, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, Katie Cole, Jack Bates and Kiki Wong. Corgan is also amidst a time of transformation himself as an entrepreneur and most importantly, as a soon-to-be father of three.

Catching up with PEOPLE, Corgan says that touring lately — with Green Day on the Saviors Tour — has been a bit of a full-circle moment.

"What's wild is that we first played with Green Day in 1994 in Lollapalooza. They weren't just starting out, but they were just starting to be known, and they were a little younger than us," he shares. "Here we are, some 30 years later. They've obviously have had incredible success and sharing that success with us and sharing their stage with us, has been great and a lot of fun."

The Smashing Pumpkins are mixing fan favorites and their own picks on the setlist. With the recent release of Aghori Mhori Mei, the band moves forward while tipping their hat to their classic sound.

"The last record we made, which we started during the pandemic, was this 33-song massive affair. It was very well received but, in making it, I started feeling like, ‘OK. The next album probably should be something a little simpler,' " Corgan shares.

"It came upon this idea of going back to our original sound as a way of seeing if there was anything fresh there, and that's kind of where the album comes from. It's not so much of trying to go backwards."

He continues, "You know how people say you can't go home again? I thought the exercise of trying to go home again, with where the band started, was an interesting one. You would see where you've changed and where you're still the same, or something like that. People seem to really like it, and so, I guess that was a good idea."

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Related: Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and Wife Chloé Mendel Expecting Baby No. 3: 'An Exciting Time' (Exclusive)

At some shows on the Savior Tour, fans get a peek at Corgan's kids — Philomena, 5½, and Augustus, 8½ — who regularly come onto the stage and dance along to the band's hits.

"Between Washington, D.C. and New York, they were with me on the road with no nanny, no help. So you can imagine trying to be a rock star at night and a dad during the day, with no help," he shares, noting that the stretches are intentional and meaningful for him.

"What's interesting about it and the reason I do it is because it gives us the chance to really bond. They get a real sense of what I do, and they're part of the rhythm of the day — going to the show and waiting backstage and then, of course, they come out on stage with us and dance. That's sort of our family creed. If you're at the show, you have to be part of the show."

The long days are "grounding" for the rock star, who notes, "I want my children to be proud of me, but I want them just to be as proud of me for being a good dad as they are of me being on stage in front of tens of thousands of people. I think the fact that they get to see that so intensely on the road really helps our relationship when we get off the road."

Corgan's children are also seeing the camaraderie of tour life as the rock stars' extended families mix and mingle. After years in which bands on the '90s alternative scene were "super competitive because you are all trying to get on MTV and on radio," there's been a "beautiful" shift, he says.

"You look around you. They've survived and you've survived and you have this kind of mutual respect and you understand what they've been through without necessarily knowing every specific. And they certainly know what you've been through to make it this far," he shares. "In our case, breaking up multiple times and all that type of stuff — to Green Day's credit, they've stuck together, and I think that's at the root of their success. We certainly wish we had stayed together during sort of the difficult times. So, I think when you connect with people from your generation, it's very much kind of a, 'Wow, we made it through this crazy journey and here we still are.' "

Corgan continues, "The other day, Billie Joe's wife [Adrienne Armstrong] and my wife were connecting a little bit. That's really what it's about, right?"

"It becomes more about family and I think when you have that respect for other bands and you understand what their families go through and what they go through, there's a shift," he continues. "It sort of left being about being competitive with one another on the musical landscape and more about admiring that they've held it together. It's hard to explain, but I do think it floats both ways."

Fatherhood has also helped propel Corgan in some of his creative pursuits, and it's encouraged him to keep his family close amid his different endeavors.

"I didn't have children until my late 40s. This thing occurred to me that I never expected, which is, I wanted to make sure that when they were old enough to understand what I did. I wanted them to be proud of me, not for what I'd done before they were born, but what I was doing currently," he explains.

"So it really motivated me to work hard so that I could feel strongly that when they saw what I was doing, they would feel pride and ownership of what I was doing. When you're on stage and there's 45,000 people and your children get up there with you, they're looking out into that same sea of faces," he shares.

"I think that gives them a real sense that my journey, as complicated as it's been, has yielded something that's positive for them because when they're kids, that's with how they think. As they grow older, I want them to then relate back to these experiences and understand that my journey is very unique, and I want them to feel inspired by that because I want them to live their dream, whatever dream that they want to dream."

Corgan's kids get to see him living his dreams, not only on stage but in his many other pursuits. The family is known to spend time together as Madame ZuZu's Emporium, the Highland Park, Ill. tea house that the rocker owns.

"We just announced that David Arquette, who owns the Bozo the Clown brand, is going to teach a painting class as Bozo. He said he's an authenticated Bob Ross painting teacher," he shares.

"It sold out immediately. We're planning a bigger set of Bozo events so that's the kind of stuff we get into there — really fun, collaborative projects."

Corgan is also proud owner of the National Wrestling Alliance, the oldest wrestling organization in existence.

"Seventy-six years and counting," he says with a smile. "Our 76th-anniversary show was August 31, and I actually went in between Green Day tour dates. Start from Nashville, got on the bus, drove all night, work in Philly all day, then back on the bus to drive to Pittsburgh that night."

Glimpses of everything unfolding in Corgan's world can be seen in his recently released reality show, Billy Corgan: Adventures in Carnyland. The show is all about Corgan juggling his many projects with family life.

"People really seem to like that because it's an inside look at why I bother with this crazy life with the professional wrestling. I try to balance it against a very successful, musical life, and my family. Plus, there's always other stuff going on," he shares.

The first season concludes with Corgan's wedding to wife Chloé Mendel Corgan, 31, who is currently expecting the couple's third baby. Philomena and Augustus appear in the show, running around both swept up in and amused by the circus around them. It's just what the hands-on dad hoped for.

"I think that's what I'm trying to do is inspire them — not to make them like me, but to make them like themselves, because I didn't have that; I didn't have that support from my family," he says. "My family would be against me playing music, and so it was painful for me and even when I had success, it kind of became complicated."

Corgan has built that family feeling into everything he does, including his interactions with fans.

"Most fans are based in a sense of idolatry. At the base of it, they don't want you to get off whatever pedestal they think you're on and be a real person. Along the way, I was uncomfortable with that, so I took myself off the pedestal," he says. "There were periods that were very difficult because fans sort of rejected me for being me or being honest. But what's happened, I think is, and I think you see it with the way social media has changed, authenticity and honesty are actually very valuable these days. And most of the fans that have stuck with me, the reason they've stuck with me, is they feel like they know me — not whatever character I play on television."

The rocker finds it "rewarding" to continue to navigate fan relationships and find new ways to connect with people across all his industries.

"I've always endeavored through our music and through our videos, to say, 'Hey, look, what we do here is fun and fantastical. But at the end of the day, these are real people making real music.' And if you can connect with that, there's an even richer experience there."

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