“Distortion, distortion, gain and more gain were my digs before I joined the Smashing Pumpkins. But they’ve introduced me to a whole new world of pedals”: Kiki Wong on her life-changing audition, and what she's learned from Billy Corgan and James Iha

Kiki Wong plays her white Jackson Rhoads V-style electric onstage with the Smashing Pumpkins.

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.