Michael Angelo Batio has looked back on his Smashing Pumpkins guest spot – and revealed how Billy Corgan saved the day thanks to his cat-like reflexes.
On the face of it, Michael Angelo Batio and Billy Corgan have little in common. One is a pioneer of double-neck electric guitar shred, veteran of Hollywood glam heroes Nitro, and currently of Manowar. The other is the frontman/guitarist of the Smashing Pumpkins.
But that’s not how the world works. We’ve all got more in common with each other than we ever could know. Just take MAB and Corgan.
They are both Chicagoans. They both play the guitar for a living. And Batio just happens to be good friends with former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder, which is how Batio had this remarkable story to tell Guitar World about the time he jammed with the Pumpkins onstage – and Corgan saved the day like the pro he is.
It all started with an invite from his old pal, Schroeder.
“Jeff mentioned to me that Billy sometimes has guest guitarists come up on stage to play a song with the Smashing Pumpkins,” says Batio. “I was invited to play at Riot Fest in Chicago with them. Over 40,000 people were at the show, and the Smashing Pumpkins were the headliner.”
You might remember this event. You certainly would if you were one of the 40,000 in attendance at Douglass Park that night in 2021. The Smashing Pumpkins opened with The Colour of Love, the first time it had ever been performed live. They revisited Crush for the first time since 2008. Meg Myers guested on Eye. Cherub Rock, 1979, Bullet With Butterfly Wings… The hits kept coming.
Where do you squeeze Batio into a pop-cultural event such as this? Easy, d’uh! For the last song of the night, an epic performance of United States.
Now there’s a track with a bit of runtime to let a man like Batio loose on. He had one rehearsal and then it was on.
“Billy told me to go for it during the performance and that’s exactly what I did,” he recalls “Also, on a side note, Jimmy Chamberlin is an incredible drummer. Billy, James, and the entire band are fantastic to work with, and their crew is top-notch.”
One of the greatest parts of the night was that I was doing my MAB Over Under technique, super-fast during my solo, and the wireless pack came undone
All was going well. Batio was getting into it. Now, if Mr Michael Angelo Batio is getting into it, that means he is showing you exactly what he can do, and it would be a crime of omission if he were not to show you his signature technique.
This requires both hands, maximum concentration – and this is when disaster struck, only for the feline reflexes of Corgan to step in.
“One of the greatest parts of the night was that I was doing my MAB Over Under technique, super-fast during my solo, and the wireless pack came undone from my belt, behind my back,” says Batio.
“It was going to crash onto the stage… Billy saw this, immediately came up to me, and in a super-quick motion, grabbed the wireless pack like a pro athlete before it hit the ground, reattached it, and we continued the show. All in a matter of seconds! It was an extremely agile move. It was so smooth, it was like we had choreographed it.”
Batio says he got the chance to sit in with the Pumpkins again, playing the Fisery Forum, in Milwaukee, WI. “Another huge crowd and great show,” he says. “I can’t say enough good things about him and the band – amazing songs, super-talented, and very cool.”
You can read our interview with Michael Angelo Batio, coming soon to Guitar World.
In related news, Billy Corgan recently spoke to Guitar World, during which he discussed why he changed the way he plays guitar solos and the guitar that changed his life.
