Billy Corgan on touring with Green Day, dad life and the 90s grunge scene (exclusive)

• Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is busier than ever, moving purposefully through family milestones and professional life
• Not only is he in the middle of touring, but he is also expanding his other businesses like the National Wrestling Alliance and Madame ZuZu's Emporium.
• Corgan is also a dedicated husband and father. He has children Philomena and Augustus with his wife Chloé Mendel Corgan and a baby on the way.

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 continues to evolve alongside his Smashing Pumpkins bandmates James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, Katie Cole, Jack Bates and Kiki Wong. Corgan himself is undergoing a period of transformation as an entrepreneur and, most importantly, as a soon-to-be father of three children.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Corgan says that recent tours – with Green Day on the Saviors Tour – have been something of a full circle for him.

“The crazy thing is, we first played with Green Day at Lollapalooza in 1994. They weren't just starting out, but they were just getting famous and they were a little younger than us,” he says. “Here we are, about 30 years later. They've obviously had incredible success and to share that success with us and share their stage with us was amazing and a lot of fun.”

The Smashing Pumpkins mix fan favorites and their own favorites on the setlist. With the recent release of Aghori Mhori MeiThe band is making progress while still holding on to their classic sound.

“The last record we made during the pandemic was a huge 33-song album. It was very well received, but while I was making it I felt like, 'OK. The next album should probably be a little simpler,'” Corgan says.

“The idea came up to go back to our original sound to see if there was anything new, and that's basically where the album came from. It's not so much about taking a step back.”

He continues: “You know how people say you can't go back home? I thought the exercise of going back home, to where the band started, would be interesting. You'd see where you've changed and where you're still the same or something like that. People seem to really like it, so I guess it was a good idea.”

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At some shows on the Savior Tour, fans can catch a glimpse of Corgan's children – Philomena, 5½, and Augustus, 8½ – who regularly come on stage and dance to the band's hits.

“Between Washington, DC and New York, they were traveling with me, no nanny, no help. So you can imagine being a rock star at night and a dad by day, no help,” he says, noting that the routes are intentional and meaningful to him.

“The interesting thing about it and the reason I do it is that it gives us the opportunity to build a real bond. They get a real taste of what I do and they're part of the daily rhythm – they go to the show and wait backstage and then of course they come on stage with us and dance. That's kind of our family credo. If you're on the show, you have to be part of the show.”

The long days are a kind of “grounding” for the rock star, who notes: “I want my kids to be proud of me, but I want them to be just as proud of me being a good father as I am of being on stage in front of thousands of people. I think the fact that they experience that so intensely on tour really helps our relationship when we're no longer on tour.”

Corgan's children also experience the camaraderie of touring life, when the extended families of rock stars meet and mingle. After years in which the bands of the alternative scene of the 90s were “super competitive because everyone was trying to get on MTV and the radio,” there has been a “wonderful” change, he says.

“You look around. They survived and you survived and you have this kind of mutual respect and you understand what they've been through without necessarily knowing every detail. And they certainly know what you've been through to get this far,” he says. “In our case, we broke up several times and all that stuff — to Green Day's credit, they stuck together and I think that's the root of their success. We definitely wish we'd stayed together through the tough times. So when you come into contact with people from your own generation, you often think, 'Wow, we've survived this crazy journey and we're still here.'”

Corgan continues: “The other day, Billie Joe’s wife [Adrienne Armstrong] and my wife have developed a certain connection. That's what it's all about, isn't it?”

“It's more about family and I think when you have that respect for other bands and understand what their families are going through and what they're going through, there's a shift,” he continues. “It kind of became less about competing with each other in the music landscape and more about admiring that they've held it together. It's hard to explain but I think it goes both ways.”

Fatherhood has also helped Corgan with some of his creative endeavors and encouraged him to stay in touch with his family despite his various ventures.

“I didn't have children until I was in my late 40s. Something happened to me that I never expected. I wanted to make sure that when they were old enough, they would understand what I was doing. I wanted them to be proud of me, not for what I did before they were born, but for what I am currently doing,” he explains.

“That really motivated me to work hard so that I had a strong feeling that when they saw what I was doing, they were proud and happy with what I was doing. When you're on stage and there are 45,000 people there and your own children are going up there with you, they're looking at the same sea of ​​faces,” he says.

“I think it really makes them feel like my journey, as complicated as it was, has produced something positive for them, because as kids that's how they think. As they get older, I want them to look back on these experiences and understand that my journey is very unique, and I want them to feel inspired by it, because I want them to live their dream, whatever dream they want to dream.”

Corgan's children get to see him living out his dreams, not only on stage but in his many other endeavors. The family is known to spend time together at Madame ZuZu's Emporium, the rocker's teahouse in Highland Park, Illinois.

“We just announced that David Arquette, the owner of the Bozo the Clown brand, will be leading a painting class as Bozo. He said he is a certified Bob Ross painting instructor,” he says.

“It sold out immediately. We're planning a bigger series of Bozo events, so that's the kind of stuff we do there – really fun, collaborative projects.”

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

“Seventy-six years and counting,” he says with a smile. “Our 76th anniversary show was on August 31st and I actually drove there between Green Day tour dates. Drove out of Nashville, got on the bus, drove all night, worked all day in Philly and then got back on the bus in the evening to drive to Pittsburgh.”

You can get an insight into everything that goes on in Corgan's world in his recently released reality show. Billy Corgan: Adventures in Carnyland. The show is about how Corgan juggles his many projects with his family life.

“People seem to really like it because it gives an insight into why I live this crazy life with professional wrestling. I try to balance it with a very successful musical life and my family. Plus there's always other stuff going on,” he says.

The first season ends with Corgan's wedding to his wife Chloé Mendel Corgan, 31, who is expecting the couple's third baby. Philomena and Augustus appear on the show and run around, carried away and amused by the circus around them. It's exactly what the hands-on dad was hoping for.

“I think I try to inspire them – not to like me, but to like themselves, because I didn't have that; I didn't have that support from my family,” he says. “My family was against me doing music, and so it was painful for me, and even when I was successful, it kind of got complicated.”

Corgan has incorporated this sense of family into everything he does, including his interactions with fans.

“Most fans have a certain sense of idolization. Basically, they don't want you to step down from the pedestal that they think you're on and be a real person. At some point, I became uncomfortable with that, so I stepped down from the pedestal myself,” he says. “There were times that were very difficult because fans kind of rejected me for being myself or for being honest. But I think what's happened is – and I think you can see it in the way social media has changed – that authenticity and honesty are actually very valuable these days. And most of the fans that have stayed loyal to me have stayed loyal to me because they feel like they know me – not the character I play on TV.”

The rocker finds it “rewarding” to continue building relationships with his fans and finding new ways to connect with people across all of his industries.

“I've always tried to say through our music and our videos, 'Hey, look, what we're doing here is fun and amazing. But at the end of the day, these are real people making real music.' And if you can identify with that, it's an even more rewarding experience.”