For The Smashing Pumpkins, the road to becoming one of alternative rock’s biggest bands ran through Madison.
The Chicago band, led by frontman Billy Corgan, was still finding its footing in the late 1980s when it began making trips north to play small Madison clubs like Club de Wash and OK’s Corral. The band’s relationship with Madison producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig began around the same time, when Corgan called Vig out of the blue to book time at Smart Studios. Vig produced the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut album, “Gish.”
Thirty-five years later, the band will return to Madison for the first time since 2018, playing the Kohl Center on Sunday, Oct. 11, as part of “The Rats in a Cage” tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.”…