Kiki Wong

Last updated

Kiki Wong
Kiki Wong.jpg
Wong in 2024
Background information
Birth nameKristin Wong [1]
Born (1989-04-15) April 15, 1989 (age 35)
Genres
OccupationGuitarist
Member of
Formerly of
  • Nylon Pink
Website www.kikiwongo.com

Kristin "Kiki" Wong (born April 15, 1989 [3] ) is an American musician known for being the touring guitarist of alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. In the 2010s she performed with artists such as Taylor Swift and Usher, and was a member of girl band Nylon Pink. She also played in She Demons, put together by Jerry Only of Misfits, and Vigil of War, a band started by DragonForce bassist Alicia Vigil.

Contents

While in Nylon Pink she started a popular travel blog with bandmate Kaila Yu, which ultimately led to her accumulating over a million TikTok followers. In 2024, Wong was selected from 10,000 applicants to join the Smashing Pumpkins as their live guitarist, with Billy Corgan later commenting that he was already a fan before her application.

Wong has described having to become a more diverse guitarist since joining the Smashing Pumpkins, making more use of effects and clean tones, and expanding from her background as a heavy metal player.

Career

Wong says she has played piano since she was six, guitar since age thirteen, and drums since age sixteen. Her first professional gig was as a member of all Asian-American girl band Nylon Pink, whose members she initially met when she took a job on a photoshoot to earn extra money during college. The band played metal and electronic covers of K-pop songs, as well as their own music. After graduating from college in 2011, she took a job working at UCLA Medical Center with neurological patients, which she quit when Nylon Pink was offered a tour of China. This tour was ultimately cancelled, so Wong did what she describes as "all kinds of other odd jobs in between to make ends meet". Nonetheless, Wong played with Nylon Pink for seven years, touring places like Japan, Macau, Malaysia and South America. Wong says touring with the band is how she discovered her love of travel, and "learned to play my heart out no matter how shitty the venue or crowd is". [4] [5] [6] [7] [1]

Wong had a range gigs as a session musician in 2014: drumming for Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, playing with Usher at CBS's Fashion Rocks, and playing lead guitar for Bret Michaels of Poison in a Nissan commercial. [8] [9] [10]

Wong subsequently joined the all-girl punk band She Demons (later called Hellfire Heart), put together by Jerry Only of Misfits. She toured the US with She Demons in 2015 as Misfits' opening act. Wong has said that when the band ended she went through "a pretty low moment" and took a step back from music, spending some time in corporate jobs. She worked for a music tech business in South Korea, and a startup incubator in Silicon Valley. [4] [11] [7]

2016 saw Wong start a travel blog with Kaila Yu, singer of Nylon Pink. Within six months it had 100,000 visitors a month and Wong was making appearances on TV news to discuss her travel experiences. [12] [1] The pair also self-published a book, 30-Day Travel Challenge: How To Make Your Travel Dreams A Reality. [4]

Wong returned to music when asked to join a tour in 2019 with Vigil of War, a band started by Wong's She Demons bandmate Alicia Vigil, who is also bassist for DragonForce. At this point Wong says she hadn't played guitar for three years and had only a few weeks to practise before the tour, but that it rekindled her love for music. [13] [4] [7]

When the COVID-19 pandemic stopped plans that Wong and Yu had for travel to Estonia, Thailand, and South Africa, they instead started posting on TikTok. Wong then started posting videos of herself playing guitar, which Inked magazine says "earned her true viral star status". As of 2023, Wong had 655,000 Instagram followers and 1.3 million TikTok followers. [12] [1] She has said that the topic of social media can be touchy for musicians as many see it as a joke, "but it's a joke that can get you out there if you use it properly". [5] She has responded to accusations of being "just a TikTok influencer" by saying that she has been playing "real shithole" venues since 2010. [14]

Wong was chosen from 10,000 applicants to play with the Smashing Pumpkins after former member Jeff Schroeder announced he was leaving the band in 2023. The band held an open call for applications in January 2024, and Wong was encouraged to apply by her boyfriend. After a Zoom call with the band where Wong and Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan discussed Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, Wong was one of nine people invited to audition in person in Los Angeles in March 2024. She was given four songs to play: Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Cherub Rock, Jellybelly, and Today. Wong later said "I practiced those songs in and out like my life depended on it for three weeks. I watched every live video I could find of those songs, trying to analyze every move they made. I wanted to make sure I did it right, not just do it the way I thought it sounded". [15] She was announced as the Smashing Pumpkins' new guitarist in April, and played her first show with the band in June, a tour date with Weezer. [16] Billy Corgan has said he was a fan of Wong before she applied to join the band. [17] [18]

Equipment and playing style

Before joining Smashing Pumpkins, Wong told Guitar Girl Magazine that she'd played Ibanez and Schecter guitars for years "because of the heavy metal tones and body shapes". At this time, she didn't use many effects pedals, instead dialling in her tone through Marshall or Kemper amps. [11] [5] [19] She auditioned for the Smashing Pumpkins using a Zemaitis guitar. [7]

She told Spin that on joining the Smashing Pumpkins, it was initially difficult to transition from her background of playing "really crunchy metal" towards playing with "vibey" clean tones. Talking to Guitar World , she explained: "There's so much feel and rhythmic eloquence that goes into their style of playing. I’ve been taking guitar lessons, going back to the blues roots, and even playing more acoustic to integrate it into my playing". [7] [19]

Playing with the band has also required Wong to use more effects pedals. She has described their early rehearsals as "like a guitar pedal boot camp" where she had to "remember to activate and deactivate six different things". [19] While Wong has described herself as previously being a one trick pony, she says she now has a more diverse playing style, and has been exposed to new sounds and effects through her work with the Smashing Pumpkins. [14]

Guitar World reported that at her first show with the Smashing Pumpkins, she used some "metal-leaning" guitars that included two Jackson Rhoads models, a PRS Custom, a Yamaha Revstar, and the same Zemaitis with which she auditioned. [20] During Wong's first tour with Smashing Pumpkins, she got a sponsorship deal with PRS Guitars after having been given a contact at the company by Herman Li from DragonForce. [19]

Personal life

Wong graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in biological science on a pre-medical track. [1]

Wong is Korean and Chinese American. She has a son, Jet, who was born in 2023. [6]

Publications

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kristin (Kiki) Wong". LinkedIn . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  2. ↑ ""I haven't felt joy like that since my baby was born!": Kiki Wong on landing the gig with The Smashing Pumpkins". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Known for posting her 'Shrednanigans' on Instagram, the metal guitarist has shared her immense shredding skill online for years – and Billy Corgan has been a longtime fan.
  3. ↑ Wong, Kiki [@kikiwongo] (April 15, 2023). "It's my birthday! 🎂🎸 Here's to another year of existence. It's been one whirlwind of a journey the last few years. From living in a 400 sq ft studio apartment grinding out guitar videos every day for two years straight to building a whole new life and family with my love @neil_diemond and baby Jet, I can't describe how grateful I am for every step of the journey, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most importantly, I am grateful for each and every one of you supporting and watching my videos. For those who have been here from the beginning Nylon Pink days, fans and supports of She Demons and @vigilofwar , those who followed my travel and food adventures with @kailayu and those who stumbled upon my guitar videos in your feeds, thank you for taking the time to appreciate the music and metuhlll. So here's to 34! And hopefully many more!" – via Instagram.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "LADY KILLER: Kiki Wongo, Live it unconventionally". Metal Hammer (in Italian). July 18, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Daly, Andrew (November 17, 2023). ""I find honing my tone to be the perpetual chasing of my tail – once I feel I've gotten close, I hear something new, and it's back to the drawing board": Even with massive TikTok and Instagram followings, Kiki Wong is still trying to find the perfect tone". guitarworld. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Meet the Smashing Pumpkins new guitarist, Kiki Wong, chosen out of 10,000 applicants". NBC News. May 2, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Daly, Andrew (May 21, 2024). ""I may not be the absolute best player out there – in fact, I know I'm not! But what I have is an undying love for guitar and heavy metal": Kiki Wong landed the gig of a lifetime with the Smashing Pumpkins – and she knows she has big shoes to fill". guitarworld. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  8. ↑ Pilley, Max (June 14, 2024). "New Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong speaks out after first shows with band". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Kiki Wong is a Los Angeles rock guitarist who plays in Vigil of War. Among her claims to fame is playing drums for Taylor Swift's performance of 'Shake It Off' at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
  9. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (April 26, 2024). "The Smashing Pumpkins, After Public Casting Call, Announce Kiki Wong as New Touring Guitarist". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Wong has performed with Taylor Swift at the 2014 VMA's, Usher at CBS's Fashion Rocks Fall 2014 and was the lead guitarist for Bret Michaels in a commercial for Nissan.
  10. ↑ "Poisoning the Well: Watch Bret Michaels Croon about Nissan Commercial Vehicles to Try to Make You Love One". Car and Driver. July 31, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Tone Talk with Kiki Wong". Guitar Girl Magazine. March 29, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Preston, Devon (October 27, 2021). "Fender Bender". Inked . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ "HOME". vigilofwar. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  14. 1 2 ""People think 'She's just a TikTok influencer', but I've been doing music since 2010, playing real s***holes": Kiki Wong on landing her Smashing Pumpkins gig". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  15. ↑ Daly, Andrew (May 21, 2024). ""I may not be the absolute best player out there – in fact, I know I'm not! But what I have is an undying love for guitar and heavy metal": Kiki Wong landed the gig of a lifetime with the Smashing Pumpkins – and she knows she has big shoes to fill". guitarworld. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  16. ↑ Pilley, Max (June 14, 2024). "New Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong speaks out after first shows with band". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Kiki Wong is a Los Angeles rock guitarist who plays in Vigil of War. Among her claims to fame is playing drums for Taylor Swift's performance of 'Shake It Off' at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
  17. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (April 26, 2024). "Smashing Pumpkins reveal new guitarist after receiving over 10,000 public applications". NME. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Wong will join the band – comprised of Corgan, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, plus touring members Jack Bates (bass) and Katie Cole (guitar, keys, vocals) – in the UK and Europe at the beginning of June where they will make their debut as a new lineup
  18. ↑ Astley-Brown, Michael (June 5, 2024). ""I wondered if she would fit in, because I knew her as more of a metal guitarist… She just felt like a real breath of fresh air": Billy Corgan reveals how many guitarists the Smashing Pumpkins auditioned in person – and how they knew Kiki Wong was the one". guitarworld. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Kiki Wong is Bringing PRS Guitars to the Forefront with Smashing Pumpkins". Spin . December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  20. ↑ Astley-Brown, Michael (June 10, 2024). ""Someone pinch me… actually don't, because I want to keep living this dream": Kiki Wong brings a metal edge to her debut Smashing Pumpkins performance after beating 10,000 guitarists to the gig". guitarworld. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
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