“He's smoking and making jokes, and he goes, ‘You play, right? Let me see what you got.’ What am I gonna play him? I'm not gonna play Van Halen…” Billy Corgan on the time Eddie Van Halen asked him to showcase his chops – during a Guitar World interview

Billy Corgan and Eddie Van Halen go way back. Heck, he even interviewed EVH back in 1996 for this very publication – a meeting of the minds that saw both guitarists, from different genres, eras, and schools of guitar, delve into the nuts and bolts of what makes Van Halen, well, Van Halen.

Fast-forward 29 years, and Corgan is recreating the infamous Guitar World interview with Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, on his own podcast, The Magnificant Others – and even offers an EVH anecdote or two of his own.

“I saw your dad back in the day [in] ’84, last tour with the original lineup,” he reminisces. “I sat there and studied it all like every other nerd. But when you're like this, as far away as you are [referring to the GW interview], and he's playing, you're like, ‘Holy Mother of God, how do you play like that?’”

However, upon his meeting with Eddie, it was soon Corgan's turn to flex his guitar chops... an experience which he recalls as nothing short of intimidating.

Wolfgang Van Halen | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan - YouTube

Watch On

“He's talking and he's smoking and he's making jokes, and he goes, ‘You play, right?’ And I go, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘Play.’ And he hands me that guitar or whatever.”

He continues, “[He goes] ‘Play the guitar. Let me see what you got.’ So I'm like, ‘Holy... What am I gonna play him?’ And I'm not gonna play Van Halen.

“So [then] I'm just like, I got nothing to lose, so I just start playing. And he goes, ‘You can play.’ I think he thought I was just some alternative creep! [laughs]”

Corgan discusses how after that encounter, he forever gained the respect of EVH. “After he saw that I could play the guitar, the conversation went totally different yesterday, and now we were talking about music and amps, and so he really opened up.”

EVH has also looked back on the Billy Corgan interview – recalling the moment Corgan tried his rig, and was shocked by the setup.