Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan visits Greenville's Horizon Records, what to know

We know it's not Halloween yet, but one pumpkin decided to roll into a local record shop just before the season.

During the early afternoon Tuesday, Aug. 27, an unexpected visitor popped up at Horizon Records in Greenville. Customers browsing for tunes stopped what they were doing to get autographs.

The visitor was none other than Billy Corgan, frontman of the two-time Grammy Award winning alternative band The Smashing Pumpkins.

The band is well known for '90s smash hits "1979" and "Bullet with the Butterfly Wings," songs that continue to receive heavy rotation from rock stations. In 1995, the band's album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, selling over 4 million copies in the U.S.

Most recently, the band introduced the album "Aghori Mhori Mei" into their discography, which music reviewers described as a return to their classic sound.

Here's what to know about Corgan's visit and why he was in the Greenville area in the first place.

What to know about Billy Corgan's Horizon Records visit

Corgan's visit to Horizon Records came as a "surprise" to Chuck Mins, who works at the store. According to Mins, Corgan arrived around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

"He was by himself. No one was with him when he came in yesterday afternoon and he was recognized by a couple of fans," Mins said Wednesday. "But it didn't become any sort of big hoopla or anything because most of the time, those folks don't like that. They would rather just do their shopping like any other normal person."

Upon shopping, Corgan signed a copy of "Siamese Dream," which is now hung on the wall at the store. The album is one of Mins' favorites from the band, along with "Gish" and "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." Corgan also purchased quite a few records of what Mins describes as "eclectic taste."

"He bought some records and he made the comment, 'Yeah, I've just been buying up all these records.' He says, 'I'll listen to them one day, maybe after I retire,'" said Mins. "He bought a pretty big stack of records. I think he spent around $400."

What records did Billy Corgan purchase at Horizon?

The art of music collecting is a pastime Martin Keene has seen with big-name musicians who have dropped in at Horizon Records over the years. They often do it during their downtime when visiting Greenville, blending into the city with the hope of going unnoticed.

"Over the years, we've had a lot of people sort of drop-in because musicians are music collectors themselves quite often, and so they come in shopping," said Keene, who has worked at Horizon Records for over 30 years.

Keene also said he has received kind comments in recent years from musicians who have complimented the store for its selection, happy to find items they were unable to discover in other places.

Fans of The Smashing Pumpkins may be curious to know what records Corgan purchased at the record store. According to Mins, the rocker purchased "a mix of hard rock, art rock, and classic country."

Here are a few of the artists he bought records from:

∎ Black Sabbath

∎ Don Cherry

∎ King Crimson

∎ Scorpions

What other musicians have visited the record store?

Corgan is not the only rock 'n' roller who has stepped through the doors of Horizon Records. In 2016, Pearl Jam's lead guitarist Mike McCready shopped there during Record Store Day on Saturday, April 16. The band was in the area for a concert they were playing at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Keene remembers the day well because it was the same day as his birthday.

"He came in the store and bought a bunch of stuff and wore one of our T-shirts onstage that night when they performed the concert," said Keene. "And the next day, on Sunday I guess before they left town, Matt Cameron ― the drummer of Pearl Jam ― he came in the store. He and I had a lengthy conversation, as a matter of fact, and I got a little selfie with him."

Here's what went down at the Smashing Pumpkins concert at Heritage Park, according to a local fan

Hannah Phillips, 28, was never much of a Smashing Pumpkins fan, with her musical tastes leaning toward other bands. But after she heard the band play at the CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park on Tuesday, Aug. 27, she was won over, describing them as "a really talented band" that knows how to put on a great show.

"The concert was a great time. I've been to several shows at the Amphitheatre, and this was definitely the biggest crowd I had seen there," said Phillips.

Her favorite songs from the band are "Bullet with the Butterfly Wings" and "Cherub Rock," with the latter performed toward the end of the show.

"They played both, and the crowd really responded to them, especially 'Cherub Rock,' which was near the end of the show and seemed to get the biggest crowd response," she said.

While the show was a blast, with an estimated 15,000 people in attendance, getting to the show on time was a hassle. It is a process Phillips believes needs to be reworked. It took her 45 minutes just to get into the Heritage Park alone. There were also no traffic officers in sight.

"I've been to many events and venues of all sizes ― stadiums, arenas, amphitheaters, clubs ― but I've never seen a traffic situation so needlessly chaotic. The surrounding area is simply not capable of effectively having that many people flow through it at once. Getting in and out of Clemson for a football game was less of a headache," said Phillips.

Even so, Phillips made the best of the night, walking away at the end with a newfound appreciation for The Smashing Pumpkins.

"I would consider myself a bigger fan of bands like The Wonder Years and Paramore, but the difference in style was easily bridged by an amazing band and an audience filled with people who wanted to have a genuinely good time and have a excellent communal experience together," she said.

Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan visits Greenville's Horizon Records, what to know