like us on
CHATROOM
facebook/tntmagazine
James Iha The Smashing Pumpkins co-founder turned solo star on new album, Look To The Sky, looking on the bright side and his NYC home INTERVIEW ALASDAIR MORTON
It’s been 14 years since your last solo album – what have you been up to? After Smashing Pumpkins broke up I needed to not be in a band for a while and recharge my batteries. I started a recording studio with a couple of friends and a label, Scratchie Records. I began A&R-ing and producing, then around 2003 I started playing with A Perfect Circle and did some remixes and film score work, too. About three years ago I started to find the motivation to start writing for myself again. What changed then? In the last 12 years I’ve been playing with bands and different musicians, and I feel like this record is more representative of me. Stylistically there’s more experimentation, a little more rock than before and more atmosphere. [1998 solo debut album] Let It Come Down was very acoustic and stripped down and I wanted to do enough things on this record so it felt bigger. How have you changed as a musician? A lot has happened since the Nineties – music’s changed, the internet wasn’t around back then. Producing and A&R-ing younger bands has helped me broaden my world view. When you’re in a band you are in your own bubble 24/7, so it was refreshing to hear what was going on at a street level right now.
Photo: Aliya Naumoff
Who’s inspired you recently? I like [alt-poppers] Beach House, [French altrockers] Phoenix and [ambient rocker] Julia Holter. Like most people I have playlists veering from classic rock to hip-hop to classical.
Positive: James Iha on life and music contribute cool ideas to a few songs. My coproducer Nathan Larson, from the band Shudder To Think who toured with the Pumpkins, is friends with Tegan and Sara and suggested Sara do some vocals. She’s in New York a lot, as well. How is it being ‘the frontman’? It is tough. You get to do everything yourself, which is great but it is also super hard. I don’t really like being the focus, but you have to put yourself out there to be a solo artist. I am definitely used to being the guitar player and not ‘the guy’. It takes some getting used to. What’s the toughest part of it? Too many emails! I spend too much time on that.
What influenced writing the album? Lyrically, I was looking for more storytelling and to include elemental things – the sky and stars and the natural world. I felt the title was a positive way of looking at life. There is a lot of drama but also great things all around you. It’s a view on the planet and where we are. That sounds really pretentious and heavy, doesn’t it?
Do you enjoy keeping it varied? I like the mix of doing different things – I’m doing this short European tour and then some more solo gigs in the States next year. And I’m rehearsing with A Perfect Circle at the end of this year before playing the Soundwave Festival in Australia next year. It’s a cool mix of smaller solo shows and then big rock shows.
You enlisted a lot of New York guests ... There is a lot of energy and talented people in the city. I know the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I asked Karen [O - singer] and Nick [Zinner - guitars] separately to come over, and they were able to
Do you enjoy getting behind the scenes in the studio? Yeah, I’m producing some local bands at the studio. I was in one band for 13 years so it’s good to do different things.
Was your Scratchie Records business hit by Hurricane Sandy? Luckily we missed all the water and electricity loss, but a lot of our friends were not so lucky. It was pretty terrible. I think freak weather’s the new norm. I am not a scientist, but I’d definitely say it’s got to be related to global warming. How did you feel about the various recent Pumpkins incarnations? For me, when we broke up in 2000, it seemed like a natural time to end it. I haven’t talked to Billy [Corgan] in years and haven’t thought about it that much. It was a huge part of me and I’ll always be remembered for being in that band, especially during the Nineties. I try to look at it positively, it was a great band during a great time and it would be ridiculous to avoid it, but it’s just not a part of my present. You’re often seen as the ‘quiet one’ – do people have a misconception of you? I don’t even know if people give me enough attention to develop any misconceptions about me! I am a pretty positive guy, who is a musician that tries to keep working and be out there making songs and music. Look To The Sky is out through The End. He plays Bush Hall, Dec 4. 7.30pm. £17.50 W12 7LJ bushhallmusic.co.uk Shepherd’s Bush
TNTMAGAZINE.COM
1527 FINAL Chatroom James Iha.in27 27
27
30/11/12 16:29:22