James Iha released an LP, playing shows (dates and video); Billy Corgan is not happy with him (or Pitchfork)
by Andrew Sacher
Ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha released his second solo LP, Look to the Sky, earlier this year and it was the followup to his 1998 LP, Let it Come Down. That's the covert art above. You can check out the video for album track, "To Who Knows Where," below.
James will be playing some shows in support of the album this year. A full tour hasn't been announced at the moment, but we know he'll make his way to the NYC area for shows on October 5 at Mercury Lounge and October 6 at Maxwell's. Tickets for the Mercury show and the Maxwell's show go on sale Friday (7/27) at noon. An AmEx presale starts Wednesday (7/25) at noon for the Mercury Lounge show. All currently known dates are listed below.
Meanwhile, former Pumpkins bandmate Billy Corgan, who continues to lead the group with new members, is unhappy with James. In an interview with Howard Stern from this past June (which you can listen to below), BIlly spoke about the first time James recorded a solo album back in '98 saying:
He never consulted me. He never asked even for my advice as a friend, like 'what do you think of these songs?' As soon as I heard the album, I had about 40 comments for him that I thought would've improved his album. Because I would've been the friend that would've said you could use a better lyric there. I would probably would have even shadow wrote some of the stuff for him and never would have said a word because I would want him, even just for the business, to make a good album.
He continued saying the last time he saw James was in New York about a week after 9/11 and about six months after the Pumpkins initially broke up, but that "as soon as [James] saw [Billy] he split." Billy was also recently interviewed by NME (via GrungeReport) and is quoted saying, "James Iha I think is just a piece of shit. I think he's one of the worst human beings I've ever met in my life." Damn.
In addition to being angry with James Iha, and Radiohead, Billy also just called out Pitchfork for hindering young artists who aspire to be the next Billy Corgan or Kurt Cobain. He says:
Let's say you're the next Kurt Cobain. You will be appropriated on your first album by the Pitchfork community. Your record company will rally round that idea because that's your marketing platform. But the minute you're in that world you're frozen. Those Pitchfork people are very much about social codes, about whether you're wearing the right t-shirt. That orthodoxy is no different than the rigidity of the football team at school. You can't break the social order if you're preaching to the choir - and the choir already has cool haircuts!
Sounds like bad news for the Kurt Cobain loving, Best New Music earning DIIV.
A list of all currently known dates and videos below...
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James Iha - "To Who Knows Where" Official Video
Billy Corgan on Howard Stern
James Iha -- 2012 Tour Dates
7/27-29 Fuji Rock Festival Niigata, Japan
7/27-29 Jisan Valley Rock Festival Icheon, Korea
9/24 Club Quattro Umeda, Japan
9/26 Club Quattro Shibuya, Japan
10/5 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
10/6 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ