Friday, April 17, 1998
Iha’s alternative
MUSIC: James Iha strays from the Pumpkins’ path with
his solo compilation of acoustic folk melodies
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Musicians from Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains,
Soundgarden, the Stone Roses and Pearl Jam have all, within the
past year, released material outside of the group that made them
famous.
Now, it’s Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha’s turn. Recorded
during the summer of 1997, "Let it Come Down" puts Iha center stage
with a sound remarkably different from that of the band he normally
plays in. Full of sentimental and sweet guitar harmonies, Iha takes
the singer and songwriter route to explore themes of peace and
love.
Iha allows "Let it Come Down" to reveal the real side of him, a
relaxed side that doesn’t come across so easily when cranking out
the harder-edged material for the Smashing Pumpkins.
"I’m pretty laid-back," Iha admits. "The record is kinda like my
personality. I’m not always laid-back, but the sound of the record
sounds like me … it kinda looks like my house. That’s what my
producer (Jim Scott) told me. We recorded the album in my basement,
and he said, ‘More than any other artist, your music looks like
your house.’"
Iha takes that as a compliment, but an even better compliment to
his music is that his dreamy, catchy melodies remind the listener
of such musical craftsmen as Crosby, Stills & Nash and James
Taylor. His acoustic and folk styles reflect his simplistic
approach to writing songs.
"The melodies come pretty easy to me," Iha says. "I write them
at the same time I write the chord progression of the songs. The
hardest thing was arranging the songs and getting them to sound the
right way."
"Let it Come Down" doesn’t mark the first time Iha has written
recorded material. He has written a handful of the Pumpkins’ songs,
including such album cuts as "Take Me Down" and "Farewell and
Goodnight" (the latter co-written with bandmate Billy Corgan), and
B-sides like "… Said Sadly," "Blew Away" and "Believe." Those
songs, as well as Iha’s recent material, reflect a tenderness and
romanticism that parallels his soft melodies.
"The album is mainly about love and faith," Iha admits. "I wrote
some songs that were different lyrically … I had a few more kinda
rock-like songs, but after I cut down all the weaker songs and took
a song out that didn’t fit musically on the record, it just became
sorta romantic, kinda this homemade postcard record. Y’know, it’s
love rock!"
Iha also admits a longing from earlier on in his musical career
to sing and write his own songs. "I’ve always been the guitar
player, but I wanted to (sing and write) for this album for a
little while. I would say I wanted to record (an album) on my own
rather than lead a band, per se. For awhile, I never had the songs
or the capability until the last couple of years," Iha says.
Part of that capability came from his involvement with Virgin
Records, which puts out the Smashing Pumpkin albums. "I’m basically
signed to Virgin," Iha states. "I recorded and paid for (the album)
on my own. Then, I turned in a record and got reimbursed for the
money I spent on it. They had the option to not put it out, but
obviously they put it out. I didn’t have to go through all the
rigmarole of getting an A&R person or presenting demos to the
record company. I just did it."
The big question, maybe more important to Virgin than it is for
Iha, is whether the "alternative" audience familiar with him and
the Pumpkins will appreciate the new record or not. Its more
mature, more accessible sound insinuates that the record would be
appreciated by a different audience. The true test might just be
among Pumpkins fans themselves.
"I think it’s pretty open to anybody," Iha says, "but if I were
to completely generalize and pigeonhole my record, it is, I guess,
(for) an older market. I don’t know, so far the reaction I’ve
gotten – a lot of different kinds of people like it, young and old.
It’s a strange thing, y’know, I’m sort of known as an ‘alternative
rocker’ in the Pumpkins, but the music really isn’t alternative
rock. I really didn’t want to bow down to, I don’t know, what’s on
the radio or what kind of videos are hot, just to get on either of
those formats. I just made the best record I could.
"Of course, when someone says, ‘I don’t like it, it doesn’t
sound like the Pumpkins,’ it is frustrating ’cause of course I want
them to have an open mind," Iha continues. "But I think the
weakness of the record being so different from the Pumpkins is also
its strength, ’cause there’s no point in making a derivative
Pumpkins record, making another version of a Pumpkins record. I
just think I would lose my identity if I did something like that. I
would get so many obvious compromises to the band that it would
just be, like, ‘why’?"
As for the future, Iha will play a handful of dates at small
clubs across the country, hoping to hit Los Angeles soon after. But
promoting his record will soon prove difficult, as the Pumpkins
release their follow up to the mega-platinum-selling "Mellon Collie
and the Infinite Sadness" album within the next month or so. While
Iha has fun being the solo artist, he hasn’t forgotten his other
musical obligations.
"I’m gonna keep playing in the band, and keep writing songs,"
Iha declares, "Whether or not they fall into the band or they just
fill the vaults for me … I’ll do another record, though. Not
immediately, but as soon as I get some more tunes together."