June 10th, 2009
Interview: James Iha (Tinted Windows/Ex-Smashing Pumpkins)
So the bad news is that Tinted Windows — the new power-pop supergroup consisting of singer Taylor Hanson (Hanson), guitarist James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins), bassist Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and drummer Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) — which was set to play the TLA next week has postponed its show until August 1st (still at the TLA) due to scheduling conflicts. The good news: We interviewed James Iha! The friendly, dry witted guitarist spoke to us recently about Tinted Windows’ formation, the band’s excellent, recently released self-titled LP, and more:
So what do you enjoy most about playing with these other three guys?
Well, it’s a fun rock/pop song-based record and it’s just such a crazy group [laughs], but I like all the guys in the band and obviously I have a friendship with Adam — we have a studio and we had a label. So it’s kinda fun to play with him and overall it’s just a great idea amongst friends, I guess.
I think at first people were pretty shocked at the strange lineup, but maybe some of that has worn off now and it kind of makes sense…
Yeah, I mean, people have started bands with seemingly disparate members before. I dunno, I mean, I don’t really think it’s that shocking in itself. It’s just, like, all four members working on this somewhat conceptual pop/rock record, and I don’t think it’s that weird, but it is weird, I know it is.
Yeah. I guess it’s no different from other bands that form with people with different personalities and whatnot, but you’ve all been very different people musically and otherwise in public for a long time, so maybe it’s a little jarring.
Yeah, and I think that everybody has a broad palette of music that they like. It’s not like you don’t play…I mean, sometimes you pick up the guitar and play something that’s outside of your normal realm, your normal style. As people they’re great, and they’re totally professional as far as when we actually start playing, so that’s very easy.
The term “supergroup” has obviously been applied here – how do you feel about that?
We decided that’s something we’re not gonna call ourselves [laughs]. If somebody else wants to call us that, that’s cool. But it’s definitely a bad idea to throw that term around.
You’re the best supergroup since Damn Yankees!
[laughs] Great! Part of it is fun because I guess to some people it’s unexpected, but I dunno, I think it’s fun.
Were you ever into any particular supergroups?
Umm, well, I can’t really think of one that I loved. I guess they don’t last long, normally. I can’t really think of a good supergroup. Blind Faith, maybe? I was always a fan of power-pop bands, but not really supergroups.
You were in A Perfect Circle for a little while…
Yeah. Yeah. I guess that’s like a goth-metal supergroup.
Was that a positive experience?
Yeah, those guys are great, too. They’re all super talented and yeah, it was a fun band and the records are cool. We had a really fun tour. So yeah, that was good, too. I mean, I guess it’s like, to me, it’s not surprising — I’m a working musician and I work on all different…lots of different kinds of projects. Remixes and producing and working with indie bands. I dunno, I don’t really think of my identity as being just with one band anymore. I feel like the Pumpkins broke up a while ago and it’s just like, I’ve moved on, working on whatever I like and whatever works for me.
Yeah, when you’re in a band for a long time, almost everything you do is tied into that, whereas now you get to work on a lot of different projects as they come along. Is this a better situation for you?
Yeah, I mean, [the Pumpkins] was great but now it’s over [laughs]. Now it’s over and I gotta work on other stuff, but I’m totally happy with where I’m at and the choices I’ve made with the music. I don’t really see it going any other way, actually.
I was curious if you had the desire to get into another long-term situation like the Pumpkins?
Well, you know, that opportunity really hasn’t come up. I mean, there are only so many, like, huge rock bands to be in in one lifetime [laughs], but at the same time I wasn’t looking for it, and I wasn’t looking to start another one, to sort of be like the Pumpkins or whatever. But yeah, you know, I’m happy where I’m at.
Tell me about the very first rehearsals with these guys — did it go smoothly? Were there a lot of ideas flowing, or did you really have to work at getting the songs together?
Well, it was more of, like, a concept, like, “Let’s make a loud guitar-pop record with Taylor singing.” That was the concept, and the three of us — Adam, Taylor, and me — we all brought in songs just for that. So we didn’t go to Woodstock and just sit down and jam for hours. I think pop songs don’t really…the creation of pop songs don’t really lend themselves to jamming. It’s more like a craft where you sit there and you work out the chord sequences just by yourself, and you try to come up with stuff. Playing in a band, that’s kind of where you go off more, I guess.
When you’re working with different voices — say, the sweeter vocals of Taylor compared to someone like Billy Corgan’s singing style — how does that change your style of playing?
Umm, well, it’s more of like, if I was writing for the Pumpkins or a Perfect Circle, I wouldn’t turn in a three-minute pop song. It’s just more like that, the style is totally different, more than the voices. So just by the nature of the project — Taylor Hanson, pop songs — you just write differently.
You’ve had a long association with Adam and he’s been hailed as a pop craftsman–
A pop-meister!
Exactly! Have you learned anything from him over the years, and vice versa? Have your styles rubbed off on one another?
I don’t think he’s learned much from me as far as writing [laughs]. He’s got his songwriting craft down. But I think I’ve definitely always been a fan of Fountains of Wayne. They toured with the Pumpkins in like ‘96. I was one of the first people to get a copy of their first record before it came out and I’ve always been a fan of his writing, so yeah, I’m sure it’s rubbed off.
When you heard the finished version of Tinted Windows, did it match up with what you envisioned at the outset? Were there a lot of twists and turns during the making of it or did it stay true to what you thought it would be going into it?
There weren’t a lot of twists and turns, it just took a really long time to finish because it’s hard scheduling everybody and their touring schedules and recording schedules. It took a couple years to finish, but the actual amount of recording time was pretty short. Like, if you put all the days together that we were actually in the studio, it was probably like three weeks. Over two years.
At any point did you think it just wouldn’t happen, it wouldn’t get finished?
Oh yeah. Yeah, I never thought we would actually put out an album.
I’m glad you did.
Thanks!
You’ve played Philadelphia a lot of times over the years with the various bands you’ve been in. Any particular memories or thoughts about Philly?
Uhhh…the School of Rock is from Philadelphia, right?
Yeah.
I wrote an article for Spin magazine so I went there to do a story. Paul Green’s a good guy. And Philly…yeah…Philly cheesesteak. Philadelphia Phillies. The birthplace of liberty. I love Philly!
Wow, you hit all the cliches! Only one you left out was Rocky.
Ohhhh right. Rocky. Do they still have the statue there?
Yeah, it’s off to the side of the art museum.
Wasn’t there a whole conversation that the statue shouldn’t be in front of a museum of art?
Yeah, there was some controversy there for a little while that it didn’t belong.
But it’s the people’s art!
Oh absolutely. So what have you thought of some of the things that have been written about Tinted Windows so far?
Ummm … well, there’s not a lot of…there’s not like a huge story other than the music and the band members. There’s not a lot of drama.
Unlike some of the bands you’ve been in…
That’s true [laughs].
Starting a new band and trying to get your name and music out there, does it in any way bring up any of the same feelings you had when the Pumpkins were starting out?
Well, I knew this would get some interest just by virtue of the band members. It’s a totally different thing. I mean, the Pumpkins came out during the rise of alternative music and grunge so it was a totally different feeling, and with the way the music industry is now, and the Internet, it’s just totally different. There’s no comparison.
Ever thought about writing your memoirs? Let people know the “real story” behind the Pumpkins and all of that?
[laughs] I have one friend, when I tell her some random story she’s like, “Dude, you gotta write a book” and I’m like, “Nooooo….” I don’t wanna be that guy.
I guess you’d rather look forward than dwell on the past?
Yeah, it’s always a good feeling to feel like you’re making forward progress rather than working on some thing that happened 10 years ago or whatever.
Everyone in Tinted Windows — yourself included because I know you’re working on another solo album — has other projects, too, and other commitments. Is it hard to see what the future holds for the band? Is it something you guys want to keep doing for a while, or just come back to every couple of years or whatever?
Well, it’s been a blast so far and I think everybody’s into it, so it would be great to at least do another record called II.
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