James Iha began his career as a co-founder of The Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago in 1987. He recorded and toured with the group until 2000, during which time they released ten albums and became one of the biggest bands of the era, selling millions of albums and filling arenas worldwide. In addition to his guitar playing and singing, James was also a contributing songwriter.
In 1998 James released his first solo album, Let It Come Down, an intimate, acoustic guitar-driven record which focused on the more personal side of his songwriting. During this period, he also co-founded indie label Scratchie Records, which went on to release albums by artists like The Sounds, The Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr., Robbers On High Street and others. In the late 90's James also moved to New York, where he opened Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios along with friends Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne/Ivy) and Andy Chase (Ivy).
In 2003, James joined the acclaimed progressive rock band, A Perfect Circle, featuring members of Tool and Marilyn Manson. He toured the world with APC for a year. After returning home from the tour, James focused on work in the studio: he scored several films, including Canadian indie feature Luck and Japanese indie Linda Linda Linda. More recently, he scored the Japanese indie film Kakera, which is currently released in the UK and Japan, and is making the rounds at festivals worldwide. As a producer and remixer, James has worked with Michael Stipe, Cat Power, Morningwood, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Annie, Ladytron, The Sounds, and many more. He also guested as a guitarist on albums by Whiskeytown, Isobel Campbell, Fountains Of Wayne, Melissa Auf Der Maur, Ivy, A Camp and others.
In 2009, James joined with Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos, Hanson's Taylor Hanson, and Schlesinger to form the power-pop group Tinted Windows. Tinted Windows' self-titled debut album featured several Iha-penned songs. The group debuted at South By Southwest and subsequently played numerous dates throughout the year, in the US and in Japan.
Currently, James is producing the new album from acclaimed Swedish band Raymond & Maria. He has also been working slowly (but steadily!) on a solo album - his first since Let It Come Down, and looks forward to finishing it this year.
