James Iha Fails To Appear With Smashing Pumpkins

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A very weird incident has happened which involves James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. Now, as of now, there are no causes for alarm, but the way that the news of James Iha ‘missing’ from the band has been a bit worrisome.

In a recent post by the Smashing Pumpkins via Instagram, it was said (in so many words) that James Iha was feeling ill which led to the guitarist not being available. Illness happens, so there really doesn’t seem to be a need for a deeper explanation here. Surprisingly, the Smashing Pumpkins took their wording to a new level as they stated: “SP is just as disappointed as you that James could not attend. Please respect his privacy. He wasn’t feeling well. That is all. Will turn off comments for all posts moving forward if people are not respectful of this. Thanks.”

Obviously, this could be someone just having a bad day and are tired of the DMs for the Pumpkins being filled up, so they took a very blunt route to explaining the whereabouts of James Iha, right? That’s tough to say.

Looking into the post itself, we also see that the band were at an imprinting ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater. James Iha was nowhere to be found in the photos of the band making their handprints in cement to solidify their legacy. This would seem like a pretty big deal for any musician to attend to and it’s just extremely odd once you factor in the post about turning off comments due to James’ illness.

Billy Corgan said at the event, “Oh, James couldn’t be here today, he’s got a bit of the Mexican tummy bug, so… Lest anyone thinks he left the band again.”

We will continue to monitor this situation and we hope that all is well on the end of James Iha and the rest of the band. It must be stated that the band are performing on ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’ on 5/12/22, just a day after the mention of James’ illness. We will also see if he attends.

Original bassist D’arcy Wretzky was also not included in the handprint ceremony, though she left the band in 1999.