James Iha Debuts Solo Album In Chicago

Diminutive indie-rock icon James Iha -- best known for his guitar work as a member of Smashing Pumpkins -- treated 100 fans and music industry insiders to a very special show on Monday evening at the equally diminutive Top Note Theatre in Chicago.

Located just above the Metro -- the same venue where the Pumpkins first courted major-label interest -- the Top Note is the happy little secret of club owner Joe Shanahan. Over the years, dozens of notable artists have used the space to give intimate performances or write and rehearse new material. (Chicagoan Liz Phair reportedly wrote much of her forthcoming album there.)

On Monday evening, the space was reserved for a gentle celebration of Let It Come Down (Virgin), Iha's recently released solo debut. Near midnight, Iha and his bandmates -- onetime fellow Pumpkin Matt Walker (drums), Neal Casal (guitar, backing vocals), Solomon Snyder (bass) and John Ginty (Hammond organ, piano) -- quietly strolled into the small room and breezed through a 13-song set.

"This is my first-ever show," Iha told the assembled fans, family and industry luminaries with only a trace of irony. "We're with you, James!" called out a jubilant fan.

Iha and his bandpals kicked off the evening with "Be Strong Now," the first single off the record and a pleasant showcase for the guitarist's smooth, plaintive voice. Barely moving, eyes shut for much of the song, Iha seemed delighted to be awash in music of his own creation. "I haven't been in an intimate setting like this for quite awhile," he mused later in the evening.

Marking a strong departure from his Smashing Pumpkins roots, Iha surprised many onlookers when he launched into a Dylanesque reading of "Melissa," the Allman Brothers number that has become a staple cover tune for many hippie rock acts.

"I realized I just don't have enough songs yet," he told the crowd with a shy smile. "I need another album." As Iha and friends wrapped up the set with a three-song encore, the crowd's warm applause seemed to signal their agreement.

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Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

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