Trouble In The Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkins Watch: D’Arcy Lives!
Blah blah blah Smashing Pumpkins . . . lawsuit . . . blah blah royalties . . . garbldee garbledee goo . . . Iha . . . D’Arcy Wretzky?
So much for a full-fledged reunion, however: Former Pumpkins bassist Wretzky and guitarist James Iha have sued Virgin Records, the band’s former label, of amending their old contracts without consent and depriving them of royalties. The suit, uploaded at TMZ.com, alleges Virgin made an arrangement whereby royalties for “download transmissions, streaming transmissions, and/or other forms of digital delivery” go solely to Billy Corgan, whom, the suit also alleges, has already received such a payment.
Wretzky has kept out of the public eye since 1999, when she either left or was bounced from Smashing Pumpkins. Chicago police arrested her for crack possession the following year, and she allegedly moved to Michigan and ran a horse farm as well as some antique stores. Wikipedia says she currently resides in Austin, Texas, but if we wanted to Wiki right now, we could change that to “an underground compound where she rules the telecom industry with a cast-iron fist.”
It’s the second significant ‘where are they now’ Chicago Class Of ’93 sighting this year. Estranged Urge Overkill drummer Johnny “Blackie Onassis” Rowan popped up in the DVD documentary included with Liz Phair’s Exile In Guyville reissue.
— Steve Forstneger
I still love Billy.