James Iha

James Yoshinobu Iha (井葉吉伸, Iha Yoshinobu) (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the initial breakup in 2000. Among his musical projects of recent years, Iha has been a permanent fixture of A Perfect Circle. He was most recently a member of Tinted Windows, a 1960s/1970s inspired group with members of Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, and Hanson. He rejoined The Smashing Pumpkins in 2018.\n', ' Iha has produced songs, contributed guitar and vocals, and produced remixes for a number of artists, including L.A.\'s Midnight Movies, Scottish singer Isobel Campbell, Marilyn Manson, and Michael Stipe. He also co-owns Scratchie Records, an independent record label, with Adam Schlesinger, and a recording studio with Schlesinger and Andy Chase of Ivy called Stratosphere Sound.\n', ' Iha was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, which he described as "a boring, middle-class suburb of Chicago." Iha received average grades in high school, and, after a successful two-year stint at a local junior college, he majored in graphic design at Loyola University Chicago before dropping out to dedicate himself to The Smashing Pumpkins.\n', '