D'arcy Wretzky
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| D'arcy Wretzky | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | D'arcy |
| Born | May 1, 1968 South Haven, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1988–1999 |
| Associated acts | The Smashing Pumpkins Filter Catherine |
D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky (born May 1, 1968 in South Haven, Michigan) is a rock musician best known for her work as a bass player with the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Wretzky was born and raised in Michigan, where her mother, a musician working as a lounge singer,[1] encouraged D'arcy and her sisters to perform music. Growing up, she played the violin and oboe, and performed in choirs.[2] She also performed gymnastics.[3] She would later refer to her father, a pipefitter, with a love of horseback riding, as "a very strange man."[3] The young Wretzky was a self-described "tomboy", and had a contentious relationship with her sister.[4] She attended South Haven's L.C. Mohr High School, where she grew interested in post-punk and played in cover bands. After high school, she moved to France to join a band, but the band had already disbanded upon her arrival, prompting her to return to the United States. She then moved to Chicago and spent the summer living with friends and attending concerts.[5]
[edit] The Smashing Pumpkins
After a concert at a big Chicago rock club, Billy Corgan overheard Wretzky complimenting the band that had performed. An argument and discussion followed, and Corgan recruited her into his band, the nascent Smashing Pumpkins, which, at the time, was merely Corgan, James Iha, and a drum machine. Wretzky accepted, and Jimmy Chamberlin completed the lineup a few months later, after Joe Shanahan encouraged Corgan to add a live drummer.
Wretzky is the credited bassist on the Smashing Pumpkins' first five studio albums: Gish, Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore, and Machina/The Machines of God. It was confirmed by both her and Corgan, however, that Corgan recorded the bass tracks for Siamese Dream because he could complete them in far fewer takes.[6][7] Wretzky often contributed backing vocals in concert, and on studio albums. She contributes vocally in some Smashing Pumpkins songs including "Daydream" from Gish, many songs on Siamese Dream, "1979", "Cupid De Locke", "Farewell and Goodnight", "Beautiful" and "Where Boys Fear To Tread" from Mellon Collie, "Dreaming" and "The Bells" from The Aeroplane Flies High, and many songs from Adore. Wretzky also cowrote one Smashing Pumpkins song, "Daughter".
Wretzky's time in the band was marked by alternating periods of happiness and discomfort. Corgan considered her the "moral authority" and "moral conscience" of the band.[8] In the aftermath of the success of 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Corgan said she began an "apparent slow descent into insanity and/or drugs (take your pick)."[9] In 1999, Wretzky left the band to pursue an acting career[citation needed]. Shortly after leaving the group, she was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.[10] Corgan later said she was "fired for being a mean spirited drug addict who refused to get help."[11] She was replaced on 2000's Machina tour by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur.
[edit] Other musical work
Wretzky joined Catherine as a second vocalist for their final album Hot Saki and Bedtime Stories. She also appeared in the video for Four Leaf Clover.
D'arcy was in Filter for only a short while in 1999. She contributed vocals on two songs, "Cancer" and "Take A Picture". She never toured with the band. While she was in the band she worked with cellist Eric Remschneider, whom she had worked with when he had recorded with The Smashing Pumpkins.
Wretzky contributed vocals to the track "One and Two" on James Iha's 1998 solo album, Let It Come Down.
[edit] Post-Smashing Pumpkins
Wretzky did not participate in the Smashing Pumpkins' reunion. In 2008, D'arcy and her former bandmate James Iha filed a lawsuit against Virgin Records for selling ringtones of Smashing Pumpkins songs without their consent.[12]
After many years out of the spotlight, Wretzky resurfaced in July 2009 by calling in unexpectedly on Chicago's Q101 FM with Ryan Manno.[13][14] During the interview, she stated that she wasn't "healthy" enough to be a musician, and repeatedly professed her admiration for Monkees frontman Davy Jones. She also mentioned that she now lived on a farm in Michigan, and had briefly lived in Austin, Texas, sometime during the previous decade, and that former lover Wendell Green had died.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ IMDB biography page for D'arcy Wretzky.
- ^ Goldberg, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkin D'arcy Dares to be Happy." Addicted to Noise, December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.
- ^ a b Marks, Craig. "Zero Worship." Spin Magazine: June 1996.
- ^ "A Babe in Boyland." Mademoiselle, December 1995. Retrieved on 2007/09/23
- ^ Pullen, Doug. "Michigan Native D'arcy Ready For More Successes." The Flint Journal: 1996/06/26. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.
- ^ Chamberlin, Jimmy; Corgan, Billy (interview subjects). Inside the Zeitgeist (Reprise Records, 2007).
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact". Rolling Stone. October 1993.
- ^ Blashill, Pat (October 1996). "Out on a Limb". Details Magazine.
- ^ Corgan, Billy. "Way Out in Outpost Canyon." The Confessions of Billy Corgan. 2005/04/13.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434166/20000215/smashing_pumpkins.jhtml
- ^ Billy Corgan's Personal Blog. Written February 17, 2004
- ^ http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0724_pumpkins.pdf
- ^ a b http://pitchfork.com/news/35930-smashing-pumpkins-darcy-speaks/
- ^ http://www.q101.com/blogs/manno/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10042283
[edit] External links
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