D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky (born May 1, 1968) is an American musician. She was the original bassist of the
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...
and is credited on their first six studio albums. She left the band in 1999. She has also been a member of
Catherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
and performed with
Filter.
Early life
Wretzky was born and grew up in
South Haven, Michigan
South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, Michigan, Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County. The population was 3,964 at the 2020 United ...
where her mother, Vikke Anderson, a working musician, encouraged D'arcy and her sisters to perform music. D'Arcy played violin for 9 or 10 years, played
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
, and performed in choirs while growing up. She also was in gymnastics.
[Marks, Craig. Agnew, Eric trans.]
Zero Worship
. Spin Magazine
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. ...
, June 1996. Retrieved January 2015. D'Arcy intended to have a musical career from the time she was 10 years old.
She later referred to her father, Jerry Wretzky, a pipefitter with a love of
horseback riding, as "a very strange man".
D'Arcy was a self-described "
tomboy" and had a contentious relationship with her sister.
D'Arcy suffered from severe
stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
during her childhood.
She attended South Haven's L.C. Mohr High School, where she grew interested in
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
and played in cover bands. After high school, she moved to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to join a band, but the band had already disbanded upon her arrival, prompting her to return to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. She moved to
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and later joined the Smashing Pumpkins.
Wretzky said that she is a
self-taught bass player.
Wretzky was married to musician
Kerry Brown from 1993 to 1999. Wretzky said that she had a
miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...
in 1999.
1988–1999: Smashing Pumpkins
After a concert at a local rock club, Wretzky overheard
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...
criticizing the
band that had performed. An argument and discussion followed and Corgan recruited her to be in his band, the nascent
Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
, which at the time, was merely Corgan and
James Iha
(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 band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018.
Iha has als ...
using a
drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
. Wretzky accepted, and
Jimmy Chamberlin
James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. Described as "one of the most powerful drummers in rock," he is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Following the ...
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 played the bass tracks on ''Gish'' and ''Siamese Dream''. Wretzky often contributed backing vocals on some songs on studio albums and in concert. She contributes vocally in Smashing Pumpkins songs such as "Daydream" from ''Gish'', many songs on ''Siamese Dream'', "
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
", "Cupid De Locke", "Farewell and Goodnight", "Beautiful"; "Where Boys Fear to Tread" from ''Mellon Collie'', and "
Dreaming" and "The Bells" from ''
The Aeroplane Flies High''. Wretzky also co-wrote the Smashing Pumpkins song "Daughter".
In 1995, Wretzky and Iha started an independent record label called Scratchie Records, featuring artists such as
The Frogs
''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place.
The pla ...
.
1999: Final tour, recording sessions and leaving the band
Wretzky's time in the band was marked with alternating periods of happiness and discomfort. Corgan considered her the "
moral authority
Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change the princip ...
" and "moral conscience" of the band. In the aftermath of the success of 1995's ''
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'', Corgan said that she began an "apparent slow descent into insanity and/or drugs (take your pick)." After the short, nine-date "The Arising!" tour in April 1999 with all four original members performing together for the first time since 1996, Wretzky decided to leave the band and intended to pursue an acting career. The band was recording ''
Machina/The Machines of God'' and ''
Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music'' at the time and as a result she performed very few bass parts on the album.
Most of the bass parts were handled by Corgan himself. Shortly after leaving the group, she was arrested for possession of
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
.
Corgan later commented she was "fired for being a mean-spirited drug addict who refused to get help." She was replaced on 2000's ''Machina'' tours by former
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
bassist
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician.
Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...
.
1999–present: Life after the Smashing Pumpkins
Wretzky did not participate in the Smashing Pumpkins' reunion. In 2008, she and her former boyfriend and bandmate
James Iha
(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 band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018.
Iha has als ...
filed a lawsuit against
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
for selling
ringtone
A ringtone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call.
On p ...
s of Smashing Pumpkins songs without their consent.
After many years out of the spotlight, Wretzky resurfaced in July 2009 by calling in unexpectedly on Chicago's
Q101 FM with Ryan Manno.
During the interview, she expressed that she was not healthy enough to be a musician, and repeatedly professed her admiration for
Monkees
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees'' television series, they were one o ...
frontman
Davy Jones, who was known to be an early romantic crush of hers. She also discussed her appreciation for the band
Silversun Pickups, who have a sound influenced by the early ''
Gish'' era of the Smashing Pumpkins. She mentioned that she lived on a farm in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, that she had briefly lived in
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
sometime during the previous decade, and that her former fiancé Wendell Green had died.
Wretzky was jailed on February 1, 2011, for missing four
court dates related to a ticket she received for failing to control her wild horses, allowing them to freely roam the streets at night causing interference to local traffic and farmers, as well as trespassing on public property and stealing vegetables from the local farmer's market storage.
She spent six days in jail. On February 7, 2011, the day after she was released from jail, she was arrested again, this time on a misdemeanor drunken-driving road rage charge in South Haven, Michigan. She was sent back to jail.
In 2013, Wretzky's relationship with Corgan remained tense, with both parties saying that they were not speaking. In September 2014, she tried to re-establish contact with him, but Corgan had changed his phone number. In August 2016, Corgan posted a video to
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
which said that he and Wretzky had recently reestablished communication saying, "I've been in communication with D'arcy for the first time in 16 or 17 years, it's awesome to have my friend back." Corgan emphasized that this did not necessarily mean the band was getting back together, instead insisting "my primary interest in the old band was us having good relationships again."
On February 14, 2018, Wretzky gave her first interview in nearly 20 years. In it, she was highly critical of Corgan and their past.
Wretzky said that she had been offered a contract to rejoin the band on the
Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, but that Corgan rescinded the offer soon after. Corgan released a statement denying the claims, writing that "Ms. Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred." Wretzky later provided screenshots of a text message conversation with Corgan.
Other musical work
In 1996, Wretzky joined the band
Catherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
as a second vocalist for their final album, ''
Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories.'' She also appeared in the video for ''Four Leaf Clover.'' At the time, Wretzky was married to Catherine drummer
Kerry Brown. She contributed vocals to the track "One and Two" on James Iha's 1998 solo album, ''
Let It Come Down.''
In 1999, she worked with cellist Eric Remschneider, whom she had worked with when he had recorded with the Smashing Pumpkins. That year, she also contributed additional vocals on the
Filter song "Cancer" from ''
Title of Record
''Title of Record'' is the second studio album by American rock music, rock band Filter (band), Filter, released on August 24, 1999, by Reprise Records. The album's earlier sessions were marred with slow progress due to lineup changes and frontma ...
.'' In a 2016 interview with ''Loudwire,'' Filter lead singer
Richard Patrick spoke of a romantic relationship which he had with Wretzky, saying that she was the subject of a song he wrote called "Miss Blue", also on ''Title of Record.''
While making no indication that she will record with or make any meaningful contribution to the group, Michigan doom-sludge metal band Grave Next Door said on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that they were jamming with Wretzky at her home, with one band member posting a pic of himself with a prop from the video for "Tonight, Tonight".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wretzky, Darcy
1968 births
American alternative rock musicians
American rock bass guitarists
American women bass guitarists
Living people
Guitarists from Michigan
People from South Haven, Michigan
The Smashing Pumpkins members
Alternative rock bass guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
Grammy Award winners
20th-century American women guitarists