Just six months after prodigal drummer 
	Jimmy Chamberlin returned to the group, the Smashing Pumpkins announced 
	Thursday (Sept. 9) that bassist D'Arcy has quit. In a terse statement headlined "D'Arcy's Gone!" 
	  the band said, "D'Arcy has left the Smashing Pumpkins. The band's new 
	  album is finished, and will be released on February 15, 2000, by Virgin 
	  Records. The Smashing Pumpkins will continue as a band and will tour 
	  in support of the new record." 
	
A spokesperson for the group could not be reached 
	  for further comment at press time.  
	
 Former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy may have 
	  left the band to pursue acting, fans and friends speculate, but few 
	  expect her departure to affect the group's signature sound.  
	
"D'Arcy's clearly pursuing another aesthetic 
	  side of herself," said a source close to the group who has known the 
	  members since their early days together. "She's been digging deeper 
	  into her art background for acting and possibly directing."  
	
 The source said D'Arcy also is an entrepreneur 
	  who raises horses on her Michigan farm, which is also the site of a 
	  recording studio used by many of the area's indie rock bands.  
	
 The Pumpkins' announcement of D'Arcy's departure 
	  came just six months after prodigal drummer Jimmy Chamberlin returned 
	  to the group, which also includes guitarist James Iha. Under the headline 
	  "D'Arcy's Gone!" the band's terse statement read, "D'Arcy has left the 
	  Smashing Pumpkins. The band's new album is finished and will be released 
	  on February 15, 2000, by Virgin Records. The Smashing Pumpkins will 
	  continue as a band and will tour in support of the new record."  
	
 No reason was offered for the departure of the 
	  31-year-old bassist, born D'Arcy Wretzky. She co-founded the group with 
	  Corgan in Chicago in 1989, with the pair originally using a drum machine 
	  as accompaniment. But in creative terms, the bassist — born in South 
	  Haven, Mich. — always has taken a back seat to Corgan, who writes most 
	  of the band's songs.  
	
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction 
	  guitarist Dave Navarro, a friend of D'Arcy, said he "wishes her all 
	  the best in her [pursuit of] acting."  
	
 Fans also wished the bassist well.  
	
"When I heard first that she was leaving I was 
	  very little surprised," fan Adam Bosse wrote in an e-mail. Bosse, a 
	  native of Caribou, Maine, said he thought D'Arcy no longer seemed happy 
	  in the group when he saw her play during recent Smashing Pumpkins shows. 
	   
	
"D'Arcy leaving will damage the image of the 
	  band, but will only leave a small dent musically," Bosse opined, adding 
	  that he thought the return of Chamberlin was more significant. "Actually, 
	  one of the reasons I fell in love with the Pumpkins is because of her. 
	  ... I just liked watching an enchanting-looking girl rocking out on 
	  bass guitar. ... It suited the image well."  
	
 Bosse's vote for a replacement was Jimmy Flemion 
	  of oddball rockers the Frogs, with whom the Pumpkins frequently have 
	  shared the stage.  
	
 No replacement for D'Arcy has been named, but 
	  the source said her departure isn't expected to derail the band's plans 
	  for its next album.  
	
"The record's going to come out in February, 
	  they've been working hard on it, D'Arcy's parts are done," the source 
	  said. "She's a woman who has business and other interests and she's 
	  not involved in the 100 percent priority nature that it takes to be 
	  in the Pumpkins right now. I don't think anyone holds it against her. 
	   
	
"Billy, James and Jimmy are 100 percent Smashing 
	  Pumpkins right now."  
	
"I think D'Arcy will be missed as a personality," 
	  Grant wrote in an e-mail. "She had quite the attitude and a lot of wittiness. 
	  Some people said she was the glue of the band and kept their sanity." 

The new record is now more than 60% completed, 
	with approximately 21 songs still being considered along with a few select 
	instrumentals. 11 of the songs you might recognize from the arising! tour, 
	and 10 more additional songs that have yet to be played live by the band. 
	The Pumpkins hope to be finished in the first couple weeks of August, 
	and are still planning a late fall release. And contrary to published 
	rumours that the record is a return to the band's older styles, we ask 
	and gently remind, when have the smashing pumpkins ever repeated themselves?

taken from the official Smashing Pumpkins page.

Natalie Imbruglia has just completed Billy 
	Corgan and Mike Garson's song "Identify" for the MGM movie STIGMATA. The 
	song will be released on the soundtrack along with 41 minutes of the dynamic 
	duo's instrumental score. Recorded by Natalie in London, the track was 
	executive produced by Nigel Goodrich, he of Radiohead fame...p.s. we've 
	heard it and it sounds great...shhh!

 taken from the official Smashing Pumpkins page.

There will be a documentation of the Pumpkins' 
	current tour (the Arising!), much like that of Vieuphoria. The official 
	site has been mailing interviews of the documentor, an MTV employee. Join 
	from their mailing list form on their front page, at the Official 
	Smashing Pumpkins page.

For the record, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman plays guitar on a cover of Cheap Trick's "Every!thing Works if You Let It."

 Taken from Allstar Music News.

Half of the soundtrack will feature Corgan's 
	score of the film. The other half will include a new, as-yet-unknown track 
	from David Bowie, an as-yet-unknown track from the Afro Celt Sound System 
	featuring Sinead O'Connor on vocals, as well as a new song penned by Corgan 
	but sung by an as-yet-undecided female vocalist. 
Stigmata, starring Patricia Arquette and Gabriel 
	  Byrne, is scheduled for release by MGM Pictures in August. The soundtrack 
	  for the film is tentatively scheduled for an Aug. 27 release on Virgin 
	  Records.

Taken from Allstar  	  Music News. Written by Kevin Raub

For those who don't know, D'Arcy turned 31 years old today. Read her biography here