Ron Asheton of Stooges is dead

how sad and dissapointing…saw them at 930 last time..great show..they were a band firing on all cylinders..


http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/stooges_guitarist_ron_asheton.html

Truly one of the biggest losses in music in recent memory…good gawd, Ron was the man. I am REALLY going to bum over this one.

ron asheton interview from 2000 here.. interesting..
http://www.furious.com/perfect/ronasheton.html

RIP.  Glad I got to see the 9:30 and Randall's Island shows.  Both were great.  Yeah this one hurts.

The Stooges 930 club show will go down as one of my favorite live shows ever.  Just an amazing show.  Mr. Asheton didn't move around too much on stage but boy did he still destroy the crowd that night.  I feel very lucky to have seen that show.  It's gonna be Stooges night tonight cranked up to 10. 

Great show at Virgin Fest, glad I had the chance to see them

RIP Ron

Very sad.  At least he had the opportunity for one more shot of glory the past few years.

One of the most memorable live shows I've seen was the show that Ron and Scott Asheton played at the Black Cat in 2001 with J Mascis and Mike Watt.  Going in I had no expectations but hoped for the best.  After Elf Power opened (Alkaline Trio was also on the bill but cancelled) J Mascis played a decent set of Dino Jr and solo stuff w/ Watt on bass . . . and then introduced the Asheton brothers.  Ron walked out looking like he did - more like a autoworker, or carpenter, or  civil war reenactor or guy who kills bucks with cross bows than rock icon.  He didn't look like a guitar player, but he looked like a 'craftsman'.  I think it started with him tearing into the opening riff of 'TV Eye' and it was incredible from second one.  Everything immediately shunk around that riff and it electrified the room.  Watt was singing Iggy, but it was just for show . . . he was just trying to hold on.  Mascis was shrunken to irrelevancy.  The room was just overtaken by pure pharmaceutical grade rock electricity of those riffs (and  Scott's lumbering 'rock action'). 

Lucky for everyone that Iggy heard about that tour and wanted back in . . . .and lucky for us in DC that Seth got the Stooges to play an unforgettable show at the Club.

there was something magical at the stooges' last 930 show.  i have the mp3 of the NPR's broadcast, it sounds good but doesn't capture what went down that night.  "pharmaceutical grade rock electricity" sounds just about right.  that show had me on a high for two days.  that concert has a permanent position in my all-time top 10.

rest in peace, ron.

Beyond a few of their more tuneful songs, I find it difficult to listen to the Stooges noise. Even so, seeing them live was one of my most memorable live music experiences.

Given his somewhat large stature, I wonder if Ron needed two tickets to paradise?

not sure where else to post this…

The Stooges Reunite With Raw Power Guitarist James Williamson

I think the shows with James will be every bit as good as the shows with Ron.  The one complaint I had about the previous tours was that they never did any Raw Power material…Ron never got over being moved to bass on that record and refused to play any of that record live…not to mention some of the songs that never made it to that record.  "I got a right" is to me one of the most incredible punk songs ever…..

With James they'll be focusing more on the Raw Power stuff, while mixing in material from the first two albums.

I've never left unsatisfied when attending a concert with Iggy…whether solo or with the stooges…the guy is one of my all time heroes…the James Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis of punk rock.

My buddy just saw James (who guested with Steve Mackay) on Saturday night in San Jose. He said it was the first time he had been on a stage in like 30 years and he said it positively SHREDDED. I think that there are still going to be some great Stooges shows just yet. I love the Raw Power stuff, it's my favorite LP of theirs.