Disc of the day
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
News
Iggy: ‘Ron Asheton is eternal’
2:43 PM GMT 14/01/2009
IGGY POP HAS CONTACTED MOJO to reflect on the life and times of fallen Stooges’ guitarist Ron Asheton, whose death, at the age of 60, was confirmed on January 6.
Speaking to MOJO’s Editor-In-Chief Phil Alexander, the frontman admitted to being overwhelmed by Asheton’s tragic passing.
“It did seem as though he’d always be here,” agreed Iggy on the subject of Ron’s glowering presence. “Although this person was very fragile and I knew it, there was something eternal about him. He also had an eternal guitar style. It wasn’t really American muscle rock. It wasn’t R&B. It was so unique, they had to come up with a different way of describing it.”
Iggy also reflected on his 45-year relationship with Asheton, recalling his desire to form a band with him in the pre-Stooges days.
“I was a big, big fan of his even before he picked up the guitar,” commented Iggy. “I’d seen him play bass and I’d watched the way his fingers moved. He had that scuzzy, slightly ill/sensitive, unencumbered-by-musculature look that all good musicians should have. I thought, This guy would not look or sound out of place in the Stones, Kinks or Pretty Things. This guy’s got something that’s beyond just a local cover band.”
During the course of an hour-long conversation, Iggy also confirmed that he, Ron and drummer Scott Asheton had plans to record a follow-up to 2007’s The Weirdness for which material had already been written.
Iggy’s full tribute to Ron Asheton appears in the next issue of MOJO on sale on January 28.
Phil Alexander
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 2:43 PM GMT 14/01/2009
Previous News
-
Alex Chilton 1950-2010
A personal tribute to the reluctant Big Star legend, by MOJO's Martin Aston.
6:07 PM GMT 18/03/2010
-
Peter Gabriel Top 10
MOJO office types had a fight over the art-pop egghead's greatest tunes. The results are in!
5:13 PM GMT 18/03/2010
-
Ian Hunter Q&A
The rock'n'roll lifer on his May tour and that astounding Mott reunion.
12:00 PM GMT 18/03/2010
-
SXSW Mourns Alex Chilton
Big Star maverick casts shadow over Day 1 of Austin music fest.
10:22 AM GMT 18/03/2010
-
Win Le Beat Bespoké Weekender Tickets!
Turn your Easter weekend into a mod-soul-garage fest!
11:01 AM GMT 16/03/2010
-
Watch Sydney Pollack's Aretha Franklin Documentary Trailer!
The late filmmaker's 1972 film has been unearthed...
10:26 AM GMT 16/03/2010
end of body content back to top
Footer
Join us on:
© Copyright Bauer - all
rights reserved.
Reproduction of this
website, in whole or in
part, in any form or
medium without express
written permission from
Bauer is prohibited. All
use is subject to our
Terms of Use
|
|
Comments
Comment on this post
ROCK ON IN THE AFTERLIFE RON ! JESUS LOVES THE STOOGES !
Posted by ZIGGY (COLCHESTER) UK at 6:17 AM GMT 15/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
without ron no pistols, clash no punk thanks for the riffs
Posted by mike leeds at 1:51 PM GMT 15/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Yup. I thought long and hard about it, and Fun House is punk's real Year Zero. Ron invented the sound that fed Johnny Thunders, Brian James, Mick Jones, Steve Jones, and everyone else since, including meself. You can't lay a more primordial riff than Ron's guitar grunt in "Down On The Street". That's the first building block of the whole punk universe to come, right there. By the way Ig, sorry about that stolen equipment truck in Montreal last summer. Those assholes gave my great alt-music-friendly town a real bad name.
Posted by Alan Lord, Montreal at 2:35 PM GMT 15/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Ron Asheton was undoubtably the greatest living Rock'n'Roll guitarist, nobody could match the man. So glad I got to see him a couple of times, wondered if the Stooges were working on a new album.
Ok Mr Williamson, you can come out of silly-con retirement now, the Stooges and Rock'n'Roll need ya!
The King is dead, long live the King!
Posted by Terence Ruffle at 6:26 PM GMT 15/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: Terence Ruffle -This is not a case of one figurehead dying, just to be replaced by another. It may be that we "Ugly Americans" don't see things in the same, "Oh well. Who's next in the Royal Lineage of Punk?", monarchic light. Or maybe it's just me; but this was a flesh & blood man. A cat who came up with a completely unique & signature sound & attack on the electric guitar. A sound that was a true extension of his soul. No, he wasn't an expert technician, but when push came to shove, Ronnie told 'em how WE feel, all of us. THAT'S what inspired Johnny Ramone, Steve Jones, & countless others to pick up an electric guitar & bash away at 2 or 3 chords, as loud as possible, for hours at a time. That's Rock & Roll boiled down to it's essence. Ron Asheton cannot be "replaced" any more than Pat Hare, R.L. Burnside, Paul Burlison, Link Wray, Sterling Morrison, or Robert Quine can be "replaced". His was a singular voice, and no one can take his place. It's great that he got to see some modicum of recognition in the last few years of his life, but to think of him being "replaced" by James Williamson, or anybody else, is as an absurd a notion as The Who "replacing" Keith Moon. For all intents & purposes, The Stooges are over. Done. So, why don't we stop talking about the resurrection of The Stooges Mach II, & take a little time to mourn the loss of one of the prime architects of what we now think of as the sound of Punk & Hard Rock guitar. We at least owe him that.
Posted by M at 11:24 AM GMT 17/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Ron Asheton left this world as a world champion.
Anybody who witnessed The Stooges live at Hammersmith in August 2005 will tell you that they saw the greatest rock and roll performance EVER.
The best legacy he left, was the fact that
he was responsible for the formation of thousands of bands who heard "No Fun","Loose" "1969".
One couldn't ask for a better memorial than that.
Posted by Rob J at 9:26 PM GMT 17/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Ron Asheton Scenes
It's much warmer in the afternoon. Iggy swan dives into the Grand Canyon as Ron hits the opening A-note in TV Eye. Ron's above, on a shaded ledge.
Ron and Steve (Mackay, of course) ride the Weirdness like the Sonics in '65. It's been a long time since James Brown, Coltrane.
Iggy first spotted Ron playing air bass in the Chosen Few. Ron plays lead bass on the Revenge label
Posted by dlt at 3:26 PM GMT 25/01/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: ZIGGY (COLCHESTER) UK
zig its kren fom diss
Posted by karen at 2:56 PM GMT 31/03/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: ZIGGY (COLCHESTER) UK
zig its kren fom diss
Posted by karen at 2:56 PM GMT 31/03/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: ZIGGY (COLCHESTER) UK
Google - Indy Angel
Posted by Indy Angel at 2:40 PM GMT 15/02/2010 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Comment on this post