Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Wow Ron Asheton, R.I.P.
Posted by Emily Bartlett Hines on Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Ron Asheton was found dead today in his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was born there in 1948, and went on to play guitar with The Stooges on their first two records. (His brother Scott was also a founding member.) He was co-songwriter with Iggy Pop, and is responsible for the awesome heavy riffs in songs like "No Fun" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog."
He played bass on their 1973 album Raw Power, and went on to record with many other bands including Destroy All Monsters, New Race, and Dark Carnival. He was also one of the personnel recruited to re-create the glam/proto-punk sound for the the film Velvet Goldmine; the band included Thurston Moore and went by the entertaining moniker "The Wylde Ratttz." When The Stooges re-formed in 2003, Asheton once again played guitar with them.
The Stooges are my favorite band, but I'm just now realizing how little I knew about Asheton; for example, I didn't know he was an actor who appeared in low-budget horror movies like Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo! And I've never had the chance to hear him play live. So I would love to hear from those of you who have. If you've seen an Asheton performance--or if you've seen Wrath of the Wendigo, I suppose--tell us about it here.
Above is a video of The Stooges in 2006, playing one of their greatest jams. That's him in the camo jacket and pink sunglasses.
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Is the Youtube video totally not working? It's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhjP4h9R-gg
It's working, Emily.
I like the part where Watt just stands back and absorbs Iggy's vibes, haha...
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