No, not the Stooges. Iggy and the Stooges. The Stooges released two albums: their self-titled debut and Fun House. Iggy and the Stooges released Raw Power. Got it?
What’s the difference? Well, the Stooges were Iggy Pop on vocals, Dave Alexander on bass, and brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on guitar and drums, respectfully. For Raw Power, Alexander was kicked out of the band while Ron Asheton was demoted to bass, and James Williamson took over on lead guitar.
When the Stooges reunited a few years ago, Mike Watt took over on bass, since Dave Alexander had died in 1975. Now that Ron Asheton has also died, Iggy’s decided to get the second incarnation of his band back together:
Pop said that while the original Stooges ended with Asheton’s death, “there is always Iggy and the Stooges, the second growth of the band”.
“I had a meeting in LA last week with James (Williamson),” Pop said. “It was the first time we had seen each other in 30 years. So we talked about doing something together. Raw Power would be the repertoire.”
Since bass players are obviously expendable, Watt will continue his role with the new band. Could be interesting…
i can’t believe you stated that bass players are expendable and mike watt in the same sentence. that’s rock-n-roll heresy!
yeah, could be interesting…
could be a dreck-fest, too, or anything in between. I have my doubts weather
Pop can add anything fresh to the lexicon at his age. My bet is a novelty act, maybe 1 or 2 decent songs from a couple of albums (excuse me, cds), and a cash tour for the ole’ 401(k).
The thing that is worth mentioning here with all this naming confusion is that the band was actually being billed Iggy and the Stooges in its most recent reunion incarnation. I recalled this from their early-reunion time-frame Detroit show and later Lollapalooza 2007, from which I still have the schedule and was able to confirm it. Most likely, they needed to make clear that this was Iggy’s band for marketing purposes during the reunion.
So basically, unless I’m missing something here, Ron Asheton will be replaced with James Williamson and the band’s current name will not change.
The details sure are tricky!
“bass players are expendable”? Jake Brown, I hope you brutally kill yourself and/or die painfully. diaf asshole
That’s harsh…
Don’t blame me, I voted for Watt! It’s Iggy who keeps reforming bands with dead bassists.
James Williamson was always an easy target for ‘punk historians’ like ‘legs macneil’, and also an easy shot for the old time survivors, mostly because he moved on, went back to school, and did okay, giving up on fame and giving up on trading on past glories. He was also a great guitarist, probably mostly responsible for ‘Raw Power’, which was monumentally more important for kick-starting the punk movement than the first two Stooges albums. Too bad that there is no decent version of it available (only the weak first mix, and the sledgehammer second mix). Look, Iggy is the most important thing still going, but the second Stooges lineup was the best. And i mourn the loss of Ron. He was probably a better guy than the rest, but he would probably want it to continue for a while.
COME ON BACK, JAMES, YOU’RE COOL!!