What Ron Asheton (of The Stooges) Says
Never mind that The Stooges’ debut album predates the birthdays of a majority of you reading this. The band by which the world grew to know its intensely aggro frontman, Iggy Pop, also has a guitarist who has likely influenced so much music you like now that you should all be lining up to treat him for his birthday. [that’s him on the left] Ron Asheton’s playing took its roots from the ‘60s garage punk that immediately prefigured The Stooges’ sonic assaults. In developing his own thing, he has prefigured glam, ‘70s punk, even emo. He may be humble about it, but the man knows of what he does with those six strings. Because The Stooges recently got back together and recorded a hecka’ fine album after over 30 years’ absence from the studio, and because said album tackles an issue or two particular to the perspective of this here bimonthly, HM contributing editor Jamie Lee Rake was chomping at the proverbial bit to get some time with Asheton. And for all of his aural bluster and might, Asheton proved himself a most hospitable interviewee.
I’m excited about this new Stooges album. Why now? Why, after 34 years, a new Stooges studio album? (a live album / metallic K.O. followed Raw Power in the mid-’70s)
Because it’s time! Basically, it all took its natural course. Totally with the beginning was Iggy calling me and saying, “I’ve got a project,” or maybe “Would you be interested in working on this project?” He says, “You can say no right now, you can say yes in two weeks, or no in two weeks.” And right off the bat, I said, “Yeah, I love projects.” That’s all I’ve been doing the past couple of years, is projects. So, it was really cool. The project was his (Iggy’s) Skull Ring CD (on which the original Stooges line-up was reunited for part of the album). So, we got to go down there, come up with those tunes, work, meet again, and have all those years melt away. And I thought, “Well, this is cool enough. Maybe from this, I’ll be able to find something for myself to do.” And then there was that job (Stooges concert) at Coachella. So, that was, “Hey, the world thought they wouldn’t ever get to see The Stooges play again.” So, they got to see us play. And I thought, “How many people that I’ve known, and my brother (Dave, The Stooges’ drummer), are going, ‘Well, y’know, gee, I never got to see The Stooges play, but I wish I would have seen that.’” So, we got to do that, and that parlayed into Iggy saying, “Would you guys be able to play more shows?” So, we took it to Europe, where Europe has always been a little more into Iggy and his shows. He plays there a lot and has for years and years. And they like The Stooges, so we started playing and it, like, snowballed. You know, once the ball starts rolling, it’s hard to stop it.
Yeah.
And all the time, which was a very smart plan, is right away getting together at least three times a year for five days, six days, to just have writing sessions.
Ahh.
So, we were well prepared. It wasn’t like we just came up with the last three and a half years, 42 songs.
Yow.
We came up with 42 things Iggy put lyrics to and that we all arranged. My brother had some drum things that I played off of and created some music off of some stuff. So, there was a lot of things to choose from, and he chose the 17 songs we recorded. So, it just worked out. We were well prepared. So, that just makes it so much easier to make things happen. So, that was the fun of that.
Oddly enough, this looks to be your longest album at 12 songs in 40 minutes. Why, then, were the others so short?
Well, let’s see. I’d forgotten what (how long) they were. Well, here’s one reason: different times. Back then, the record company didn’t care. You’re probably too young to remember when most albums had five or six songs at the most on them, and sometimes just four. It had nothing to do ... it was like, buy more, wait for more. You made more records. It was, like, we tried to, like, not do that, either (on the new album), is put too many songs. Some CD’s have 20 songs on them. The idea was to make it a listenable amount of time, enough that you felt you weren’t cheated, but short enough that you want to go back and listen to it again. I mean, like, right after. So yeah, it’s 42 minutes or 43. I’d forgotten; what’s (second Stooges album) Funhouse? A half hour?
Not much more than that. What you’re doing now sounds like a natural continuation from (third Stooges album) Raw Power. Was it easy to get back into what sounds like a real seamless groove from one album to the next?
Well, Raw Power, pretty much ... I was just playing bass. I really didn’t have lots of input, just playing bass, and to make things worse, it was (billed as) “Iggy Pop and The Stooges.” That was the beginning of that, because it was his record deal. So, it is cool that it seems that you’ve said that, even though that was so different. I mean, times change, (but) you’re always you. That’s still The Who. That’s still The Stones. That’s still that. But taking on our progression, because we haven’t had a chance to be that prolific. But it kept that thing that you liked from Raw Power, that toughness, like that merciless slaughter.
Yup.
It was easy. We had no problems. Once we had all those songs to choose from. And about three songs came from the last recording session, our last writing session we did in 2006. So, it’s just ... we’re falling into a really good groove, that we’re always ahead of the curve. We’re always ahead of ourselves, so we’re always prepared. And now, Iggy, he’s so meticulous and such a planner. The world would think, “Well, Iggy. Isn’t he that shirtless guy jumping around up there?” Well, actually, he’s got a pretty good business mind. He’s very well organized, so we organize our things really proper. So, things are just easy, so when it comes time to do them, you’re prepared, and you’re there.
Your sound on The Weirdness seems to encapsulate a lot of what’s gone on musically since your last studio album. What do you hear now that you can hear you’ve influenced? And how does it feel to be this kind of musical primogenitor?
Well, I know even way back when people talked about guitar players, I’ve influenced bits and pieces. I hear little things, but like any good guitar player that’s made it this far, they have their own good stuff, most of theirs. And they just borrow a little piece here, a little piece there. Like, there are things when I started out that I enjoyed from Jeff Beck, Brian Jones, Keith Richards... of course, I can’t do all of (Jimi) Hendrix, but little bits... Jimmy Page, my favorite guys. So, it’s a really good feeling for me when people say to me that I’ve influenced them. I think probably overall, I can’t pinpoint one guy at this very moment, but just the overall making acceptable and salable to play simple, three-chords, not have to be Les Paul. I mean, not so much that and just be silly, good, stupid music. ‘Course, stupid is good! (laughs) And when people enjoy simple things, just that big sound, I mean, it’s a good thing when people are drinking, and they want to get into a certain type of music. I know when (The Stooges) were in Latvia, these people never heard “I’m Fried” (from The Weirdness), and on the second chorus, these people are actually singing, “I’m fried! I’m fried! I’m fried!” Jim (Osterberg, Iggy’s given name) ... Iggy went: “Most of them could hardly speak English, and it’s the second chorus, and they’re already singing the songs!” We just got finished last week doing Bam Margera’s wedding...
Ah!
We were the entertainment. The same thing. We were just playing these songs for them, and by the second chorus, and they’re singing the song, and it’s the first time they ever heard it. And I say, “Stupid is as stupid does!” And if it’s simple, it’s good. So, I like the idea that my guitar playing made it politically correct to be a stupid guitar player, or have the advantage of not having to be Chet Atkins or Andres Segovia. It just lends itself to good, simple music. So, I have opened up the world of guitar... I loved Kurt Cobain’s guitar playing. It’s the same thing. He took simple things, probably what he brought to his style. My similar style was the dynamics. So, the songs where he’d be “boom-boom-bah-bah-bah-bah-ding-ding-ding.” And he’d bring it way down. It’s gratifying for me when people say that to me. I feel, “Wow, that’s cool that I’d be able to actually do something that could even, in a tiny bit, influence music.” Music is the whole world. I mean, it’s like being president of Stupid Guitar World. Or that I would actually be able to touch somebody’s life and that people would listen to it and like it, that anybody else would want to take a little piece of it and make that little piece part of their own. But, it’s pretty humbling, also. It’s not like I’m strutting around and (saying) “Gimme five!” and that kind of stuff. Just, it’s a really big feeling. I hate to use this term too much, but it’s really an awesome feeling to realize that “Wow, you actually did something.” The other day I was in this flea market, and they were selling all these old records and CDs, and it was Dean Martin. And I’m in there going, “Cool, it’s Dean Martin.” And then, when I was walking out to my truck, I’m like, “Wow! I didn’t think that he was dead.” It just seemed like, “Wow, it’s Dean Martin.” Even after all those years, that he lives. That music lives, and I was enjoying it so much. It was making me happy. And it wasn’t ‘til I was almost to my truck, but – I know this sounds obtuse – it wasn’t like, “He’s dead.” It wasn’t like, “Oh, he’s dead,” while the music was going on. And to be part of that. I think music’s one of the biggest things of all times. Everyone likes music. Even Osama (bin Laden) likes music, some kind of music. But to be able to have your music to be able to go to France, Glasgow and have that man come out with a younger man and say, “I’m 64, my nephew’s 16, and we’re both Stooges fans!” And to sign an autograph for a 64-year-old man and a 16-year-old kid that both like Stooges songs. (The 64-year-old) was, “My favorite song is ‘Down On The Street’ (from Fun House).” And that people would care enough, and that the people in Europe would say, “Your music influenced my life. I made my band. I want to play like this.” We do this song ... even at Bam Margera’s wedding, he had these guys that were, like, 15 years old. They were behind the stage, at soundcheck, flipping that they would actually be able to stand there and hear. That people would feel like that... ‘Cause I just think of myself as just me. I don’t live big. I live small. I don’t have limousines. I don’t have a lot. I just like living small. So, it’s pretty humbling, and that’s always how I feel when people say that.
Do you already feel that you’ve made your legacy, or what more do you want to do?
I’ll absolutely carry on. I hope people like this (new album). It was good for me when, about three years ago, when Iggy said, “We could make this a reunion band. I hate that word, reunion. Or a classic rock band. But I want to make it a living band.” So, that meant we started writing songs. And we want to carry on. He’s already mentioned to my brother (Stooges drummer Scott Asheton), thinking about wanting to make another record in 2008. We’re having so much fun doing it, the music’s just spilling out of us. I mentioned just the last time they were doing the mixes at (The Weirdness producer Steve) Albini’s. He set up a mix. I had my guitar there. I was still writing songs after we were finished with this. Not recording, but playing. And Iggy said, “Well, I’ve just got to get you into the studio for a whole day and just run tape for a day, and we’ll have enough songs for the rest of our lives!” But we’re excited about it and the music coming out. And while it’s there, you want to keep going. Everyone enjoys playing, and the crowd’s enjoying it. No, you’re never done. Look, for me ... one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs, and the video, “Hurt.” It’s so unbelievably tearful, sad, summing up his stuff, all the bad things. What, he did that, like six months before he died? I mean, you just don’t stop. John Le Hooker, Alvin Jones – he played a show two nights before he died. Unfortunately, I was overseas when (jazz) Alice Coltrane came to town. I bought tickets that were $160 a piece, to see the show, but I gave them to my girlfriend. I don’t know what she did with the other one. And she (Coltrane) died less than a month after that show. You just play ‘til you go. But I know some songs that are sitting back there in that stockpile of tape, but I know the things that can come out of hands’ work. Look at Les Paul. He had arthritis so bad he had his arms set in the strumming guitar position. He had his bones fused, because it’s like, “Oww.” So, at least he’s still playing. He plays in New York now. He’s 80-something, and he plays once a week. So, you’re never done til you drop.
With songs like “The End of Christianity” on the new album, what kind of mindspace was Iggy in?
To tell you the truth, that’s a good question, and that’s a question I haven’t asked him. When I write a piece of music, I have a certain feel in mind, but I’ll never influence him with it, but I’m hoping the little goofy... So, he did really well, but that’s the only one that baffled me. I was going, “What does the end of Christianity have to do with liking black women?” I don’t think he meant it in any kind of harmful way. I can think he was just being provocative, and something that just probably stuck in his head. And that’s why I came up with that pretty stuff at the end, to make it, like, sad that if it’s true... I think it’s more, like ... not even as harsh as when John Lennon didn’t mean it bad when The Beatles are more popular than Jesus. He meant it as, “Isn’t it kind of bizarre that everyone would be more into The Beatles than Jesus?” So, I’m going to ask (Iggy) myself. It’s been too soon, and we’re too busy. That’s the only song that kind of baffles me, but I know it’s not malicious, and he doesn’t mean it in a bad way. What are your thoughts?
© 2008 HM Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved.
What Ron Asheton (of The Stooges) Says - Finish this feature by Jamie Lee Rake in the new HM Magazine. Available now, Issue 132 can be found at select stores or for a reduced subscription rate.
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