News

Happy Birthday to Mr. Pop! We invite you to share your birthday messages for Iggy here and on his Facebook page.

I first met Scott Asheton when I was working at Discount Records in Ann Arbor to augment my drumming. …Scott played drums with a boxer’s authority. When he wanted to, he had a heavy hand on the drums. He hit the drum very hard, but there were never a lot of elbows flying. He wasn’t showy. He didn’t have to make a physical demonstration to get the job done. When he played with you, it was always swinging. He brought a swinging truth to the music he played and extreme musical honesty.

…Scott always played a little behind the beat, always a little back. He would hold the band back, just very slightly, from where it might have gone if it was going to rush ahead. It gave authority and a kind of trance to the music. He always, always, always played the song. He never got up there and started playing the kit to show everyone what he could play.

Scott just had a certain dignity about him and everyone was always glad to have him in the room. He looked like he could be a tough customer, but I never even heard of him flicking a fly. He looked like the Marlboro Man.

…He started playing with Ron in their basement with a little equipment and some dreams. Now they’re back together again in some sense.

Read more from the tribute at Rolling Stone. Photo by Mick Rock

Iggy Pop’s radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music debuted on Sunday, March 16. If you missed it or want to hear the show again, visit BBC.co.uk. You also can follow Iggy’s playlist. Iggy Pop will return with his next radio broadcast on March 23, and each show will be archived and available for one week.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM IGGY:

My dear friend Scott Asheton passed away last night.

Scott was a great artist, I have never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton. He was like my brother. He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Ashetons have always been and continue to be a second family to me.

My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life.

Iggy Pop

MESSAGE FROM JAMES WILLIAMSON:

To all my friends.

Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughts around the passing of our friend and bandmate Scott Asheton last night. My only comfort is that he reached out to me in an email about a week or two ago saying that he was thinking of me and the good times we had together and that he would like to make some music with me. I responded but he never got back to me again. I guess that was his way of saying goodbye for now….

Anyway, my heart goes out to his immediate family Liz, Leanna Raquel Asheton and Kathleen Asheton. He was one of the good guys and a friend of mine.

A benefit concert can be tricky business. …It can go horribly wrong or it can be an illuminating, moving and exciting night worthy of the cause it supports and the money shelled out by patrons to benefit said cause. At Carnegie Hall last night, where the 24th Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert took place, the evening quite certainly felt like the latter.

…The most excellent and fulfilling of the surprises came from Iggy Pop’s entrance on stage to perform a trio of songs with New Order. Dressed in an oversized black blazer, dress pants, and no shirt, Iggy Pop looked particularly buttoned up with only part of his bare chest peeking beneath the suit. He made a very Iggy Pop show of New Order’s “California Grass” before the evening’s most audience-rousing pair of performances arrived as the collaborators dove into two Joy Division tracks. Pop took over Joy Division’s “Transmission” as patrons jumped to their feet to “dance, dance, dance, dance, dance” as the song commands. Pop’s voice has aged nicely, even deeper and with more resonance as he perfectly delivered a vocal reminiscent of the late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis’ deep tone. Excitement heightened as they transitioned into “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and more people jumped to their feet and ran towards the stage to continue dancing and jumping and taking part in this truly remarkable moment.

Read more at The Village Voice. Photo by Loren Wohl.

Related Articles:

• Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, New Order Storm Carnegie Hall for Tibet – Rolling Stone
• Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and New Order: Photos from the Tibet House Benefit Concert – Time Out New York

The Stooges Guitar Legend James Williamson Announces The Release Of His New Exclusive Record Store Day Vinyl Single “Open Up And Bleed”/”Gimme Some Skin” On April 19th!

These Two New Takes Of Early Stooges Tracks Feature The Stooges (Sans Iggy) & Vocals From Texas Blues Singer & Guitarist Carolyn Wonderland

This Limited Single Is An Early Taste Of James Williamson’s Forthcoming Re-Licked Studio Album, Where He’ll Be Joined By Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & Toby Dammit Of The Stooges & Will Feature A Number Of Great Guest Vocalists Reinterpreting Lesser-Known Stooges Gems

While on a break from touring this year, the members of The Stooges (sans Iggy) got together and recorded songs that were originally penned by Iggy Pop and James Williamson in 1973/74. These songs were never properly recorded since the band didn’t have a record deal at the time.

James Williamson always wanted to revisit these songs and has done so with a powerhouse lineup of singers who don’t disappoint on his forthcoming album entitled Re-Licked. “Open Up & Bleed”/”Gimme Some Skin” is the first single from Re-Licked, which will be out later this year. The Stooges’ James Williamson, Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & touring drummer Toby Dammit are joined on both tracks by Texas blues singer & guitarist Carolyn Wonderland, who adds her own forceful and soul-drenching takes on these two rarely heard gems.

Re-Licked will also feature other lesser-known Stooges tracks properly recorded and mixed for the first time. Songs such as “I Gotta Right,” “Rubber Legs,” “She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills,” “Wild Love” and others will be fronted by a wealth of talented vocalists such as Jello Biafra, Mark Lanegan, Ariel Pink, Lisa Kekuala (The BellRays) and others to be announced soon.

James Williamson & Carolyn Wonderland’s new limited vinyl single “Open Up & Bleed”/”Gimme Some Skin” will be available at independent record stores worldwide on Record Store Day, April 19th.

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

Vox populi! Your wish has been granted. Iggy will be back on the radio to host a new BBC 6 Music show. He will take over the 4pm-6pm slot on Sundays while Jarvis Cocker continues his year-long sabbatical from the station.

Speaking about his new role as a radio DJ, Iggy Pop said: “I had a great experience doing the shows for BBC Radio 6 Music over the holidays. To be honest, commerce, critics, crooks and creeps have conspired over time to knock the stuffing out of my soul as I become ever more removed from the joys of feeling music.”

“The act of revisiting my library and memories to share the tunes I have treasured with a radio audience has relit a flame for me. So I was kind of hoping the Beeb would ask me to do some more. So I guess I did alright, because I’m gonna. Watch out for me.”

Read more at NME.

Gregg Foreman’s radio program, The Pharmacy, has an awesome playlist and James Williamson as a special guest this week. Read more and download the show at Dangerous Minds.

James Williamson will be taking part in the SXSW 2014 Music Conference in the session James Williamson Interview: From Riffs to Bits to be held March 14th at 12:30 p.m. local time in Austin Convention Center Room 12AB. Buzz Osborne, founding member of the Melvins, will be joining Jack Boulware for the session.

The discussion will focus on James Williamson’s career, from his early days as a young Detroit musician to lead guitarist for Iggy and the Stooges. Williamson will be telling the story of his transition into a top executive position at Sony, The Stooges’ 2010 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the band’s new album.

Read more at SXSW.com.

One of rock’s most harrowing and authentically violent recorded documents was captured live 40 years ago today when Iggy and the Stooges unknowingly committed their last will and testament to tape (as an active ’70s band, anyway) by performing the show that would go down in infamy as Metallic K.O.

Read more at Ultimate Classic Rock.

The 24th annual Tibet House U.S. Benefit Concert will feature a typically star-studded and diverse lineup of musicians. Iggy Pop, Joe Walsh and New Order are all slated to perform at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on March 11th. … Additional performers include Patti Smith and Her Band, the National guitarist Bryce Dessner, Tibetan singer-songwriter Techung and composers Nico Muhly and Philip Glass.

Read more at Rolling Stone. Tickets can be purchased at CarnegieHall.org.

We heard the awful news of Ron’s passing exactly 5 years ago today. Miss you.

Please visit the Ron Asheton Foundation.