News

Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, Dave Stewart, Robby Krieger and film director Gus Van Sant have all designed custom Carparelli guitars for an upcoming auction at Bonhams New York, which will take place November 9th at 7 p.m. Proceeds from these unique items will benefit War Child USA, a humanitarian organization focused on helping children and young people in areas of armed conflict.

Pop offers a more oblique statement for his custom axe, “Soulman”: “Soulman goin’ 110 / colored dots signify the end / Soulman sings a soulful song / clear and simple, deep and long.”

Read more at Rolling Stone.

Iggy Pop will deliver the fourth annual John Peel lecture at this year’s Radio festival on the subject of “free music in a capitalist society.” Taking place in Salford on October 13, Pop’s first lecture will be broadcast live on BBC 6 Music and broadcast on BBC4 at 8pm on October 19.

Peel was the first DJ to play the Stooges on UK Radio, bringing the track “Little Doll” from their debut album to listeners in August 1969. Iggy Pop had this to say about the late broadcaster:

I get the feeling that John was the kind of guy who would have done his job for nothing, as long as he felt great about it. So we have that in common. I was interested to learn that he found his voice in large part through his wanderings in America. Sometimes it takes strange circumstances to provide a mirror in which to find yourself. Anyway, he’s done a lot to give others a voice, and that’s the most important gift you can give. Here was a person with strong opinions and enthusiasms who wasn’t defined by any system, because of that his show became an exciting location, kind of like a shop that’s a good hang. So it was a social as well as a musical phenomenon.

Read more at The Guardian.

Sailor Jerry Clothing has partnered with Iggy Pop to launch “The Flash Collection by Iggy Pop.” Now in its second year the Flash Collection is an annual collaboration between Sailor Jerry and a like-minded artist. The Flash Collection by Iggy Pop will feature three limited edition items, including the collection hero piece, an iconic denim vest.

“When I was asked to be involved with the latest Flash Collection, I was intrigued right away,” he said. “I fell in love with the pin-ups. Sailor Jerry’s pin-ups are the best. Bringing his stuff to life for a collection of limited edition clothes was something I totally wanted to be a part of.”

Read more at The Drum.

The rock’n roll duo unites again. Mick Rock shoots Iggy Pop for his collaboration on Sailor Jerry’s 2014 #FlashCollection, debuting late October.

Iggy Pop was honored with the Icon award at last night’s GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2014 at London’s Royal Opera House. Here’s a recap of some of the honorees and Iggy’s win:

His on-stage convulsions were influenced by Jim Morrison, but Iggy came to define the marriage between performance and art by taking things to the bleeding edge of acceptability. …On winning, Iggy says, “F****** thanks. Thanks GQ for taking me to dinner in such a nice place. All these glittering people.”

Read more at GQ Magazine.

THE STOOGES’ GUITAR LEGEND JAMES WILLIAMSON’S NEW VINYL-ONLY SINGLE “I GOTTA RIGHT”/”HEAVY LIQUID” WITH THE BELLRAYS’ LISA KEKAULA IS OUT NOW!

THIS IS THE SECOND SINGLE FROM JAMES WILLIAMSON’S FORTHCOMING SOLO STUDIO ALBUM “RE-LICKED,” WHERE HE’LL BE JOINED BY A NUMBER OF GREAT GUEST VOCALISTS RE-INTERPRETING LESSER-KNOWN STOOGES RARITIES

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO JAMES WILLIAMSON & LISA KEKAULA’S “I GOT A RIGHT”

Following the release of his recent Record Store Day exclusive single “Gimme Some Skin”/”Open Up & Bleed,” The Stooges’ James Williamson has released his second single from his forthcoming solo album Re-Licked.

On it, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist has enlisted The Bellrays’ vocalist Lisa Kekaula for the songs “I Got A Right” (originally penned by Iggy Pop circa 1970) and “Heavy Liquid” (written by Pop & Williamson circa ’73). Backed by the driving force of Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & drummer Toby Dammit (all from the live touring version of The Stooges), along with backing vocals from Petra Haden, Williamson’s snarling, incendiary guitar riffs spar perfectly with Kekaula’s own soul-shaking, hair-raising vocal deliveries on these two early Stooges rarities.

Williamson’s Re-Licked (to be released in the fall of 2014) will also feature other lesser-known Stooges tracks properly recorded and mixed for the first time. Songs such as “Rubber Legs,” “She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills,” “Scene of the Crime,” “Wild Love” and others will be fronted by a wealth of talented vocalists such as Jello Biafra, Mark Lanegan, Alison Mosshart, The Orwell’s Mario Cuomo, Ariel Pink, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, Carolyn Wonderland and others.

The 7″ vinyl single of James Williamson’s “I Gotta Right”/”Heavy Liquid” is now available online in the U.S. through Insound here, in Europe here, and can also be found in finer record stores worldwide.

James Williamson (Photo: Heather Harris)

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

Lisa Kekaula (Photo: Heather Harris)

FOR MORE INFO ON LISA KEKAULA & THE BELLRAYS:
https://www.facebook.com/IamLisaKekaula
www.thebellrays.com

It would’ve been Scott’s birthday today. #peoplewemiss

The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard, the longform documentary about the classic L.A. garage-punk band, directed by Neil Norman, will have its premiere Aug. 16 at the Egyptian Theatre at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood.

…The Seeds — led by charismatic singer Sky Saxon, along with keyboard player Daryl Hooper, guitarist Jan Savage and drummer Rick Andridge — were all emigres to early ’60s Hollywood. After building a reputation in underground clubs such as Bido Litos, the group busted out in late 1966 with the classic anthem “Pushin’ Too Hard,” which went Top 40 nationally in early 1967.

Using vintage footage, rare photos, memorabilia and audio, and fresh interviews with bandmembers and associates, the documentary also includes interviews with fans of the band, like Iggy Pop, the Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston, Love’s Johnny Echols and members of the Bangles, with narration by original GTO and I’m With the Band author Pamela Des Barres.

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

Here is an excerpt from a rare interview with Scott Asheton. Read more at Vice:

Actually, the way the whole thing began was with me and Dave Alexander and my brother Ron, before we even knew Iggy. We had a band, but we weren’t players yet. We liked the idea of playing in a band, but we weren’t up to being able to play on stage. Mostly, we would sit in the basement and sing along with records. We almost got one song semi-down, and that was “The Bells of Rhymney” by the Byrds. And we called ourselves the Dirty Shames.

We used to go uptown to the record store, Discount Records, and there was a spot right on the corner or Lilly and State Street and we’d hangout there. Everyone would have to come through there, so we’d check everyone out and be checked out by other people.

It’s a kid thing—that’s why you wear purple hair, and that’s why you put a ring in your nose, ’cause you want people to look at you. So we were wearing leather and boots and Levi’s. Pointed shoes were what you wanted—the more pointed and longer, the better. They were mostly used in fights—that’s why guys used to wear big, pointy shoes, and originally the idea of leather was to protect you from knives and stuff. And we were already wearing that stuff; you know, we were the first to do it.

Guitarist/producer James Williamson, best known for his frenetic fretwork with Iggy Pop and The Stooges, will release solo album Re-Licked in the fall. Meanwhile, he’s serving up “I Got A Right,” a manic, guitar-blazing rocker featuring belter Lisa Kekaula of The Bellrays.

The song, penned by Pop circa 1970, will be released July 29 as a seven-inch vinyl and digital single, backed by “Heavy Liquid,” which Williamson wrote with Pop in 1973. It can be pre-ordered here.

Read more and listen to the premiere of “I Got A Right” at USA Today.

Iggy and the Stooges were among the winners at this year’s Detroit Music Awards, held April 25. The band’s most recent album, Ready To Die, released on Fat Possum Records, was recognized as Outstanding National Small/Independent Label Distribution Album.

Read the complete list of winners at DetroitMusicAwards.com.

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