New Ron Asheton biography

I received my copy of John Wombat and Ruth Moreira’s “Ron Asheton: The Stooges, Destroy All Monsters and Beyond” yesterday. It was published January of this year but I only just came across it a few days ago on Amazon, as I was cycling through a recent (and periodic) phase of renewed enthusiasm for the Stooges in general and Ron’s guitar work in particular.

It clocks in at 230pp and I read it in one sitting. It was obviously written by two fans.  I would have preferred the writing quality be a little higher (nothing fancy obviously) maybe something on the level of Paul Trynka’s “Open Up and Bleed”. In an ideal scenario.

But it makes sense to me to think of it like this....anybody with an appreciation of Ron Asheton’s work that runs deep enough to write a book about it and get it published is already at least 75% of the way to being considered friends of mine. So to my two new “Stooge friends”, John and Ruth, I say “Thank You” and “Good Job”.

So much has now been written about the Stooges and their shenanigans that there were only a small number of new stories about that period of Ron’s life; but these stories and new details therein were appreciated and cool to read. The book was most valuable to me for the background and detail it offered about the post-Stooges era, particularly Destroy All Monsters. It seems that John and Ruth had the full cooperation of Niagara and the Colonel, and it made for a pretty well-rounded account.

The period of time leading up to the Stooges’ reunion was also a good read, some of it familiar and some of it new. To me. The description of the horror movies Ron was involved in was interesting enough that I might check one out. And of course it was a pleasure to read the account of Ron’s victorious final act: the wildly successful re-forming of the Stooges and all of the over-due accolades and paychecks that came with it.

“Ron Asheton: The Stooges, Destroy All Monsters and Beyond” cost $30 on Amazon. I am glad I bought it....it may not be around for long.

So once again, John and Ruth...thank you for writing this book. You got some good information from people who were on the inside and that counts for a lot.

thank you so much for this info. to think the book has been out all year and I never came across it … actually just yesterday I was trawling through amazon to see if there were any interesting new rock music books floating around … not a single one appealed, certainly never caught sight of this … and then I come on this forum and read your post! Ron's guitar was the reason I got into the Stooges … fantastic, fantastic guitarist. I will definitely be checking this one out. Thanks again.

It is kinda odd how this book was released with ZERO fanfare right? And “amen” to Ron being a fantastic guitarist!! Hope you enjoy the book.

yes, there could've been more notice .. now that I know, I am certainly looking forward to getting my copy!

thanx for the head's up , will try to track it down

This one is also on my shopping-list. Is it worth getting? There are not too many books on Ron for sure.