Ron may be dead

Donald wrote:

Interview with Watt

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/01/mike-watt-riffs.html

A great interview! Mike can put it so good and righteous.

cb wrote:

I am getting a ton of personal rememberances, articles and tributes, obits from everywhere! My eyes are going to hell, but it's obvious the world believes Ron belongs in rock and roll heaven

Same here. Just read the comments section @ the myspace page for example, as well as the comments sections over at Mike and Scott's pages.

Do you know who will run Ron's myspace page? Or will it be torn down?

In my opinion, it should be made into a tribute page.

StoogesMySpaceAdmin wrote:

cb wrote:

I am getting a ton of personal rememberances, articles and tributes, obits from everywhere! My eyes are going to hell, but it's obvious the world believes Ron belongs in rock and roll heaven

Same here. Just read the comments section @ the myspace page for example, as well as the comments sections over at Mike and Scott's pages.

Do you know who will run Ron's myspace page? Or will it be torn down?

In my opinion, it should be made into a tribute page.

I hope it won't get torn down!

u'no what i was thinkin last nite, just occured to me how loved ron was, well that and all these comments and comments from big bands like primal scream and stuff

but on here specfically, i know we all have our 'favourite' stooges, as if you could choose one over the other, but we have favourites, ike i like iggy, and loose likes scott and nadja i think likes dave lol

but ron was all our favourites, we all love the individual members and everything, but everyone loved ron, he was everyones favourite, some ppl love iggy, some ppl dont, thoguh admire and appreciate him etc, some ppl are nuts about him, or scott, or dave or james, but ron was a communal faovurite or a collective favourite, its strange for one bandmember to have that, he was loved that much

only occured to me last night, ill never get used to this

speaking of, i had a weird dream last night, during the hours i managed to get to sleep, but i was 'analysing' it today when i woke up, and in it a young artist i really like johnny flynn, died as well, same sort of circumstances, hes only a young guy 24, good stuff, think they call it nu-folk along with ppl like laura mauling i think her name is, but i was thinkin about it, and the death of ron has really rocked me, cause the dream - i thought - showed what it would be like if the one stable thing, the one constant ive always had (music) started to crumble and disappear, i'd go nuts, i really wouldnt know what to do, and with rons passing i think i dunno, its shown me how much i need music to survive, that may sound melodramatic, but its wholly true, it my lifeblood, if i didnt have it, well i'd have some other obsession, but im like the musical equivalent of like a 40 stone man lol it is a compulsion, and this happening losing my favourite guitarist and my favourite band in one day, just really threw me, sorry, maybe too personal, just thought i'd share it, it was a strange dream - though i think in another one i was flying, so read into them whatever you want lol

HJW

Ron's always been my favourite, I love the rest of them to and I defenetly know what your getting at about our collective favourite HJW.

He was a nice, funny guy, influenced many of us to take up the guitar, saved his band mates on countless occasions. He was the grounded one without Ron its possible they'd all be dead. He never took heroin, looked after his bandmates. What did he get for it? Screwed over by Iggy and bitched about. I'm just glad he died knowing he was appreciated and loved by his old friends.

What makes it so upsetting he died is he was the one who stayed off hard drugs.

RIP Ron.

ano its stuff that like that makes u lose your faith, like charlie watts gets throat cancer and yet keith who still smokes and ronnie and mick are all still going strong, its strange, though charlie hit drink pretty badly in the 80s i think, i dunno guess you just dont know

yeh obviously he was some ppls favourites, but its strange, if you think about it, no one collectively loves iggy or scott or dave or james, amybe scott, i think actually ppl just collectively love the ashetons, but specifically ron u'no, its just strange, and just a theory i guess

More people love Iggy in my opinion but at the moment they'd probably say they preffered Ron. All The Stooges are nice guys but Ron just always seemed nicer than the rest of them. He didn't act dangerous like Scott and James or edgy like Iggy, he was always just himself having a great time playing music..

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

nadja i think likes dave lol

haha, well worked out HJW!

I would say music's kinda my lifeblood too, good music I don't think that's too melodramatic...well...maybe...but it's true anyway!

and the reason why Stooges fans generally loves Ron is mostly cuz of his talent I'd say...and of course just SUCH a genuine guy

yeh, definitly, i suppose its just human nature, some people like food, or fine art or reading, i dunno watever it is u'no, or their children or someting, just an obsession - well obsession soudns kidna perverse, like tehres something wrong with u, but ''quiet obsession'' i guess lol

i think people need those to live, just somethin to keep them sane and it just so happens ours is music, and it concentrates on stooges, which, not to dismiss other bands or artists, or even forms of music, but i mean if you're gunna be a true music lover, you have to love the stooges, right? theyre so real, theres no fake crap about them, and its like distilling about 20 genres and creating another 20 in the process, theyre an amazing band

yup, might as well confess it...I'm totally obsessed with music. Listening to it, talking about it, and thinking about it, wondering why it has the effect it does, like nothing else...different types ... but good electric guitars, and The Stooges and Ron's guitar MOST of all!!

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

but on here specfically, i know we all have our 'favourite' stooges,

Not really. I like them all equally.

i know HL,i shouldve stated it better, i just meant, though some people have favourites we all loved ron, while some people, like yourself loved them all equally or didnt have a favourite, wahtever the case may be, but we all loved ron, he was the most decent, the linchpin kinda thing, for them, he was the stooge(s)! lol

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

i know HL,i shouldve stated it better, i just meant, though some people have favourites we all loved ron, while some people, like yourself loved them all equally or didnt have a favourite, wahtever the case may be, but we all loved ron, he was the most decent, the linchpin kinda thing, for them, he was the stooge(s)! lol

Yeah, Ron's great!

heavy liquid wrote:

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

but on here specfically, i know we all have our 'favourite' stooges,

Not really. I like them all equally.

They were ALL great, but I'm an Asheton fan first and foremost. Unfortunately there's only one of those left.

But don't get me wrong. If anything happened to Iggy I'd be a fucking wreck too. Iggy is the God of singers.

Loose1969 wrote:

heavy liquid wrote:

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

but on here specfically, i know we all have our 'favourite' stooges,

Not really. I like them all equally.

They were ALL great, but I'm an Asheton fan first and foremost. Unfortunately there's only one of those left.

But don't get me wrong. If anything happened to Iggy I'd be a fucking wreck too. Iggy is the God of singers.

Yeah.

i dont wana dwell too much on all this, but did Ron have (except for the body not being discovered for several days) a decent send off

i was reading the report on NME news and they said the sergeant guy, or police said he was found on the living room couch (and others have stated bedroom, so dunno which ones correct) but did ron just die in his sleep, has the autopsy been done and shown anything?

if it was just on the couch, amean he mustve died in his sleep, unless it was a massive heart attack he wouldve been able to ring for an ambulance or someones help

it pains me to even ask this, but i think it would help me to know he had a decent send off, in your sleeps i suppose the best way to go

also this was a good article

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/music/index.ssf/2009/01/legendary_guitarist_ron_asheto.html

It's a shame there won't be any more tours by all the original members of The Stooges. And it's also too bad The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame didn't induct The Stooges when they should have so Asheton could have been a part of it.

also d'u know what i dont like, or am starting to get annoyed at cause it'l turn out to be his involuntary epitaph -

people who keep saying things like ''he wasnt the best guitarist, but he played from the heart'' or '''he didnt need to know 100 notes cause he played rom the heart'' or whatever, the whole ron was a dum dum boy and we love him for it thing, yes the riffs we simplistic and minimalist and hence amazing cause it cut down to the core, but the 'solos' or freakouts more like it, are amazing n stooge and fun house and weirdness, and for those who didnt see him live, im sorry, but it was mindblowing, i couldve sworn there were trails of his arms he was moving that quick, he man was a very accomplished musician i dont know what theyre on about, typically stooges his 'actual' greatness will still go unnoticed for another 40 years!

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

i for those who didnt see him live, im sorry, but it was mindblowing, !

AAGH - I never saw them live - even when the chance came round the second time...how deprived am I

I saw them but I was very far away. It was at a festival when I saw them and they didnt do any sideshows.

now that a few days have passed I almost can't help thinking what's happened is almost typical 'quirky' Stooges stuff. even just little stuff, like their 'homecoming' gig in Detroit in 2003 had to be postponed becuase of a sudden blackout...
Typical quirky Ron stuff in particular, we're not even sure yet (and will we ever be exactly sure) in which year he passed away...but if it's 2009, well of course this is the 4Oth anniversary of the stooges' first release
and the band - never got noticed for so long, had two messy break-ups and now a final very sudden clean break - this time, they're really gone for all time. Cuz they can't be the Stooges without both the Ashetons. And they're still not properly recognized, I don't think - just as punk pioneers, in general, but that line is so old now. altho of course there's truth in it, but it always kind of limits the perspective
but when I say not properly recognized, I don't mean I'm bothered about the R&RHOF which has always seemed fairly phoney and fawning to me

Nadja wrote:

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

i for those who didnt see him live, im sorry, but it was mindblowing, !

AAGH - I never saw them live - even when the chance came round the second time...how deprived am I

I didn't either. :<

I might have had the chance when they played at a music festival in Virginia back in August, but honestly, I don't think I could have gotten anyone to get me up there.

i hate to say it, but it was unbelievable, i remember watching some guitar programe on bbc, think it was imagine with alen yentob, about the guitar, and pete townsend started talking about hendrix live, and he was like ''by the way, sorry if you didnt see him, but fuckit, he was amazing, he could almost bend light, i wont see him again, doesnt matter, i didnt get a chacne to see charlie parker, so fuck that, thats just it"

guess you have to take that attitude, though it was amazing, alway anted to make it three times, but fuck that,i cant thats that, i did however see them two times, and they were amazing, the best abd second bst gigs ive been at, esp the first one that was just amazing, and i was always annoyed i'd never hear raw power era stuff, but the second time i saw them tehy played i gotta right and search, so i was very very happy with that, and even more so cause both times, the crowd was onyabout 2- 2500, maybe 3000 people, and was up close each time, the closest you could get, didnt get a chance to go up on stage, guess im annoyed about that, first time cause i had such a good place i didnt wanna leave it and second time cause it was 2008 adn security would only allow iggy to choose people from the crowd and a big fat guy pushed in front of me, but what the hell u'no, just have to take that attitude

i thanked the stooges and ron for that in the condolence letter to them, cause it was the best time in my life so far really, its only been about 20 years but its a clear winner, so good,one of those times u think about when life gets shitty - like now, without Ron

I was lucky to see em 4 times.

I would agree with the articles, it's true he never did truely learn to play the insturment.. but, what he did do, always sounded good, and bo no means was ron a "Shreder" that can be left to EVH, and Stevie Vai, but what Ron did was "move" me with the hypnotic licks, and feeling comming from his rosewood and single coil pickups, it was truely a sensation to endure, and I loved every second of it, I would say Ronnie was an accomplished musician, but wasn't a flashy guy. He was what he was, some guy's will love em, and some guys will hate em.. ya'll know I love him, and I know you do too !

I'm holding my glass high, for ron ! CHEERS !

To be honest. I don't see the reason for people to pitty themselves saying "Ron wasn't good at playing axe".
What the fellow did through his early years till he gained weight as a 60 year old man was delivering a guitar sound unmatched.
He fucked up psychadelica and blues in a way I searched after in Jimi Hendrix songs till I found out about the Stooges.
Even how much distiortion he used you still hear him lifting his fingers from chord to chord with profession enough to make just a few of them count through a whole song!

Right now I'm listening to the following list(three from each of the LPs with Ron at the main feat of guitarplaying)

I wanna be your dog
No Fun
Real cool time
Down on the street
Dirt
1970
Passing cloud
My idea of fun
ATM

Listening to each of the songs starting where the other ended, putting together the albums by either the vibrating electric shower of Real cool time into Down on the street's opening "ompf" or having the sax bridge together 1970 and passing cloud.
What I sense the most in these songs are Ron's storming the front with distortion bombardment that still sounds like it's resting hypnotised upon the chords he choose to put into the play.
This list is not entirely my "Top 9", and they'r put together at most part to aid the purpose of a red line through the albums. But still these songs(even how silly No fun or ATM are lyric vice) these still provoke me enough to go blazing with writings most of you quite possible will slag of as confusing or shitty....
But this is through a little playlist of songs. What I feel for the first two LP's goes beyond talking shit.... I mean, I'm sure I'd be able to make someone really pissed if I let my mind ramble all it wanted about those two...

So to the point. All this bull-s just because of the engine sound Ron put up in the band called The stooges. The biggest reason why I hope I never go deaf.

There's a tribute in this edition's NME.
Don't get too excited, though...it's only half a page.

Very poor imo.

F--k, this should have been full front cover and full tribute issue, WTF ?