Trivial Early Stooges Questions > answered by Natalie

This is really a great thread. Thank you Natalie for answering these questions. As soon as I think of a good one that someone hasn't covered, I'll weigh in. In the meantime I'm really enjoying this!

I'm really enjoying reading these questions and answers it's great!

Did any of the band ever argue with each other? And if they did what did they argue about?

Also, how often did they have band rehearsals?

G.F#+E,

I never really saw arguing about anything. There were disagreements about song placement in the set and once or twice what songs to include.

Keeping things in perspective, early on concert halls and clubs did not have sound boards as we know them so bands did not really do sound checks in 1969. They would get the equipment set up and test the amps. The Stooges would practice and jam in the dressing rooms when I was around. I did not stay back stage often because I wanted to go out in the crowd and meet fans and also I wanted to find a good place to see the show. My favorite spot was right in front of Ron's amp.

They did major rehersals in '73 before Max's. One night the band decided they wanted time alone without Iggy. They did not want Iggy there too early but they wanted to insure he did arrive. Somehow I got volunteered to babysit Iggy and get him to the studio later in the evening in alert condition.

We went out to dinner at a place called "Nobodys" in the west village. Iggy ordered raw hamburger on a plate and he ate it with his fingers. It was very funny to see the reaction of the waitress while he explained how he wanted it raw, not cooked, no bun, etc.
We did not have any liquor with dinner and I managed to get him to rehersal in one piece and fully alert.

How's this for some good trivia?

That it. I am going to sleep now.

Natalie

G.F#+E,

I never really saw arguing about anything. There were disagreements about song placement in the set and once or twice what songs to include.

Keeping things in perspective, early on concert halls and clubs did not have sound boards as we know them so bands did not really do sound checks in 1969. They would get the equipment set up and test the amps. The Stooges would practice and jam in the dressing rooms when I was around. I did not stay back stage often because I wanted to go out in the crowd and meet fans and also I wanted to find a good place to see the show. My favorite spot was right in front of Ron's amp.

They did major rehersals in '73 before Max's. One night the band decided they wanted time alone without Iggy. They did not want Iggy there too early but they wanted to insure he did arrive. Somehow I got volunteered to babysit Iggy and get him to the studio later in the evening in alert condition.

We went out to dinner at a place called "Nobodys" in the west village. Iggy ordered raw hamburger on a plate and he ate it with his fingers. It was very funny to see the reaction of the waitress while he explained how he wanted it raw, not cooked, no bun, etc.
We did not have any liquor with dinner and I managed to get him to rehersal in one piece and fully alert.

How's this for some good trivia?

That it. I am going to sleep now.

Natalie

Natalie this is brilliant, I've read in some interview about Iggy eating raw meat.

Ted,

Glad you are enjoying the stories. I posted one in Scene of the Crime about the Kennedy Center show. Once again those tall Stooge tales were just a little bit too tall.

Natalie

Natalie,

good to hear about Ron's cat at the Funhouse! is it true that they didn't have a litter box for it so it 'just went where it wanted to go', as I think Ron said once

Your association w/ Ig may pre-date this question, but do you have any stories about Iggy's Rock & Roll brother-in-law Johnny Thunders, and the Starr sisters?

Nadja


The only way I can answer is to say I did not see a litter box. The cat was an indoor and outdoor cat and sometimes cats like to use the outside when they have the option.

Mg196

I did meet Sable once. I used to see the Dolls all around NYC at their own shows and just at clubs seeing other bands. But you are correct, most of what I know happened after I was around the guys frequently. I did still go to many Iggy solo shows and I would say hi but it was strictly as a fan.

Natalie

Wow I can't thank you enough Natalie!

As I'm a big Ron fan I was wondering what his political leanings were. I know the nazi stuff was mainly out of curiosity, the style and to some degree shock value but was he more right or left leaning in reality?

G.F#.E,

You are quite welcome.

Ron and the Nazi stuff was just as you said. He certainly was not a Nazi. What many people didn't realize was that he was fascinated by all of World War II. I used to go to many flea markets and I would buy. medals and old postcards from WWII and give them to Ron. He was equally appreciative of anything having to do with WWII.

The political climate in the 60's and 70's was very much left. The Detroit scene was political in general. There were the Black Panthers and the White Panthers and the issues with John Sinclair. Everybody was active about speaking out for justice.

Ron was not one of those rah rah, loud political people but his leanings were to the left.

Natalie

hi natalie
did you attend the cincinatti popfestival 13jun70 and do you remember it was broadcasted live on radio?
we've all seen the surviving 4minutes tv on youttube and i'm just wondering if there''s more of this unbelievable gig.
do you know if they did a full set or only 3 songs?
thanks in advance

Neven - 3 Songs?

Thanks again Natalie I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions

mc wrote:

Neven - 3 Songs?

well,that's the question!

neven wrote:

mc wrote:

Neven - 3 Songs?

well,that's the question!

OK, thought you knew something there. Well iggy looks pretty manic but together in the vid, so guess they probably did the full set.

Let's talk about the festival. If memory serves they did TV Eye and 1970. I choose not to attend as I was not a fan of festivals. Bands never had enough time to play a full set. It was hard to hear and see in the crowd. I had seen shows in the spring of 70 and I was going to see more later in the summer so that was another reason I did not attend.

The TV show was one of the first to be broadcast on national TV. Everybody was still talking about Woodstock and there was a huge audience waiting for the TV show.
The Stooges were pumped and ready for it. It was their chance at national recognition.
I remember watching and feeling so happy and proud that "my" band was on TV. There were high hopes that it would help record sales but we all know it did not.

Back in the day, you could buy vinyl in mono or stereo. Many kids did not yet have stereo equipment. So they bought mono records which were about a dollar cheaper.
When the festival was on TV if you had your radio on also you got the full stero effect.

I have to say that the Stooges performance at the festival was one of their best to date. I looooooooved it!!!!!!

thanks natalie
what i heard is the tv show was a complilation of the festival ,so it was not broadcasted live and maybe the radio broadcast was live so full versions of tveye and 1970 without the commercial break and who knows more songs in stereo!
one of my friends believes they played a very short set,3 extended songs,i don't know ,but he's useually very well informed

Natalie, were you around during any official photo shoot, e.g. for the Fun House album?

Natalie, I have a question ...... How did Dave's voice sound ?
I've heard Iggys speaking voice and Rons also but never heard about Daves voice or Scotts for that matter.

Neven,

Sorry if I was not clear about the TV version of the Cincinatti Pop festival. It was pre-recorded. The festival went on for hours. I think there were about 10 bands. The TV version was specific songs by some of the bands. I only remember the Stooges for obvious reasons. The audio from the radio was also pre-recorded. Because equipment was not sophisticated like it is now, it was a cool thing to do back in the day to combine radio and TV to emulate the stereo sound.

Natalie

Nadja,

I never attended any official photo sessions. There were always photographers around backstage and shooting during the shows.

Speaking of photo sessions, it reminds me of a conversation I once had with Ron at the Chelsea hotel lobby. The band was going to a photo session. I had friends from Michigan who came in for the shows staying at the hotel also. I was meeting up with them to go sightseeing and the band was leaving at the same time. Ron looked particularly handsome that day and I told him so. He then proceeded to tell me when they were doing offiicial shoots, he would not eat for 24 to 36 hours before the shoot so his stomach would look "real" flat. It kind of shocked me.

Natalie

Ted,

Dave had a medium pitch voice. He definitely had the Michigan accent. Scott sounded like Ron only a bit deeper. Iggy had the deepest speaking voice out of the 4 original Stooges.
Natalie

Natalie, that info about Ron at official photo shoots is indeed surprising.
I was just after thinking that all of them, including Ron, generally looked very slim back in the early days.

Vanity, thy name is Ron Asheton! LOL