Marky Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Ron Asheton, the guitarist and bassist with The Stooges, has been found dead today (January 6). He was 60.Asheton was found at his home in Ann Arbor this morning, according to police. A cause of death is yet to be confirmed, although initial reports suggest that Asheton died of a heart attack.Detective Sgt Jim Stephenson told local paper Ann Arbor News that foul play is not suspected. He added that Asheton's body was found on a living-room sofa, and that he appeared to have been dead for at least several days. Autopsy and toxicology results are pending.Asheton was a founder member of The Stooges, along with his brother (and drummer) Scott Asheton, Dave Alexander (bass) and frontman Iggy Pop.Ranked as Number 29 on Rolling Stone's '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time', Asheton played the seminal riffs on Stooges' classics including 'No Fun', 'Down On The Street', and 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'. He switched to the bass guitar for The Stooges third album, 'Raw Power' (1973).After the commercial failure of 'Raw Power', Asheton left The Stooges and played in a series of bands including The New Order (not to be confused with the UK band of the same name), and Destroy All Monsters.He later recorded a number of tracks for 1998's cinematic paean to glam rock, 'Velvet Goldmine', along with Mudhoney's Mark Arm, The Minutemen's Mike Watt, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley.In 2000, Asheton, along with his brother Scott and the aforementioned Mike Watt, began playing shows together. The band were dubbed 'The New Stooges' by fans, and after Iggy Pop saw them perform, the four decided to reform The Stooges properly. The Stooges played their first reunited show in 2003, and went on to release an album of new material ('The Weirdness') in 2007, with Asheton restored to lead guitar duties.Touring heavily, including a The Stooges played a memorable set at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival which ended with a mass stage invasion, they also played last year's Isle Of Wight Festival.http://www.nme.com/news/the-stooges/41900 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuffle Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Sad. Never got into them, so I don't know his work very well. Frankwhite will be very upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wando Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 What? No.Rest in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lithium Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Oh, fuck, that sucks. Rest in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 RIP. The Stooges are my favourite band. On a selfish note, I think it's a shame that I'll never get to see him play live with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Monk Time Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Can you imagine how different rock music would be without this guy? His influence is honestly unimaginable. Fun House has some of the best riffs and guitar playing I've ever heard, and I'm sure I'll be listening to it a lot in the next couple of days. A real legend. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makkonen Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Now i am glad that i went and saw him w/Stooges 3 times live here in Finland during 2006-2008.GREAT gigs all of them! rock3 Rest in peace, Ron :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr. orangestone Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 RIPThe Stooges are legends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtylenny Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 what the FUCK!!! :(:(:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerage5 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Aww, fuck. RIP. Seriously one of the most influential yet underrated guitarists ever.I would suppose this is the end for The Stooges? I mean, no one could replace Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtylenny Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Aww, fuck. RIP. Seriously one of the most influential yet underrated guitarists ever.I would suppose this is the end for The Stooges? I mean, no one could replace Ron.Williamson did.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Star Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 WHAT...THE..FUCK???? RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallic ko Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I am so upset. I was crying earlier before. This guy was my favourite guitarist! RIP Ron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR 1991 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Huge fucking loss to music. One of the greatest, most influential guitarists ever, and one of my personal favorites. Horrifyingly underrated too. I'm kicking myself for not seeing The Stooges in 2007 at The Warfield. Heard that show was one of their best recently.RIP Ron. Your music will live forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsh327 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I think the Stooges are going to be inducted into the Rock Hall...at least Ron got to play there last year when the Stooges were playing the Madonna songs. It was funny as hell, but if it wasn't for her wanting them there, they might have gotten passed over yet another year. At least Ron knew they were being inducted and will definitely be remembered. Hopefully someone worthy will be filling in his place. Definitely factor in as one of GNRs influences....track 5 "Spaghetti Incident". There's a lot of recent era footage... the Stooges have a DVD, plus TV appearances, including the Rollins Show. With Mike Watt on bass and Iggy's energy at 60? Still a hell of a band and still whipped the crowd into a frenzy. But it doesn't get better than the "Fun House" album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiff Competition Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) Definitely factor in as one of GNRs influences....track 5 "Spaghetti Incident".Raw Power is a disgrace to Asheton. They brought in James Willimason to play guitar and put Ron on bass, needless to say he wasn't thrilled by it. This would be the reason why on their 2007 tour they didn't play one song off of Raw Power, everything was from The Stooges, Funhouse, The Weirdness and the tracks they recorded together on Iggy's most recent solo album, Skull Ring.But yes, as you said, it doesn't get alot better than Funhouse, what an incredible album it is. Edited January 7, 2009 by Stiff Competition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallic ko Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 it doesn't get alot better than Funhouse, what an incredible album it is.Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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