Wednesday, January 07, 2009

ROn Ashton RIP

Ron Ashton , the one leaning over to grab Niagara.

Well you all know the news, Ron Asheton, Stooges guitar L.E.G.E.N.D cucked it. Despite having my mind blown by his incendiary, raw guitar playing, I was fortunate to have a few of my fillings dislodged when I saw him play in Melbourne almost 20 years ago with DARK CARNIVAL. Ron was a bit of a grobber, he played the same ULTRA-LOUD solo, but it was brilliantly hilarious and 'punk' to see the guy play a little club with a small clutch of 'high energy' rock slobovnics, and they still sounded better than EVERY Seattle and Melbourne grunge band that were doing the rounds back then (and my, how dated and shitty 'grunge' sounds today!)..I went to the Stooges reunion a few years back at the Big Day Out rock concert, thinking I might get lucky to squeeze up front, but unfortunately the tattooed, back flipping cockroaches up the front were too plentiful.

It's shit when a music/art legend you respected and inspired you dies.


2 comments:

lockerz said...

yeah that was really bad..

Lockerz Davetiyesi

Lockerz Davetiye

agt_1 said...

nice to hear someone appreciating Dark K. I was mixing Bored who did the supports here and in Melb, got to hear them 4-5 times, met Ron and drooled as he reminisced about recording Raw Power and Bowie squuezing his butt! This was me at my teeny-bobber best. DK kicked some serious jams well out of the stadium and I remember being just incinerated by Ron's guitar sound. He could play a few more notes per bar but essentially his squall had lost not a jot of its majestic brutality. Ron wore a wig and some of his band looked like CBGB janitors and i was a bit worried before they fired up, but they had a kick ya in the teeth brawn that belied their years and the countless shitty gigs they'd endured.