News

MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson has died after complications from a heart attack. He was 75 years old.

As reported by the Detroit Free Press, Thompson passed away at a nursing home in Taylor, Michigan on Wednesday (May 8th), where he had been rehabilitating from a heart attack he suffered in April.

Nicknamed “Machine Gun” due to his fast, hard-hitting style of drumming, Thompson was the last surviving member of MC5, which will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category this fall.

Born in the Detroit area, Thompson picked up the drums when he was just nine years old. While still in high school, he joined a garage band called the Bounty Hunters alongside his friend and future MC5 bandmate Wayne Kramer on guitar.

Kramer co-founded MC5 with fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith in 1963, with Thompson joining the group a few years later to fill...

Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson, the founding MC5 drummer and the last surviving original member of the pioneering proto-punk group, died Wednesday, The Detroit Free Press reported. He was 75.

An exact cause of death was not given, though Thompson had reportedly suffered a series of medical issues in recent months, including a heart attack in April.

Thompson’s death comes just a few months after the February death of his MC5 bandmate, guitarist Wayne Kramer, and the April death of John Sinclair, the group’s manager. A few months after Sinclair’s death,...

Over the past few years, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan have played just about every stadium on the planet with their respective bands. But on Friday night, they scaled down drastically at the 1,100-seat Regent Theater in Los Angeles to serve as Iggy Pop’s rhythm section at the launch of his five-show West Coast tour.

The supergroup, which also features guitarists Andrew Watt and Jamie Hince, spent 80 minutes ripping through songs from Iggy’s excellent new LP Every Loser, and classics from his six-decade career,...

Stop motion. Full body make-ups. Puppets. Matte paintings. Miniatures. Opticals. These gloriously retro effects and more can be found in the regional B-movie jam, Tom Chaney’s Frostbiter: The Wrath of the Wendigo.

Shot over a handful of years in Michigan in the mid-to-late 80s, Frostbiter is another DIY charmer that sees its lineage traced back to Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. Whereas most of the prominent Evil Dead riffs largely reference and pay homage to the original film, Frostbiter takes its cues from Evil Dead 2 (the films even share an editor – Kaye Davis). It’s a zany, comedic little film that wears its influences on its sleeve and wants nothing more than to deliver a good time.

A good time, I’m happy to report, that it very much manages to deliver.

If the title doesn’t give it away, the film is about the legendary Wendigo...

“I’m in a frenzy!” 75-year-old Iggy Pop barks on “Frenzy,” the first track on Every Loser. This comes as something of a surprise. While such a state used to be par for the course for the most shirtless man in rock, it’s been a while since his solo work has reflected that kind of intensity. Both Préliminaires, in 2009, and Après, in 2012, focused on his earthy croon (in French, no less). Iggy had spent much of the first decade or so of the 21st century thrashing out his demons with the reformed Stooges,...

Prince, Sign O’ the Times: Deluxe Edition (Warner)

On this 1987 masterpiece, Prince’s second double LP in less than five years, the R&b futurist responded to the serial crises in his personal life — the end of an affair; the firing of his band, the Revolution; escalating wartime with his label — in a kinetic tour de force of tightly wired pop, exploding bedroom funk, and soaring, redemptive climax. The big-box version of this reissue reveals the depth of Prince’s urgency in three CDs of unreleased studio treasures: diamonds...

The Stooges have shared a new live version of “Fun House” from their upcoming Live At Goose Lake: August 8, 1970 — out next week via Third Man Records.

“Callin’ from the fun house with my song,” Iggy Pop sings over raucous guitar and saxophone. “We been separated, baby, far too long.”

The set marks the 50th anniversary of the final performance by the original lineup, featuring Pop, drummer Scott Asheton, Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander, who left the band shortly after the performance. A Rough Trade release of Live at Goose...

To mark the 50th anniversary of the final performance by the Stooges’ original lineup, Third Man Records will release an unearthed recording of the band’s infamous August 8th, 1970 gig at Michigan’s Goose Lake Festival.

The raucous gig — featuring the lineup of Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton and, for the final time, bassist Dave Alexander — boasted a full-album performance of their 1970 LP Fun House. Ahead of the live LP’s August 7th release, Third Man has shared the radio edit of “T.V. Eye” from Live...

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

In one of the busier weekends of the month, two of the movies did better than I predicted and two did worse. The real winner of the weekend was Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, which did far better than anyone thought with an opening weekend of $28.5 million in just 2,260 theaters or $12,611 per theater. It ended up completely demolishing Tom Cruise’s action sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which opened in almost 1,500 more theaters, but at least that ended up around where I predicted with $22.9 million. Ouija: Origin of Evil came out slightly below my prediction to take third place with $14 million, while the Fox comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses bombed even worse than I expected with $5.5 million in 3,000 theaters.

When the Stooges split up in 1974, they had every reason to think they'd be completely forgotten by history. Their debut LP peaked at Number 106 in 1969 – and that was their best seller. They spent their final shows dodging beer bottles hurtled by angry bikers that had little interest in seeing a wild, shirtless singer named Iggy Pop screaming out songs like "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" and "Open Up and Bleed." Soon after splitting, guitarist Ron Asheton and his brother, drummer Scott Asheton, moved back in with their parents.

Jim Jarmusch premiered two new movies at the Cannes Film Festival this year, but only one documentary. “Gimme Danger” traces the rise, heyday and enduring legacy of the Stooges, whom the filmmaker describes as “the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band ever” in his film. Courtesy of Yahoo Movies, watch the documentary’s new trailer below.

Read More: ‘Gimme Danger’ Exclusive Images: Jim Jarmusch’s New Documentary Recounts The History of The Stooges

Here’s the synopsis: “Emerging from Ann Arbor Michigan amidst a countercultural revolution, The Stooges’ powerful and aggressive style of rock-n-roll blew a crater in the musical landscape of the late 1960s. Assaulting audiences with a blend of rock, blues, R&B, and free jazz, the band planted the seeds for what would be called punk and alternative rock in the decades that followed. Jim Jarmusch’s new film ‘Gimme Danger’ chronicles the story of The Stooges, one...

What’s better than one Jim Jarmusch movie? Two, of course. Before one of the most acclaimed films of the year, Paterson, arrives this December, the director has decided to rock out by exploring the legendary career of The Stooges with Gimme Danger. While it looks to be given the fairly standard talking head/archival footage treatment, it looks to be required viewing for fans. Ahead of an October release from Amazon Studios and Magnolia Pictures, we now have the first trailer.

We said in our review, “A huge part of The Stooges’ appeal derives from the raw intensity of their music – it’s not coincidental that their most iconic album is called Raw Power – and of Iggy’s charismatically convulsive stage performances, and both of these are insufficiently conveyed in Gimme Danger. While it’s possible that not enough footage exists of their concerts, considering it was the ’70s...

Attack of the killer... pumpkins?! The Dead Peasant team have launched a campaign to help make Blood & Gourd #2 a reality. Also in this round-up: a teaser video for The Visitors and Mosquito Blu-ray / DVD release details.

Blood & Gourd #2: "It’s Devil’s Night in Olympia, Wa – and out at Henderson Farms, the festivities are reaching a crescendo. Young and old have gathered to pick their own pumpkin, drink hot apple cider, and partake in the usual pumpkin farm fare. However, something has awakened from deep within the fertile soil. After years of abuse and humiliation, the pumpkins are ready to pick us. You can Beg! You can plead! You can scream! But these hell’s lanterns are lit only with the burning desire to watch. You. Die!"

To learn more about issue #2 of Blood & Gourd, visit:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bloodandgourd/blood-and-gourd-issue-2-escape-from-henderson-farm

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The Visitors: "After settling...

New York (AP) — Scott Asheton, drummer for the influential punk rock band the Stooges, has died. He was 64. Publicist Michele Adler confirmed Monday that Asheton died Saturday. No other details were provided. Bandleader Iggy Pop posted on his Facebook page Sunday that he's "never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton." Asheton was part of the Stooges when they formed in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Mich. His older brother, Ron Asheton, who was the group's guitarist, died in 2009. The Stooges released their self-titled debut in 1969. "He was like my brother," Pop's statement read of Scott. "He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Ashetons have always been and continue to be a second family to me. My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life." Asheton suffered from undisclosed illnesses in...

Iggy & The Stooges drummer Scott Asheton has died, aged 64.

Scott and his guitarist brother Ron Asheton were members of the influential protopunk band along with frontman Iggy Pop.

The drummer passed away on Saturday (March 15) of undisclosed causes, five years after the death of his brother Ron.

He was remembered as "a great artist" by bandmate Pop in a statement released today (March 16).

Pop wrote on Facebook: "My dear friend Scott Asheton passed away last night. Scott was a great artist, I have never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton.

"He was like my brother. He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Asheton's have always been and continue to be a second family to me.

"My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life."

The Ashetons formed The...

Nashville, Tenn. (AP) — When Iggy & the Stooges broke up in 1974, almost no one who'd heard of the band had actually heard it.

More than 40 years later, Iggy Pop's band has a new album "Ready to Die," a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and growing reverence for its place in music history. It's one of rock's stranger success stories, but what do you expect when it comes to Iggy Pop and the proto-punk band everybody used to hate, but really loved?

"It's true, it's a funny arc with us," Pop said in a phone interview last week. "That is the way it is, actually, in all the various numerical yardsticks of all this crud — it's bigger than it was. We have the advantage that it was so tiny when we started. It was really really tiny in numerical scope, but it's grown and all those old...

When guitarist James Williamson left Iggy and the Stooges in the mid-70s, he never thought he’d reunite with charismatic front man Iggy Pop and drummer Scott Asheton, but following bassist/guitarist Ron Asheton’s death in 2009, Iggy called Williamson and asked him to rejoin the band. “They were fresh out of Stooges,” Williamson grimly jokes. Post-Stooges, Williamson, who called Iggy “Ig,” had become an electrical engineer and was Sony’s VP of Technology Standards. Though he initially declined the offer, he eventually said yes and has been touring with the Stooges again since the fall of 2009. Williamson produced Iggy & The Stooges’ ...

The "Ron Asheton Tribute Concert with Iggy & the Stooges + Special Guests", dedicated to the late Stooges guitarist, recorded live at Detroit's Michigan Theater, will be available on DVD in North America, June 4, 2013 :

"...this heartfelt tribute/celebration of Stooges' guitarist Ron Asheton's life and music features 'Iggy and the Stooges', Henry Rollins and guest guitarist Deniz Tek.

"All profits from this DVD sale will go to the 'Ron Asheton Foundation' which supports animal welfare and music.

"Before 1700 fans, Iggy performs a full-on 'Stooges' performance with co-founder, drummer Scott Asheton, 'Raw Power' guitarist James Williamson, saxophonist Steve Mackay and bassist Mike Watt.

"Shirtless and manic as always, even two days before his 64th birthday, it didn't take Iggy long to turn the theater to bedlam.

"Following pulverizing renditions of 'Raw Power','Search and Destroy' and 'Gimme Danger', Iggy brought fans up on stage for 'Shake Appeal', followed by 'Beyond the Law',...

Though The Stooges put out a middling record, The Weirdness, just six years ago, the last album billed as "Iggy And The Stooges"—complete with guitarist James Williamson—was 1973’s Raw Power. All that changes this April 30 with Ready To Die, the group’s first record under that name in 40 years. Ready To Die—a title that's sure to cause a lot of misheard "Biggie/Iggy" confusion for years to come—finds Williamson reunited with Iggy Pop and drummer Scott “Rock Action” Asheton, with Minuteman Mike Watt filling in for the late Ron Asheton on bass ...

Henry Rollins is trending bigtime. Following two months on the road . marking his latest birthday with the recently wrapped, (50 tour) Rollins is set for a slew of appearances on television and on stage, including a guest spot on the new NBC sitcom The Paul Reiser Show tonight, Thursday (4/21) at 8:30pm and the premiere of Nat Geo Wild.s Snake Underworld on April 29. Henry performed and served as emcee at an April 19 event in Ann Arbor, Mi remembering late Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton . and featuring Iggy & the Stooges . to benefit Ron Asheton Foundation (www.ronashetonfoundation.org). Tasked with .summarizing Ron.s impact on the Stooges and rock .n. roll music in general with respect,...

The punk icon, Iggy Pop and his reunited group, The Stooges performed at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater to honour the memory of Ron Asheton, who suffered a heart attack and died at his home in the city in January, 2009.

And, amid the mayhem of The Stooges show, Iggy Pop took a moment to personally honour his late friend.

He told the crowd, "I need to thank Ron. He sort of peed this beautiful music all over me. When I started a band Ron was the first guy who got behind me. I owe him... I know he's trying to flick ashes on my head from heaven right now."

He then performed a new The Stooges song, "Ron's Tune", written by the guitarist's one-time Stooges replacement James Williamson.

Another punk icon, Henry Rollins, hosted the tribute and called Asheton "a peerless guitar player... and a brilliant bass player as well."

Rollins...

Downtown Waterloo, Ontario. At night. A night unfinished. The previous evening I had spoken at a conference about analog nostalgia in the digital aage. I brought a turntable with me from Michigan. And one single to play: “You’re Gonna Die” (1978) by the Ann Arbor/Detroit post-punk art band Destroy All Monsters, featuring Ron Asheton on guitar. At the border crossing entering Canada at Port Huron, I was asked a series of questions about the reasons for my visit to Canada. I answered in ways that made the guard skeptical, and I was told to go directly to Immigration. There, a smooth-faced Canadian in a bulletproof vest asked me a series of questions about myself. The fluorescent lights flickered. My knee locked up on me. I felt guilty for crimes I had not committed. I was nervous about my presentation that night. I had Bufferins in my pocket. I worried that…...

Photo by Hamish Robertson.It’s a good time to be Iggy Pop. After years of being spat on, sometimes literally, he and the Stooges are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with deluxe reissues of their classic albums and a tour that’s taking them all the way from Carnegie Hall to Moscow’s Milk Club. Obviously, there have been ups and downs—the worst of which was the death of original guitarist Ron Asheton last January—but for the most part Pop seems to be enjoying life as an elder statesman, or, as some would have it, the “Godfather of Punk.” In this post-cd era, where most musicians see sponsorship deals as a legitimate way to compensate for their loss of album-sales income, Pop has pursued a pretty respectable path. He’s not dancing with the stars, but he did create an amazing ad with a New...

Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, the Hollies also inducted in show featuring Phish, Green Day and more.

By James Montgomery

The Stooges' Iggy Pop performs with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong at the 25th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Photo: Michael Loccisano/ Getty Images

New York — It opened with a Phish show, nearly exploded into a (very well-heeled) proto-punk riot, got giddy on a fix of sunshiny Swedish pop, and finally wrapped up with a '50's-tinged tribute. It was the 25th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, back in NYC after a one-year sojourn in Cleveland (where the titular hall actually exists). And while it may have been lacking the star power of previous years' ceremonies — Eminem and Metallica in 2009, Madonna and Justin Timberlake in '08 — it certainly showcased the breadth and depth of this thing we call rock music.

Abba, Genesis, the Stooges,...

Iggy Pop has suggested that he may record brand new material with the recently reformed Raw Power-era Stooges. The singer told Billboard that he hopes to work with guitarist James Williamson and the other surviving members of the group for the next three years. Pop reformed the band's original lineup for a number of gigs in 2003 and studio LP The Weirdness. Following guitarist Ron Asheton's death last year, Pop confirmed plans to reunite with Williamson, who joined the group for 1973's Raw Power LP. He said: "We'll give it a good, sharp poke for the next three years and then step back and see where we are, see what we can do with it after that. "After that we should step back and pick (more)...

In the midst of celebrating all of the great things that happened in 2009 and anticipating all of the brilliance that is sure to be delivered in 2010, we also have to take a look back at the stars we lost in 2009. As Skillz noted in his annual year-end "Rap Up" track, it seemed like every other day delivered a story about the passing of a beloved celebrity — sometimes tragically. Just yesterday, we learned of the death of Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan at 28. Elsewhere in the rock world, we lost legendary Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Billy Powell, guitar guru Les Paul and DJs Grand Master Roc Raida and Mr. Magic.

In Hollywood, actress Brittany Murphy — who starred in some of the most definitive youth movies of the past 15 years — passed away only a few weeks ago. Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze both died after prolonged battles with illness,...

Punk godfather Iggy Pop, once known for his tumultuous life, dangerous stage antics and ruthless behavior off the stage, has bid farewell to thrashing guitars and mutilating his body. After all, the man born James Newell Osterberg, Jr. is now 62, and along with mourning the loss of his close friend, Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, Osterberg is also transitioning into the birth of a new genre of music. On June 2, he released a solo jazz-influenced album, Préliminaires (the title is French for "foreplay"). In a video interview originally posted on IggyPop.org, he explains that he decided to record the album because he was, "sick of listening to guitar bands.” In the video, Osterberg is sitting poolside outside his home in sunny Miami, with a fluffy white dog by his side. Explaining one of the songs on the album, "King Of The Dogs," he states, “It’s about just how cool...

Rock Iguana back with decidedly un-Stooges outing

From the sound of his latest (the Ig’s 15th solo joint in a musical career dating back to The Stooges’ late-’60s proto-punk), James Osterberg Jr. desperately wants to do something other than rock your world. He’s on something of a death trip, possibly brought on by the untimely passing of his longtime friend/bandmate Ron Asheton earlier this year. Préliminaires—translated as “foreplay” in French—is score music inspired by Michel Houellebecq’s 2005 post-apocalyptic novel The Possibility of an Island, a bleakly existential work that maps Iggy’s current worldview, one he’s said has him “sick of listening to idiot thugs with guitars banging out crappy music.” As such, the Ig’s latest ranges from New Orleans Dixieland to quiet bossa-nova ballads, all rendered in his deepest croon, the sort of voice he once applied to “China Girl” and...

Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones could replace the late Ron Asheton in The Stooges, it has emerged. Asheton died earlier this year at the age of 60, seemingly cutting short the band's reunion. The Stooges first split in 1974 but reformed in 2003 to play on Iggy Pop's Skull Ring LP. The band released their own comeback album The Weirdness in 2007 and played (more)...

The music world lost a legend on Monday. Ron Asheton, the guitarist from renowned band The Stooges fronted by Iggy Pop, has died. He was sixty years old.According to the Ann Arbor News, Asheton's assistant contacted the police on Monday, having not been able to reach her boss for days. When police officers arrived at Asheton's home, they found him dead on his living room couch. He appeared to have been deceased for several days. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but officers do not suspect foul play.During an interview in 2007, shortly after The Stooges had reunited to record an album for the first time in over thirty ye ...

Ron Asheton, the guitarist and founding member of the Stooges, was found dead this morning. The 60-year-old's body was discovered by police at his Ann Arbor, Michigan home after his personal assistant reported that she had not been able to contact him for days. No cause of death has been confirmed but early reports suggest that Asheton suffered a heart attack. Detective Bill Stanford told Michigan Live that the rocker's (more)...

Update: The Stooges have released the following statement via IggyPop.com:

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We are shocked and shaken by the news of Ron’s death. He was a great friend, brother, musician, trooper. Irreplaceable. He will be missed.

For all that knew him behind the façade of Mr Cool & Quirky, he was a kind-hearted, genuine, warm person who always believed that people meant well even if they did not.

As a musician Ron was The Guitar God, idol to follow and inspire others. That is how he will be remembered by people who had a great pleasure to work with him, learn from him and share good and bad times with him.

Iggy, Scott, Steve, Mike and Crew

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I am in shock. He was my best friend.

Iggy Pop

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According to various reports, Ron Asheton, guitarist and founding member of The Stooges, was found dead today in his Ann Arbor,...