Meanwhile, back at ATP

It's been quiet around here but we've been busy, not sleeping, and when fellow fan Rohan Sullivan sent this link to a New York Times review of Iggy & The Stooges, Mudhoney and the Scientists (there's a triple whammy) at ATP in upstate New York last weekend, well what's a poor boy going to do?

My only regret is that the Times has done away with its stylistic kink of referring to everyone mentioned in its pages as "Mr" (even scumbag rock and rollers.) Reading a review of the performance of a certain "Mr Pop" would have been extra cool.

The I-94 Bar is anticipating the arrival of a review of the ATP shebang in the near future. (You on the line, TJ?)

The Village Stooges

You'd have to be a village idiot not to laugh out loud at this one. James Williamson of Iggy & The Stooges posted this on Facebook:

Ok, this is the last straw....Mike Watt our bass player writes a blog/diary of all his random thoughts and experiences as filtered through his unusual consciousness....well he's gone too far now...he made the comment that I had tried to force him to wear a "wife beater" t-shirt....and additionally had forced him to shave off his moustace....I just want to set the record straight that I never told him anything of the sort...He was wearing a flannel shirt in 100+ degree heat in St. Petersburg and I simply suggested that he'd be more comfortable in something like a t-shirt and one of the other guys suggested a wife beater.....anyway, not they are running with the "James is trying to turn the Stooges into the Village People theme....this photo is the latest....revenge will be sweet.

King of Men spruiks for the Stooges

You see some lame online promotions and you see some winners. This concept is pretty cool (and I'm not saying that because it involves Handsome Dick Manitoba and Iggy % the Stooges.

The idea is simple (the best ones usually are): Film a clip of yourself asking a question of Iggy & the Stooges about the "Raw Power" album. The best will feature in a documentary which, at a guess, would be all about the band's forthcoming All Tomorrow's Parties gig in upstate New York in September.

Here's HDH hisself, doing the pitch from his bar in Manhattan:

More details here.

Adventures of Watt are a Hoot

Ex-Minutemen and now Stooges bassist Mike Watt is one of rock and roll's coolest gentlemen. We've corresponded over the Inetrnerd and met once, amid noisy and hectic circumstances at a makeshift gig in Sydney a few years ago. He was playing bass with a couple of local kids from a punk band called Gallucci in a Mexican restaurant.

The place was packed (it was the eve of the Stooges' Big Day Out show and this was an unannounced gig.) The show - a bunch of Stoioges classics with Steve Mackay adding sax - was done on the fly with little rehearsal, but Gallucci's star bassist Watt was the glue. He worked with his temporary bandmates to hold it together.

Offstage, Watt had no bullshit about him either - despite all he's done. Humility is his middle name. I wish we'd had time for a proper chat. In the end, I was honoured to buy him a couple of beers.

Watt's commitment to his music and the people around him is legendary. So is his blog, Hootpage.

If you're a fan of the Stooges you should hop over to Hootpage to read his tour diary. It's full of Watt's idiosyncratic and colourful personal language and self-deprecating humour. His podcast interview with James Williamson is worth the download, too.

Hall of Lame: Final Thoughts

Let's bask in the reflected glory of the Stooges' induction one more time and consider some news that recently popped up. A read of The Hounbdblog's latest entry reminded me that I'd seen these kernels a few days ago on the unofficial Stooges forum:

1. Rhino Handmade will be issuing the first Stooges LP with more alternate takes and the unheard song "Asthma Attack". Twenty six tracks, it's said.

2. The same label has a Live at Ugano's tape in their possession.

I'll let The Houndblog have the last word on the Hall of Lame broadcast. I watched a download but he got to watch it with Danny Fields.

The Good Guys win

Yes, I do want a limited edition deluxe version of the Raw Power re-issue

At $A67 it seems like a reasonable deal. All those bonuses. But there's a sting in the tail and you don't get to know about it until your're 90 percent through the order process. Sixty bucks shipping to Australia? Don;t worry folks, there will be a "budget edition" and it's going to set you back considerably less on Amazon.

How to Fix The Hall of Lame

That's the title of this thoughtful Village Voice piece. As the Voice notes, it's all about context.

The committee picking inductees does itself no service with some bizarre omissions and downright lame inclusions. Do you want them spelt out?

Meanwhile, the Stooges are about to be inducted. Don't care? The Ig remains sceptical - understandably so after seven unsuccessful shots. As Stoogeologist and ace photographer Robert Matheu said in an email yesterday, en route to the ceremony: "Having the Stooges in gives them some credibility now- you can quote me on that!"

Raw Power on Aussie breakfast TV

Did anyone see media whore/breakfast TV weatherman Grant Denyer on Sunrise yesterday wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Mick Rock's Iggy shot from the cover of "Raw Power"? It looked like a designer knock-off (read: bootleg) and I'll bet my right one that the clueless celebrity has no idea.

When too much Raw Power is never enough

April 27 needs to be marked in your diary. Here's why:

RAW POWER: LEGACY EDITION by IGGY AND THE STOOGES
(Columbia/Legacy 88697 56149 2)

Disc One: RAW POWER (recorded September-October 1972, originally issued February 1973, as Columbia 32111) Selections: 1. Search And Destroy • 2. Gimme Danger • 3. Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell • 4. Penetration • 5. Raw Power • 6. I Need Somebody • 7. Shake Appeal • 8. Death Trip.

Disc Two: “Georgia Peaches” (Live At Richards, Atlanta, Georgia, October 1973, all tracks previously unreleased) Selections: 1. Introduction • 2. Raw Power • 3. Head On • 4. Gimme Danger • 5. Search And Destroy • 6. I Need Somebody • 7. Heavy Liquid • 8. Cock In My Pocket • 9. Open Up And Bleed • Bonus tracks: 10. Doojiman (previously unreleased outtake from Raw Power sessions, 1972) • 11. Head On (previously unreleased CBS Studio rehearsal performance, New York City, 1973).
__________________________________________________________________

RAW POWER: DELUXE EDITION by IGGY AND THE STOOGES
(Columbia/Legacy 88697 65714 2)

Disc One: RAW POWER (recorded September-October 1972, originally issued February 1973, as Columbia 32111) Selections: 1. Search And Destroy • 2. Gimme Danger • 3. Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell • 4. Penetration • 5. Raw Power • 6. I Need Somebody • 7. Shake Appeal • 8. Death Trip.

Disc Two: “Georgia Peaches” (Live At Richards, Atlanta, Georgia, October 1973, all tracks previously unreleased) Selections: 1. Introduction • 2. Raw Power • 3. Head On • 4. Gimme Danger • 5. Search And Destroy • 6. I Need Somebody • 7. Heavy Liquid • 8. Cock In My Pocket • 9. Open Up And Bleed • Bonus tracks: 10. Doojiman (previously unreleased outtake from Raw Power sessions, 1972) • 11. Head On (previously unreleased CBS Studio rehearsal performance, New York City, 1973).

Disc Three: Rarities, Outtakes, & Alternates from the Raw Power Era Selections: 1. I’m Hungry (outtake from Raw Power sessions) • 2. I Got A Right (outtake from an early aborted Raw Power session) • 3. I’m Sick Of You (outtake from an early aborted Raw Power session) • 4. Hey, Peter (out¬take from Raw Power sessions) • 5. Shake Appeal (alternate mix version from recently discovered alternate mix reels, “The Embassy Reels”) • 6. Death Trip (alternate mix version from recently discovered alternate mix reels, “The Embassy Reels”) • 7. Gimme Danger (alternate mix from the 1996 Iggy “violent” remixes) • 8. Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell (alternate mix from the 1996 Iggy “violent” remixes). (All tracks previously unreleased except tracks 3, 7, and 8.)

Disc Four: DVD – The Making Of Raw Power, produced and directed by Morgan Neville (featuring interviews with Iggy Pop, James Williamson, Scott Asheton, Mike Watt, Johnny Marr, and Henry Rollins; plus performance footage from James Williamson’s first reunion concert with Iggy and the Stooges, at Festival Planeta Terra, São Paulo, Brazil, November 2009).

Bonus Japanese 7-inch 45 rpm single reproduction: Side One – “Raw Power” b/w Side Two – “Search And Destroy”


So...the original mix - finally mastered to CD properly, I'd guess - plus a stack more good stuff. Fifteen previously unheard tracks. Smart people would bookmark this site. That would be you?

Spun out

If the normally unreadable Spin magazine is going to claim to be relevant and review the return of the Stooges, you'd think they'd get some basic facts right. Like Ron Asheton being the original Stooges guitarist. A breath-taking faux pas. Don't forget to read the understandably irate comments - one of the posters appears to be the late Ron's sister Kathy.

All I want for Xmas...

...is an air ticket. That's not too much to ask, is it?

I would like the band (Iggy and the Stooges, that is) to refrain from playing Ig's solo stuff. As much as Strait James had a hand in "New Values" as producer and all, this is a Stooges show and they should perform Stooges songs. The insertion of "The Passenger" et al into their set in Brazil last month just didn't fit, after listening to a shoddy MP3 audio download of the gig.

Xmas comes early...and it's Hard To Beat

In the shape of Santa suit-wearing Stooges cover band The Scrooges:

Wanda is Jack's Fujiyama Grandmama

Rockabilly queen and ex-Elvis squeeze Wanda Jackson teaming with producer Jack White? There have been stranger combos. Initially, it's for a digital single, so both are probably giving things a try before they buy. More about this here.

There are still people kicking around "what if" regarding White's failure to get the Stooges production job for what was "The Weirdness". Speculation of course, but who's going to help the reformed-again band cut an album this time out? James and Ig seem keen to do something.

(There! I knew I could turn a rockabilly post into a Stooges one.)

Mike Watt correction

I mis-labelled Watt's bass in a recent post about him honouring fallen Stooge Ron Asheton by applying the guitarist's photo to his instrument (aka the Thud Stick.) Herewith a message from the Man:

barman,

you are very kind, thank you.

I have to tell you though that bass in the picture is a gibson! sorry.
I use a 1965 gibson eb-0 w/the stooges. I removed the original pickup
and added two rio grande pit bull pickups to replace it.

big respect to ron asheton.

thank you again.

on bass, watt

Stooges Go Nuts in Brazil

Here's the set list for the return of the Raw Power Stooges at the Terra Festival in Brazil:

Raw Power
Kill City
Search & Destroy
Gimme Danger
Loose
Fun House
Skull Ring
Johanna
I Got A Right
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Five Foot One
The Passenger
Death Trip
Lust For Life

James Williamson was, of course, back on guitar and Steve Mackay remains in the line-up. From the lo-fi bit I'm hearing, "The Passenger" was a sax-enhanced re-working.

Thanks to Cathy Benson-Burke, first with the news, as usual.

STOP PRESS: Here's some YouTube taken from the broadcast. Sounds great and I can't wait to watch the whole thing but a second guitar would make James' job a lot easier:

Rock and Roll's Turin Shroud

You know what it is and who originally wore it. Long John Gone owns it these days. Read all about it here.

The "Raw Power" Stooges are about to play a festival in Brazil as i type. More on that event as news comes to hand.

New photo of secret 1970 UK Stooges gig

While our 2007 posting of previously unseen 1971 Stooges photos caused a stir, we've unearthed another gem - courtesy of UK label Easy Action and Stooges Fan Club president Natalie Schlossman. Natalie found this stunning evidence of the Stooges playing a secret 1970 show at Wakefield Workingman's Club in the UK - two years PRIOR to their infamous London gig immortalised by photographer Mick Rock on the cover of "Raw Power." We now await Easy Action's CD from a tape of that Wakefield gig.

1971

We'll get to reviewing the "1971" Stooges disc set on Easy Action in a week or so but here's some blather from Blog To Comm.

The always erudite Houndblog proffers opinion here.

Stooges will take Manhattan (or somewhere close by)

The Stooges dates start being thrown out there. ATP in NYC has them according to this.