Stooges fans upset at the passing of founding guitarist Ron Asheton will get the next best thing. James Williamson, who played guitar on the opus Raw Power, will replace him, according to Rolling Stone. Williamson, who has been a software developer in the Silicon Valley, was recently talked into re-joining the band by Iggy Pop, and new music may even be a possibility.
“He asked me if I wanted to play guitar again,” says Williamson, who hasn’t performed a single gig since the Stooges dissolved in 1974. “I was about to take an early retirement from my job in Silicon Valley, so I figured ‘what the hell, let’s do it.’ ”
The only show on the books now is the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival on May 2 and 3rd of next year, but Williamson says many more are coming. He also hopes to write new material with Iggy. “The two of us have a long history of writing new tunes,” he says. “It’s probably a safe bet we will at some point.”
The big debate among Stooges fans and rock fans in general is which Stooges album had a bigger effect on punk rock, the sludgy Fun House or the crash and burn of Raw Power. Asheton played thumping, sludgy, and dirty guitar on The Stooges and Fun House, while Williamson’s style was closer to what the Ramones and Sex Pistols would later do, more driving and chaotic than Asheton’s tighter riffing.
The idea of new music with the Stooges is intriguing. Iggy’s recent solo stuff is quite eclectic, so it seems that he is due to rock out some more with his old bandmates.
“He asked me if I wanted to play guitar again,” says Williamson, who hasn’t performed a single gig since the Stooges dissolved in 1974. “I was about to take an early retirement from my job in Silicon Valley, so I figured ‘what the hell, let’s do it.’ ”
The only show on the books now is the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival on May 2 and 3rd of next year, but Williamson says many more are coming. He also hopes to write new material with Iggy. “The two of us have a long history of writing new tunes,” he says. “It’s probably a safe bet we will at some point.”
The big debate among Stooges fans and rock fans in general is which Stooges album had a bigger effect on punk rock, the sludgy Fun House or the crash and burn of Raw Power. Asheton played thumping, sludgy, and dirty guitar on The Stooges and Fun House, while Williamson’s style was closer to what the Ramones and Sex Pistols would later do, more driving and chaotic than Asheton’s tighter riffing.
The idea of new music with the Stooges is intriguing. Iggy’s recent solo stuff is quite eclectic, so it seems that he is due to rock out some more with his old bandmates.
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