Information AboutThe Stooges |
The Stooges are an American Rock band that was first active from 1967 to 1974 , and then reformed in 2003 . The Stooges sold few records in their original existence and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences. Nevertheless, The Stooges are often regarded as hugely influential in both the Heavy Metal and Punk Rock genres. Singer Iggy Pop and his wild onstage antics were often the main focus of attention. HISTORY Formation Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played drums in several Ann Arbor, Michigan -area bands as a teenager, including The Iguanas and later The Prime Movers . The Prime Movers nicknamed Osterberg 'Iggy' in reference to his earlier bandCliff Jones & Paul Trynka ''Whatever Turns You On'' Mojo #29, April 1996. Osterberg was first inspired to form The Stooges after meeting blues drummer Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. He returned to Detroit with the idea that simply copying established blues performers wasn't enough — he wanted to create a whole new form of blues music. Brothers Ron ( Guitar ) and Scott Asheton ( Drum s), along with their friend Dave Alexander ( Bass Guitar ) rounded out the rest of the band, with Osterberg taking vocal duties. The three nicknamed Osterberg 'Pop' after a local character who Osterberg resembledPaul Trynka''Meet Ze Monster'' Mojo #161, April 2007. Shortly after witnessing a MC5 concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop , a name that he has used ever since. The band's debut was at a Halloween concert at the University Of Michigan in 1967. They did not play live again until March 1968. During this early period, The Stooges were originally billed as the "Psychedelic Stooges" at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan and other venues, where they played with the MC5 and others. The group's early sound was very different from their later music; critic Edwin Pouncey writes, :The Stooges' early musical experiments were more avant garde than punk rock, with Iggy incorporating such household objects as a meets Sun Ra , from ''The Wire'' Issue 136, June 1995, URL accessed February 3, 2007 Commercial struggles The Stooges soon gained a reputation for their wild, primitive live performances. Iggy, especially, won fame for acting crazy onstage—smearing his naked chest with hamburger meat and peanut butter, cutting himself with shards of glass, and flashing his genitalia to the audience. At one concert, he played a vacuum cleaner like a musical instrument. Iggy is also sometimes credited with the invention or popularization of Stage Diving . In 1968, The Stooges were signed by Elektra Records , who had sent a scout named Danny Fields to see the MC5. He wound up signing both acts. (Fields would later go on to discover and manage The Ramones .) 1969 saw the release of their self-titled debut album '' The Stooges '', but it did not sell very well, nor was it well received by critics at the time. Legend has it that half of the album was written the night before the first session, which was produced by former Velvet Underground member John Cale . A second album, '' Fun House '', followed in 1970. Many consider '' Fun House '' to be the best representation of The Stooges, as the main goal of the album was to capture the manic energy of their live performances. On June 13 of that year, television captured footage of the band at the Cincinnati Pop Festival. While performing the songs TV Eye and 1970, Iggy leapt into the crowd, where he was hoisted up on people's hands, and proceeded to smear peanut butter all over his chest. It has since become an iconic rock image. '' Jack White interview with Iggy Pop Mojo #199 October 2003 and James Recca . Around this time, the band expanded their line-up, adding saxophonist Steve MacKay and then a second guitar player, roadie Billy Cheatham . Cheatham was quickly replaced by James Williamson . At this point, The Stooges (with the notable exception of Ron AshetonPaul Trynka ''Night Of The Iguana'' Mojo #78, May 2000) had all become serious heroin users, with Iggy being the worst example. The drug was introduced to the band by new manager John Adams. Their performances became even more unpredictable, and Iggy often had trouble standing up on stage due to his extreme drug abuse. Elektra soon (July 1971) dropped The Stooges from its lineup, and the band went on hiatus for several months. The final line-up was Iggy Pop, the Asheton brothers, Jimmy Recca and James Williamson. Back in action With the band in limbo, Iggy met David Bowie in September 1971 and the pair became good friends. Bowie, then at the height of his Ziggy Stardust -era fame, brought Pop and Williamson to the UK, and got them a deal with Columbia Records . The pair attempted to reconstitute The Stooges with British musicians, but finding nobody suitable, brought the Asheton brothers back into the band (this "second choice" decision rankled with Ron Asheton, as did his demotion from guitar to bass). This line-up, billed as "Iggy & The Stooges", recorded their third album, the massively influential '' Raw Power '' (1973), which Bowie mixed. This album would go on to become one of the cornerstones of early Punk Rock , although the album sold rather poorly, and was regarded as a commercial failure at the time of its release. The Stooges end again Now augmented by a piano player (briefly Bob Scheff and then Scott Thurston ) The Stooges toured for several months before disbanding in February 1974 as a result of Iggy's ever-present heroin addiction. The band's last-ever performance was captured on the classic live album '' Metallic K.O. ''. After going through rehab, Pop began a solo career in 1976 (most influentially with the albums '' The Idiot '' and '' Lust For Life ''). In March of 1977, Pop toured with a backing band consisting of David Bowie (keyboards), Ricky Gardiner (guitar), and brothers Tony Sales (bass) and Hunt Sales (drums), sons of Soupy Sales . The Asheton brothers formed a band named New Order (not to be confused with the English Band Of The Same Name ), which quickly fell apart. Ron Asheton later joined Destroy All Monsters , while Williamson worked with Iggy as a producer and engineer during his early solo career. Dave Alexander died of Pancreatitis in 1975 . Recorded output Other than the three studio albums, the only other music released during the original band's line-up was a different single version of "Down On The Street". This was the '' Funhouse '' version of the song with an organ overdub, and the original running time of 3 minutes and 43 seconds edited down to 2 minutes and 43 seconds. The bulk of the extra material comes from the "Raw Power" era and has been subsequently released by budget labels and comprise live recordings and rehearsals. Although the sound quality is inferior, fans consider the songs to be as essential to the band's history as the three studio albums. These songs include:
Reunion The Stooges reunited in 2003, appearing on the '''';--> On December 11 , 2006, the final album title of '' The Weirdness '' was announced after the album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, England . Reissues On August 16 , 2005 , Elektra Records and Rhino Records issued newly remastered 2-CD editions of the first two Stooges albums, featuring the original album on disc one and outtakes (including alternate mixes, single versions, etc.) on disc two. Unlike the Raw Power reissue these remasters stayed completely faithful to the original mixes. Live again The Stooges played three dates in August 2005. The first of which at Leeds festival, on Friday the 28th. This was followed by a date at Reading Festival on Sunday 29th, to which the crowd shouted "Iggy" repeatedly, even non-fans joining at his wild stage antics. This included pretending to make love to a guitar amplifier and climbing down off stage and shaking hands with members of the audience. The next date on August 30 , 2005 , The Stooges played a special one-off show at London's Hammersmith Apollo (their first London performance since 1972, and only their second London show ever) performing their entire ''Fun House'' album in chronological order followed by songs from the first album and '' Skull Ring ''. The show, which was the first in the All Tomorrow's Parties -organised "Don't Look Back" concert series, sold out well in advance and was rapturously received by the music press and the fans—which incidentally invaded the stage—alike. In September of that same year, The Stooges were nominated yet again to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame . The Stooges have been nominated six times for the Hall of Fame, but have yet to receive the requisite number of votes to be inducted.1 In January 2006, Iggy and the Stooges toured Australia and New Zealand for the Big Day Out music festival. They have also played in festivals through Europe and South America. In December 2006 Iggy and the Stooges co-headlined the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Minehead with Sonic Youth and the MC5 . On February 3 , 2007 , they played at the wedding of Bam Margera and Missy Rothstein (now Margera). Beginning in March 2007, The Stooges are set to play a couple of festivals (incl. Electric Picnic, Ireland) and a ten-city U.S. tour in April. Bassist Mike Watt told ''Bass Player'' magazine that he expects most of his 2007 to be dominated by Stooges duties, suggesting that more tour dates in the U.S. and elsewhere are in the planning stages. In April 2007, The Stooges celebrated Pop's 60th birthday on the stage of San Francisco's Warfield theater. In May 2007 they played in Memphis,Tennessee at the Beale Street Music Festival. On August 5th, 2007, Iggy and the Stooges played the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, IL. Highlights of the set include "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "No Fun" where Iggy incites a near riot by inviting the crowd onto the stage. A biopic entitled The Passenger is currently in the works chronicling both Iggy and The Stooges entire career, Elijah Wood is cast to play Iggy Pop. {Link without Title} The Stooges played at the Glastonbury Festival on 23 June 2007. The performance ended with a stage invasion when Pop invited the audience up onto the stage to sing and dance along with "Real Cool Time".http://www.nme.com/news/glastonbury/29185 The crowd increased in size as Pop performed "No Fun". It took some time before the crowd was cleared and the performance was able to continue, but there was no crowd trouble reported. INFLUENCE
''Get In The Van: On The Road With Black Flag'', he would also declare of ''Fun House'', "Everybody should own a copy of that album."
an altered title ("I'm Gonna Be Your God") for their Hardcore cover album '' Undisputed Attitude ''.
BAND MEMBERS Current lineup
Former members
DISCOGRAPHY Albums Official studio albums |
Image:StoogesFunHousejpg<center>'''''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Fun_House_(album)" class="copylinks">Fun House '''''<br><center> (Elektra, July 1970, remastered, expanded, and reissued by Rhino/Elektra, 2005)<center> |
|
Image:StoogesRawPowerjpg<center>'''''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Raw_Power" class="copylinks">Raw Power '''''<br><center> ( Columbia , February 1973, remixed by Iggy Pop and reissued by Legacy/Columbia , 1998)<center> |
|
Image:Stooges Weirdnessgif<center>'''''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/The_Weirdness" class="copylinks">The Weirdness '''''</br><center> (Virgin, CD released March 6, 2007 - LP released March 20, 2007)</center> |
|
|
|