IN MEMORIAM: Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
When you’re a music lover, waking up one morning or turning on your TV or computer to find out one of your heroes is dead is always a terrible thing to have to endure. I went through it with John Lennon in 1980, D. Boon in 1985, Frank Zappa in 1993, Kurt Cobain in 1994, Joey Ramone in 2000 (with DeeDee and Johnny following him in subsequent years), Lisa Lopes in 2002, Johnny Cash in 2003, and now Ron Asheton of The Stooges today.
Anybody who knows me well knows that The Stooges, along with Morning Musume, are my top favorite bands. When the release date of The Stooges’ first album in over thirty years, The Weirdness, was approaching (along with their subsequent American tour), MotokoAoyama.com v.1 held a Stooges Watch. Witnessing the Stooges blow the roof off of the Electric Factory on April 11, 2007, was the greatest concert I have ever witnessed in my 41 years.
When D. Boon and Lisa Lopes were prematurely taken from us, I was beyond saddened as I loved both musicians and their respective bands, and their untimely demises (both resulting from auto accidents) ended any chance I would have of actually seeing The Minutemen or TLC perform live – and I had missed a couple of opportunities with both bands. While Ron Asheton’s sudden passing – said to be of a heart attack – is also a great loss for rock and roll, the pain I personally feel is not as extreme because I was fortunate to see them live, just as I would later be fortunate, thanks to my fiancee, to be handed a guitar signed by Ron, Iggy Pop and Ron’s brother Scott on Christmas Day 2007.
Ron, thank you and rest in peace. You will not be forgotten. While you’re reuniting with your long-lost Stooge brother Dave Alexander (original bassist on the band’s first album and Fun House), say hello to D., Lisa, Joey, DeeDee and Johnny for me.
