Ron Asheton (1948 - 2009), Mike Kelley (1954 - 2012) & Michael Davis (1943 - 2012)

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Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton and his drummer brother Scott formed the Stooges in 1967. Amid a music scene that also reared acts like Bob Seger and the MC5, the Stooges stood out for their reckless abandon, theatrics and pummeling style, a clear precursor for punk and alternative rock. Asheton's riffs were at the heart of classic Stooges tracks such as "No Fun" and "1969." And while albums such as "Fun House" and "Raw Power" would later be viewed as some of the most influential of the era, the band never enjoyed commercial success at the time, eventually splitting up in 1974. After nearly three decades of inactivity, the Stooges reunited in 2003, with Mike Watt filling in on bass for the late Dave Alexander, and toured frequently in recent years.
                                                                                                                                               
 

Michael Davis was the bassist for the politically-charged proto-punk band MC5. Davis had been studying fine art at Wayne State University in Michigan when the Detroit-based MC5 recruited him in 1964. He promptly dropped out of art school to join the band. MC5 were soon taken under the wing of poet John Sinclair, whose affiliation with the radical-leftist anti-racist White Panther Party galvanized the band’s political energies. Kick Out the Jams, the first of the band’s three albums, was released by Elektra Records in 1969.

After MC5 split up in 1972, Davis went on to form the band Destroy All Monsters with Ron Ashton of the Stooges. He would later join MC5 again when they reunited for a tour in 2004. Davis also co-founded the non-profit Music is Revolution Foundation, which supports music education in public schools.

                                                                                                                                             

Destroy All Monsters (sometimes rendered DAM) is an Ann Arbor, Michigan musical group formed by four artist friends in 1973.Their music touched on elements of punk rock, psychedelic, heavy metal music and noise rock with a heavy dose of performance art. Their name has sometimes thought to have came from a Godzilla movie, but it could also have come from a comic book with the same title. They described their music as anti-rock.
Destroy All Monsters never found mainstream success, but earned some notoriety due to members of notable rock groups The Stooges and MC5 who joined the group. Although Destroy All Monsters never recorded a proper album, Sonic Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore released a three compact disc compilation of the groups music in 1994. Formed in 1973, the first edition of Destroy All Monsters was formed by University of Michigan art students Mike Kelley (1954 - 2012), Jim Shaw, Niagara and filmmaker Cary Loren. They performed in the Ann Arbor area from 1973-1976, and their only release was a one-hour cassette of their recordings available only through Lightworks magazine. Their early music was Influenced by Sun Ra, Velvet Underground, monster movies, beat culture and futurism their sound was experimental, psychedelic, darkly humorous and droning.
 

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For more of Ron Asheton - Check out Iggy and the Stooges: Escaped Maniacs

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Mike Watt, bassist for punk groups the Minutemen and Firehose, was invited in 2003 by Iggy Pop to join the Stooges when the seminal Michigan band reunited for its first performance in nearly 30 years at the Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival. He continued to perform and record as a Stooge for the next 5 1/2 years alongside founding member Ron Asheton.

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