He had a beautiful set of fingers and a wonderful touch on his instrument.
RAW POWER ALBUM FULL
So I asked him to throw in a variation for my tag line, and to begin the number in the style of John Lee Hooker, an artist we both liked, playing the single notes against a one string drone, blues style, before letting it build up to full sonics. I thought, “oh shit that’s really got it!” but the way he was playing it, in the style of “No Fun” or “I Wanna Be Your Dog” from our first record sounded too large and thick to allow the song to go anywhere. He finally compromised by coming out into the hallway with his Fender Princeton practice amp and his Strat and played me the riff. To get that, I had to camp in the hallway outside Ron’s door for over an hour pounding and pleading with him to let me come in and write a god damn song. Eye was the key number on the record for me. So, one by one, the tunes were falling into place. We also had a rented truck that was driven by Eric Haddix, who was a very tough boy and all-around cool soul, who for some reason almost always wore black leather gloves. John Adams, who lived in the basement and did a variety of chores such as driving us around, getting us to gigs, and humping the equipment was the owner and chauffeur. One was a black ’57 Chrysler New Yorker with push-button transmission. The group had 2 vehicles that we depended on. As the concept progressed, I felt that the kind of music we were doing needed to expand and explode as the record moved forward, and that’s why we brought in Steve Mackay to help blow us over the top with his psychedelic sax. I’m not sure what Ron thought about that, but he definitely enjoyed what we were doing on this new record. Scott Asheton and myself were both very keen to do something much more aggressive than our first record which was more laid back in certain ways. Once it was solid, we’d play it at our gigs on the weekend.
Anyway, I’d write a number that I thought the group could play well, bring it downstairs from my attic room and try to rehearse it up. So, he wasn’t as prolific as he had been previously, and I don’t blame him. Ron had gotten his hands on the best private apartment, and a nice girlfriend too named Shelly. The songs on the album were all written there, most of it in my attic bedroom. There was a lot of dope smoking, some good writing, and a bit of rehearsal done at that house which later became known as “The Funhouse” after the album. There was a kitchen, rec room, tv room, rehearsal room, 2 proper bedrooms, 2 separated apartments, and a converted attic and basement. The farmer was too old to live there anymore, so we took over. There was an abandoned corn field and junked car in back. It had a wide porch, a stately driveway, and a nice lawn and trees. The rehearsal room was set up in the former salon of a lovely old farmhouse we rented for $325 a month on the outskirts of Ann Arbor. I remember thinking “this is it we’re going with it.” We were about half way through writing and preparation for our sophomore album, and it needed a title this time. I was laying on my back on the floor of the Stooges rehearsal room, stoked on LSD and reefer, staring at the lovely amplifiers and egg cartons on the walls, when I thought I saw the word “Funhouse” hovering above me in the air, just below the ceiling. On the eve of the release of the Fun House Deluxe Box Set, Iggy recounts the creation and recording of the album.
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