left to right: Bill Cheetam, Zeke Zettner, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop
Thanks to anonymous for cleaning up this rare photo of the Stooges. I think we own the only copy that exists, but since it's framed I had to re-shoot it through the frame to post it, it looks a lot better now. That's Bill Cheetam on the left, Zeke Zettner second from left, they were roadies who were briefly promoted into the guitar and bass slot for a few months in late 1970, they were replaced by James Williamson and Jimmy Recca before the band dissolved in '71 (a photo of that line up can be found on the Halloween 2 and Ron Asheton RIP postings). When the Stooges reformed in '72 to record Raw Power, Ron Asheton was moved to bass. A piano player was added after Raw Power (first Bob Scheff, late of the Prime Movers, then Scott Thurston who went on to play with Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and played guitar on Iggy's New Values LP).
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10 comments:
A fantastic find.
We have another shot from the same photo session that I'll post one of these days, I believe they were taken by Peter Hujar. We bought 'em from Danny Fields a few years back along with some great Iggy shots, and a fantastic pic of Iggy's bedroom at Stooge manor that hangs on the wall of the hallway outside of my office.
Were Bill & Zeke in the band with Steve Mackay?
Good question. I don't think Steve Mackay ever toured with the Stooges (until they reformed in 2003) but he might have done some shows with this line up in the Detroit area. If anyone out there runs into him, please ask.....
Mackay played a couple of shows with the Stooges in Michigan, Jackson I believe to be the first, before the Stooges went to LA to record Fun House. He played with them at the Fillmore in May and the Whisky upon completion of Fun House. Then Goose Lake in August, then the 6 shows at Unganos in NYC, with Cheetam and Zeke, then may be another 8 -10 shows back in the Michigan area.
Those pictures were taken by Peter Hujer who also took photos of Iggy in late 1969 and the Stooges line up with James and Jimmy in 1971.
I am going to try and work with his estate to put together a website of those, sometime after publication of the Stooges book this fall.
Finally! I've been searching high and low for some photos of Tommy Zettner with the Stooges.
I first met Zeke in '71 when I drove his brother Ames down to the Detroit Bus Terminal to pick him (Zeke) up. He was coming in from Ann Arbor where he was working for a sound system company. I already knew that Zeke (and Ames) had roadied for Alice Cooper, so he was at least a year removed from the Stooges.
I became close friends with Zeke over the next 2 years. He didn't talk about his time with the Stooges much. If you asked him about it he'd answer, but he didn't seem obsessed or bitter about any of it.
I was stunned when Ames called and told me Tom had overdosed on heroin. Don't get me wrong, Zeke, Ames, and I drove to the methadone clinic every morning, so I was well aware of what he was up to. I was doing the same things. You just feel like you're invincible at that age.
3 weeks later I stopped by the Zettner homestead to see how Ames was doing (I'd gotten involved with a young lady shortly before Zeke died and she was monopolizing all my time) and I asked the youngest Zettner brother if Ames was around. He replied, "No, he died". I repeated that I was here to see Ames, thinking that he was referring to Zeke. He repeated what he had said and it finally started to sink in. It turns out that Ames had overdosed 19 days after Zeke. They both were discovered in the basement of their mother's home by their mother. That poor woman. As badly as I wanted to go to the funeral, I couldn't face his mother. I lost my 2 best friends in the span of 19 days and couldn't even mourn them properly. If anyone has any more pictures of Zeke from his Stooges days or even when he roadied for Alice, please post them.
Check out first sightings of a proper STOOGES book, with many more rare photos...
STOOGEFILES.COM
Yeah, Zeke was in the band all of 6 months, if that, so I doubt he had may stories to tell.
Boy Howdy, now there's a fuckin' sales pitch. I know Zeke was in the band for a short time, but he was a roadie before that and all of the Stooges have referred to him as "one of the guys". Hell, they gave the bass slot to him even though he couldn't play. Iggy thought enough of him to mention his death in "Dum Dum Boys". You wrote a book about the Stooges and you're missing the point. Anyone who's spent half-a-day around Little Jimmy Osterberg has stories.
I know I do. But my first post was not meant to suggest that Zeke had a million stories to tell. I just meant he didn't go around acting like he'd been cheated out of something.
G, Thanks for sharing your memories of Zeke. We have another photo from the same photo session, someday I'll post it. I'll bet Zeke had lots of great stories, he was around the Stooges for nearly three years as a roadie and pal.
Thanks Hound! I appreciate the appreciation ;o). I was suprised that someone felt the need to semi-rip my first post.I keep thinking of how Zeke would be blown away by the resurgence of the Stooges over the years. The Stooges have always been a favorite of mine. From the 5 or 6 shows I caught at the Grande Ballroom to Goose Lake.
I'll look forward to seeing the other photo someday. Your blog has become a regular stop for me and has brought a lot of enjoyment.
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