Mike Watt pays personal tribute to Ron Asheton (also, the murky side of Ann Arbor)

"As a musician, he was a pioneer - very singular, very unique. To get to be onstage with him was incredible for me. We all looked up to Ronnie with that guitar sound. Man, it was a sound, but especially in those days in the early '70s. Most people at my high school, they didn't like that sound. They were like, 'You like them?' We took a lot of [flak] for liking them in a way."

So spake Mike Watt on Ron Asheton. Continuing, Watt said: "I'm going to get more intense with my work, my music... that's what I was thinking when I paddled out today. I went in the kayak after somebody told me they found him. I'm in San Pedro Harbor and I'm always running or kayaking. This is going to push me with music ever more. It's a shame it takes something like this to do that, but I know all the playing with him has rubbed off on me big time. I loved being his bass player."

As an aside, there seems to be a spat over Ron's possessions... read over for more (including the bit about his cats)

"How the h*** am I supposed to be stable when i know his cats that were his whole world are in danger?" This is from the keypad of Dara, Asheton's personal assistant of over a decade. What is it all about? Well, there's an ugly fight afoot in Ann Arbor, the place Ron called home all these years. Apparently, people have been seen taking his possessions away from his house after he passed away and... well, look for yourself and make sure you look in the comments. Click here.