Detroit Rock City by Steve Miller Page B

group went on, there were a couple of camps. More like three or four camps. You know, like Scotty was pretty much his own guy. Ron and Dave liked to hang out all night and watch TV together and smoke marijuana, and then there was me. So it was kinda like that, but at times there was the illusion and convenience of being part of a pack of guys that could help you go somewhere and do something cool that involves some intoxicating art and getting enough money in your pocket to score a little weed and meeting some cool chicks, and some things you do in America that you do when you’re young and don’t know any better. We had all that in common.
    Ron Asheton: At Olympic Studio in London, it was rehearsals for Raw Power in July 1972. That was pretty much the beginning. Iggy and James had gotten some material worked up, and this was the kickoff so they could hear and we could hear,and things developed while we were there. Some great tunes came out of that: “I Got a Right,” and, of course, the classic “Good Bye Betsy.” Those guys were all clean, no one was taking any drugs—that was the deal. It was a good chance for him; he was working with Tony DeFries and he’s got a record deal with CBS, so you don’t want to screw up—he’d already screwed his life up and he pulled himself out of that hole, and it was a totally work-oriented situation. There was no fooling around; we had schedules for rehearsals—all we did was rehearse every day up until the recording of the record, and then even when we were done and Jim took off with Bowie for the states to mix and stuff, we still had to rehearse. It was like “Ehhh? Oh, you’re kidding right?” So Jim was quite the taskmaster.
    Bob Sheff: Iggy called me up—it was 1973, I was in California to work at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College—and he said, “Would you come and do a tour with us?” I had played with Iggy in the Prime Movers; he was a good drummer. He’d just gotten out of high school, whatever that age is. He was the first guy to dye his hair silver at that age. That was the midsixties. So I said, “Yeah, that’d be great to see you” and all that. I got to Los Angeles and we were staying on Mulholland Drive, and he had this house—he was right in front of this mansion and it was very strange. Then we went to Detroit to do a show at Ford Auditorium.
    Ron Asheton: My only disappointment was with how MainMan ran their operation. They had a really nice spread when we got done playing Ford. It was “Oh wow, look down in the dressing room.” They had luncheon tables full of food and champagne and a bar with all this food and stuff, and we just got finished playing and we were told we can’t be at this party—it was for press. It’s not really a party; Tony DeFries is holding his press conference, so we came off the stage, and I remember my brother going “What?” and my brother and I making a sandwich and stuffing it in our pocket and grabbing a couple of beers like some hobos on the run and then shuttled right out to the Book Cadillac, which was kind of funky at that time. It was Tony DeFries doing his big manager showcase dealio with the big cigar and his bravado, so it was the little guys gotta go along with it. He was only Jim’s manager; we were just hirelings. We weren’t considered—James, Scottie, and I.
    Bob Sheff: One of the MainMan people backstage was this arrogant, obviously Mafioso guy, very insulting like the guy who shakes your hand but he’s staring the wrong way. Just before the show in Detroit and Iggy sent me on stage by myself.He said, “Just go on out there and play.” I started playing off some of the simple rock licks of primitive, rock licks and a couple of little gospel things before they came out, and then they gradually came onstage, and people were getting more and more excited and screaming and