5. The StoogesFun House

One of the first albums I bought was Fun House. I bought it right when it came out. Just the energy of The Stooges was something that really meant a lot to me. That and also the MC5. My brother David was able to get into shows back in the day. I’m two years younger and I just wasn’t of age. I guess I maybe could have snuck in. I saw them when Mike Watt was playing bass, actually at a record in-store performance. My wife and I were right up front and it was maybe six inches away from us when Iggy was singing, which was a big thrill for us both.

I’m sure they influenced us in a way because they were a band I listened to so many times. Even if musically it wasn’t an influence, spiritually it was. I did a very short cover of ‘Fun House’ and also ‘Little Doll’ and ‘Tonight’. I’m sure we did others. I should also mention Destroy All Monsters, another Michigan band that was an influence on Half Japanese early on. They were,I don’t like the word experimental, but some people might say experimental, I’ll say that, they had less of a strict rock format. More ‘out there’.