| The Iguanas | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Garage rock |
| Years active | 1963–1967 1996 |
| Associated acts | The Stooges |
| Past members | |
| Jim McLaughlin Sam Swisher James Osterberg Nick Kolokithas Don Swickerath |
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The Iguanas was a garage rock band formed during 1963 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was one the first bands of James Osterberg, now better known as Iggy Pop. Osterberg was the drummer of the band while in high school, and got his nickname "Iggy" from the name of this band. Also, an exhaustive compilation in several volumes (both LPs and CDs) by Greg Shaw of recordings by the Stooges was also named for this band and called The Iguana Chronicles. The line-ups over the years included Jim McLaughlin on guitar, Sam Swisher on saxophone, Jim Osterberg on drums, Nick Kolokithas on vocals and guitar, and Don Swickerath on bass.
They originally performed in high school dances, fraternity houses and later clubs in Ann Arbor. In 1965 they were an opening act for bands such as Four Tops, the Shangri-Las and the Kingsmen at Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, a local resort area. Osterberg left the group soon afterward, and with another drummer (Tom Rolston) they sought but did not get a recording contract.
Osterberg exited the line-up in 1966 to join the Prime Movers; the remaining Iguanas hired a new drummer and played club dates in Boston and New York, but when a deal with Columbia Records failed to materialize the band dissolved in 1967. The band reunited in 1996 when McLauglin, Kolokithas and Swickerath announced their intentions to revive the group in the wake of the release of the retrospective Jumpin' with the Iguanas recording.[1]
Some early "demo reel" recordings have survived, notably from when The Iguanas recorded at Detroit's United Sound Recording Studio, and the following tracks are known to be available on CD:
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