Ramones completists might want to pick up the Subterranean Jungle Demos LP that will be released on Black Friday (27 November) on yellow vinyl (5500 copies). Marky Ramone, who was dealing with alcoholism then. was fired as the band's drummer during the recording sessions. Four years later he was back in the saddle and stayed on until the band's final show in 1996.
A FM radio broadcast of a free Ramones concert at the Summer In The City music festival on June 8th, 1979 will be released as a 2LP on pink vinyl for Record Store Day (April 18). 6000 copies of Summer in the City - Live In San Francisco will be available worldwide. Collectors are likely to own a bootleg of this show already.
Another piece of rock 'n' roll history goes up for auction: Johnny Ramone's 1965 Mosrite Ventures II guitar will be sold on September 25 by RR Auction. It was his workhorse for almost two decades (1977-1996) and of course it shows the markings of his intense playing style: "I started doing up-and-down strumming, basically to keep time and to play fast. As time went on, I started realizing other guitar players couldn't do it. I always went against the grain".
The Ramones were first and foremost an ace live act. Triple J Live at the Wireless Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia, July 8, 1980, an unissued live radio broadcast, will be released for Record Store Day on July 17th. 6000 copies worldwide.
The Ramones released the covers album Acid Eaters in 1993 and it's not exactly a highlight in their discography. Their version of The Who classic Substitute is not so bad and the video is fun to watch. Introduction by Cramps singer Lux Interior as a demented scientist. Lemmy is in it too, being himself, because no one can play Lemmy.
Synth power pop with a side-order of punk is the recipe followed by trio Autogramm, a band consisting of three veterans who wil probably be rocking until they die. Jiffy Marx (Brooklyn’s Hard Drugs and Vancouver’s Blood Meridian, CC Voltage (Berlin’s Dysnea Boys, London’s Loyalties and Vancouver’s Black Halos and Spitfires), and The Silo (Vancouver’s Black Mountain, Lightning Dust and Destroyer) have a new single out to celebrate their upcoming European tour.
Bad Day is an upbeat song about feeling down, an energetic tune that can start a mosh-pit. The b-side is a cover of the Ramones classic I Wanna Be Sedated, sung in Spanish - the 7" version is released via Spanish label Jarama 45RPM Records (blue - 100 copies - and black vinyl - 200 copies). They slowed down the tape at the end to force the fade-out, a cost-effective trick that never gets old.
Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers tackle the Ramones classic Havana Affair. It can be found on the Live at Slane Castle DVD.
A legendary Ramones show in New York comes to vinyl for Record Store Day. Live At The Palladium was broadcast live on December 31, 1979. That recording became the source for countless bootlegs. The full set will now be available as a 2LP.
Los Angeles is mostly associated with sun, surf and fun. Like all popular tags it doesn't hold up after closer inspection. There is a dark side and local bands have tapped into that. Rat Fancy, a new trio formed by guitarist/vocalist Diana Barraza (ex Sweater Girls), guitarist Gregory Johnson and drummer Gavin Glidewell, will release their debut EP Suck A Lemon in early 2017 on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records.
As a taster for their sound, rambling shoegaze indie rock, they have made a XMAS single: the tongue-in-cheek original You Stole My Xmas Sweater coupled with a cover of the Ramones classic Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight).
It wasn't just music in The Ramones: it was an idea. It was bringing back a whole feel that was missing in rock music – it was a whole push outwards to say something new and different. Originally it was just an artistic type of thing; finally I felt it was something that was good enough for everybody.
Tommy Ramone
Some bands blow it before they even play. The most important moment of any show is when a band walks out with the red amp lights glowing, the flashlight that shows each performer the way to his spot on the stage. It's crucial not to blow it. It sets the tempo of the show; it affects everyone's perception of the band.
Johnny Ramone
1-2-3-4! In 1976 the self-titled debut album by NYC's finest punk rock band The Ramones hit the shops. To commemorate its release the Queens Museum will host the "Hey! Ho! Let’s Go: Ramones and the Birth of Punk" exhibition. All four original members grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. Their high energy short songs were revelation. They never changed their style and built a huge catalog of memorable songs that still resonate in today's garage rock circles.
On display are a wealth of posters, cartoon drawings, T-shirts and other memorabilia. The exhibition opens on April 10.
Wise words from Marky Ramone brought to you by CH2.
(thanks: The Drip Dry Man)
This year's Birthday Bash for Joey Ramone will be held on May 19th at The Studio @ Webster Hall, NYC. A posthumous new CD, ...Ya Know? will be released on May 22. The tracks were cut at various times during the last decade and a half of his life. Joey's brother Mickey Leigh:
Over the past eight years I've been getting a barrage of emails and Facebook messages from Joey's fans, wanting to know when this album would be coming out. So having it finally become a reality gives me a feeling of triumph - not for me, but for my brother, and for his fans. And there's not the slightest doubt in my mind that people are gonna be blown away by it.
The $40 ticket price includes an advance copy of the CD signed by various musicians in attendance, and the official 2012 Birthday Bash t-shirt, not available elsewhere. As in past years, proceeds from the Bash go to benefit the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research.
A free download of one of the album's tracks, What Did I Do To Deserve You?, can be picked up from the official website. The album's opener, Rock 'N Roll Is The Answer, was released as a limited edition Record Store Day 7".
Lexicon takes on I Wanna Be Sedated, the Ramones classic written by Joey Ramone. Core members Gideon & Nick Black started out as a duo peddling hip-hop, but are now going for a more rock orientated sound after they relocated to Paris to lay down the tracks for their Rapstars album, with bass player Alex Pauley and drummer Erich Schneider helping out.
Remembering Joey Ramone (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) has become a tradition in New York City:
Celebrating what would have been the 59th birthday of punk icon JOEY RAMONE, the annual JOEY RAMONE BIRTHDAY BASH will take place Wednesday, May 19th at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. Mickey Leigh, event organizer and brother of Joey Ramone, has announced this year’s lineup and a sell out Bash is expected again. Net proceeds will go to benefit Lymphoma research.
This year’s headliners are Hank III and Morningwood. Once again, the spectacular party will conclude with The Joey Ramone Birthday Bashers featuring Richie Ramone, Hank III, Walter Lure, Cheetah Chrome, JP Thunderbolt, Ed Stasium, Jean Beauvoir, George Tabb, Ivan Julian, Al Maddy, Walt Stack, Dave Merrill, Mickey Leigh & others. Also appearing are The Sic F*cks, The Independents, Spanking Charlene (winners of Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records contest) and Heap. As the audience enters the venue they will once again be greeted by musician Tracy Thornton, playing Ramones songs on the steel drum. And, in what has become a Birthday Bash tradition, Sean O’Sullivan's Punk Pipers will round out the night with their rendition of “I Wanna Be Sedated” on bagpipes.
The Masters of Ceremony for this year’s fete will be Steven Van Zandt, Steve Craig, Matt Pinfield and Pete Ashner. Additional surprises are expected at the evening’s events.
Remembering Joey Ramone in NYC. A posthumous album release is scheduled at the end of the year.
Celebrating what would have been the 58th birthday of punk icon Joey Ramone, the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash will take place Tuesday, May 19th at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. Mickey Leigh, event organizer and brother of Joey Ramone, has announced that, as part of the 9th annual Bash, fans will be treated to a special advance sneak peek listen to rough mixes of never- before-heard Joey Ramone solo recordings. Various producers, including long-time Ramones producer Ed Stasium, are currently preparing tracks for a full album worth of material, slated for posthumous release at the end of the year.
This year’s headliners are Fishbone and Supersuckers. The spectacular party will conclude with The Friends Of Joey featuring Richie Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jean Beauvoir, Ivan Julian, George Tabb, Al Maddy and Mickey Leigh. Also appearing are Death and Rough Francis (both bands were the subject of a feature story in the New York Times on March 12), Uncle Monk (featuring Tommy Ramone), Bebe Buell, and Tom Clark & The High Action Boys. As the audience enters the venue they will once again be greeted by musician Tracy Thornton, playing Ramones songs on the steel drum. And, in what has become a Birthday Bash tradition, Sean O’Sullivan's Punk Pipers will round out the night on the bagpipes. The fete will be emceed by Matt Pinfield and Peter Aschner. Additional surprises are expected at the evening’s events.
