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Interview
with The Ramones' Tom Erdelyi
Original drummer tells what it
was like to be a Ramone: Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and the Ramones'
2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
By Mark Prindle
Tom Erdelyi is better known as Tommy Ramone,
founder and original drummer of The
Ramones, one of the greatest and most influential bands in the
history of rock and roll. They've also been my favorite group for
more than 50% of my life (ages 15-30 and still going), so imagine
my glee and confusion at actually being able to interview the FOUNDER!
Tom Erdelyi produced some great albums in
the '80s (to be discussed later), but you won't BELIEVE what the
formerly leather-jacketed torn-jeans-wearing young man is up to
NOW! (to be discussed later)
If you don't own any Ramones albums, you've made
a terrible, terrible mistake. For the record, Tommy played on Ramones,
Leave Home, Rocket to Russia and It's Alive,
as well as producing Road To Ruin and Too Tough To Die.
I should add that most people consider these records to be the
Ramones records to own.
Who would've guessed that a drummer could have so
much influence on a band's sound? Well, for starters, Tommy WASN'T
a drummer -- he was a guitarist, a recording engineer and the Ramones'
first manager. He only agreed to drum for them because they couldn't
find a drummer who could keep the simple, steady, uptempo beat they
needed. The rest of the history can be found in a million other
places. So let's get to the interview!
My questions are in bold; Tom's answers are
in plain text.
----
Hello?
Can I speak to Tom?
Speaking.
Oh hey! This is Mark Prindle calling from Citizine.
Hi, how are you?
Good, good. You have time now?
Yeah, sure.
What are you up to these days?
Let's see, what am I doing? I'm playing a lot of
old-time bluegrass music. Putting together something that'll be
ready for next year. That and modern alternative music. Sort of
acoustic type of music.
Oh, you're playing and writing?
Yes.
What do you play in the bluegrass? What instrument?
I play mandolin, banjo and guitar.
Oh wow! How long have you been into that kind
of music?
Actually most of my life, but seriously about ten
years.
Have you been playing in bands doing that kind
of thing?
No. Basically I just -- I have a partner and we
work together. And like I said, we're going to have something ready
by next year. We're kind of excited about that.
Are you doing any production work?
I've done some, yeah. Recently I've worked with
some young bands, but I've been concentrating on this.
Do you still enjoy talking about the Ramones?
Or are you tired of being associated with them for so long?
Well, I feel like it's mostly an opportunity to
let the world know about the band. I feel that it's important to
communicate what we were about and all that.
The Ramones have been my favorite band for the
last fifteen years, so it's exciting for me to get a chance to talk
to you. I just finished Monte Melnick's book (On the Road with
the Ramones) last night. So it sounds like when you formed the
band, you kind of based it on the personalities of Johnny and Dee
Dee?
Yes, and Joey too. And there was also another person
who didn't quite make the band -- Richie Stern, who was also a very
interesting, colorful individual. Yeah, I wanted to put a band together
with quirky, interesting personalities -- some people who were intense
and talented and slightly different. I just thought they would be
perfect for a rock band.
Did you have any idea that they were that creative
when you --
No, I didn't actually! No. Initially it was just
going to be like basically like -- at the time, it was like the
glam/glitter kinda scene, right? So basically, initially it was
just to be part of that scene. I thought that they would make an
interesting scene. But as soon as I started working with them, it
became fairly evident early on that they were coming up with very
interesting songs like I've never heard before. And so we tried
to channel that into something creative. So that was a huge plus
-- the fact that they were so creative at writing songs.
You had played with John (Ramones guitarist)
in an earlier band though, right?
Yeah. Yes, I was in a band called Tangerine Puppets
with him. He was on bass at that time though. I was the guitar player.
And what was he like when he was that young?
Oh, he was amazing! Because he was playing bass,
he was free to really move around. He held his bass really high
up like a machine gun, and he would use it like a machine gun. He'd
go all over the stage aiming it at people. He put on a very exciting
show.
The way that his personality was presented in
the Ramones -- was he actually always like that?
No. That book isn't very good at actually portraying
him. He's got multiple personalities, depending on what mood he's
in. He's a person filled with a lot of energy. A lot of energy,
maybe a little anger. He wanted to be a baseball player. A pitcher,
you know? And whenever he played, he'd throw a lot of fastballs,
you know what I mean? But he's a complex character. That's the best
way I can describe it. Do you have any specific questions about
any particular thing in the book?
Just basically the way it sounds like he was
sort of unpleasant all the time. A lot of people make it sound like
he was always complaining and trying to be like the head guy. Not
the racist stuff -- I understood that he was just joking about that
stuff. But hitting his girlfriend and all that stuff. And also the
way he refused to let anyone dress differently or any of that stuff.
Basically he had his ideas of what the group should
be, okay? But as far as I know, he didn't hold the band hostage
on anything, and everybody was pretty much - if they followed his
advice, it was because they wanted to. Alright? But he had his say.
He had his ideas, which wasn't necessarily the idea of every person
in the band.
Was he as bad-tempered as they make him out to
be in the book?
He could be, yeah. It's pretty clear in the book
that that's part of his personality.
But you also say that he's a really nice guy.
Yeah, that's part of his personality too. He could
be a very genuinely nice guy, and kind of generous, and other times
he could be different. So it depends what mood you'd catch him in
actually.
I guess that was the same way with Dee Dee, since
he actually did have some kind of bipolar thing?
Well, the whole group came with -- that was part
of the band's structure, was the fact that they came with a lot
of baggage from their past, whatever that might have been. It fueled
the intensity of the band, I think.
Did you have any of that kind of stuff going
on?
What do you mean?
In your background? Well, I was surprised in
the book to read that you kinda felt like you were having a breakdown,
'cuz I thought you just left --
Oh, no no! Yeah, yeah. That was caused by the band.
They did it to me. Ha!
Oh wow. What were they doing?
If you're cooped up in a van with the Ramones, it
can eventually get to you. I was fairly normal before I got into
the band! I don't recommend joining that ship for too long a period.
They somehow stuck it out for a long time.
Oh yeah, yeah. They themselves were more or less
comfortable. It's just that my way of thinking and their way of
thinking sometimes kind of -- trying to figure it out, reality was
slowly slipping away. That's what the Ramones'll do to you, you
know what I mean?
I guess I can understand that.
I don't think you can actually. Their world is pretty
-- what happens is, like even if, this has nothing to do with the
Ramones, but it's like when a person joins some kind of cult. There's
constant brainwashing going on of sorts. Which, either somebody
leaves the cult or stays and loves it and blah blah blah. It could
get to be like that. There's sort of like a way of thinking or indoctrination,
things like that. And one either takes to it and becomes part of
the cult or says, "Well look, I'd rather have my own way of
thinking, you know? Thank you." So it's a groupthink type of
thing that can just be very restrictive.
Oh, another thing -- it's always been sort of
a myth or whatever that what the Ramones were your street clothes.
Was that actually the case, or was it designed as a uniform?
Oh, what happened was that we took the stuff from
-- we wore different things from our teens. We knew each other growing
up for a period of years, when we were teens ourselves. So we sort
of took what was the best individual stuff that we wore over the
years that would fit the music. And we did wear all those things.
Not necessarily at the same time, but we put 'em together in a way
that was comfortable, suited the music and that's what it was. It
wasn't an overnight thing. It sort of evolved over a short period.
But it evolved, and it just worked the best.
What songs did you write for the band? A lot
of people don't realize that you actually did -- you wrote "I
Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," right?
Yeah, I wrote "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend"
and "Blitzkrieg Bop" for our first album.
Aw man, you wrote "Blitzkrieg Bop"?
Yeah.
That's like the best song ever!
Well, thank you!
Wow, okay! Anything off the others or did you
guys start --
For the second and third album, a lot of the songs
were co-written by everybody. The Road to Ruin album I contributed
a lot to what you can hear through all the arrangements. I helped
them work together the arrangements. A lot of the stuff that you
hear on that record that sounds a little, you know, more, let's
say uh
."progressive"
that's pretty much me.
Okay. Were you surprised when -- I read in the
book last night that Johnny ended up telling you at the last minute
that you weren't gonna get publishing or whatever (for Road To
Ruin)?
Oh, yeah!
How did you react? I mean, why did he do that?
Well, I think he was pressured by the others. I
don't know. I can just guess that that was what happened. I think
they were under the illusion that I was gonna be getting a lot of
money or something? I don't think they entirely understood how
.
I don't know. It didn't really make sense actually.
Were you at that point not getting along? Was
it that kind of thing?
No, I assume that they probably resented me leaving
the band. But I'm not sure. I think there might have been some greed
involved too. I never really asked them the question why. I didn't
put up a big, you know
Between Road to Ruin and Too Tough
to Die, did you continue following their music?
Yeah, I would go to every show that they'd play
in New York, and I tried to stay in touch with them as much as I
could.
What did you think about when they tried to take
that kind of poppier direction before Too Tough to Die?
Well, they started on the Road to Ruin album.
Basically, here we were making all these great albums that weren't
going anywhere. And I thought from the second album on, especially
Rocket to Russia, that they'd be a natural fit -- that nationally
the albums would be accepted.
Certainly Rocket to Russia's not, you know
.
So I guess they figured that they had to turn into some kind of
a commercial band. They were always going for something that would
give them a hit or whatever, so they were on that road and they
pretty much stayed on that road on and off for the rest of their
career.
Do you like those records at all?
They're very talented songwriters.
Yeah, I know.
So there are a lot of good songs on those records.
Some of them, the production doesn't suit them.
Yeah, I do really agree with that.
But they never lost their songwriting talent, and
some of those records are really good. Especially the later records
-- you know, the records near the end. It's amazing that a group
that had been together for that long under such trying circumstances
and so much pressure could put out records that still sound good
and generate good reviews and everything. They sound great.
I really love the ones with Richie on them. I
know a lot of people like Too Tough to Die but not the two
after it, but I do! I think they sound really good.
Yeah, he's a talented drummer.
Did you like him? You liked his style?
He's good! He's very good.
When they came back to work with you again on
Too Tough to Die, had they changed as people at all?
Yeah. They didn't communicate with each other anymore.
When I left, things were still pretty much the way they were, but
when I came back, they had formed camps and stuff.
That was after the whole -- and another thing
I didn't know before I read the book -- the whole Linda thing with
Joey? (Johnny stole Joey's girlfriend, and Joey never forgave him)
I don't know the chronology as far as Linda is concerned.
I imagine that had already happened, but I'm not sure.
When they came to you, did they say, "We
want a harder sound than the last few records"? Or was that
something that you suggested?
I don't think it needed to be said. It might have
been said, but it wasn't, you know -- I mean, obviously they came
to me because of whatever I could contribute.
Did you help out with the songwriting and arrangements
on that one as well?
Yeah. I worked with them for a few months. One huge
difference is that when I work with them, I care. It's not a gig
for me. Other producers just don't care. They look at it as just
another gig. Do it and get paid, you know what I mean? But to me,
it's like, you know, it's my baby.
Do you have any idea why they didn't work with
you after Too Tough to Die?
I do, but I'd rather not talk about it.
Okay.
But I have an idea, yeah.
Oh, is it a personal thing?
Well, yeah, to me it is! But I don't wanna talk
about it.
Okay, that's fine. As they continued on, was
there ever a point when you thought, "Boy, they're like 45
now and they're still dressing like we were when we were 20"?
Or did you think that it was pretty cool that they were continuing
the same image?
No, I think if I would have stayed in the band,
I would have slowly evolved it into something to keep the band fresh
and modern. At least, I would have liked to. I'm not sure. It's
hard to say.
But one of the reasons they always stayed looking
the same was that one of my advices was for them to do that. Because
I noticed with other bands that what would happen is they'd dress
a certain way, and then fans would show up at a concert dressed
like that, and then the band would look different.
And I said, "Well, that's like an insult to
the fans." Because the fans show up and there you are on stage
looking different, like you're saying, "Ha ha, we fooled you."
When someone's a fan, they take the image of you as very important.
And so I said that it's important to the fans that you not always
change.
After Too Tough to Die, did you continue
staying in touch with any of them?
Like I said, I would go to the shows. I was going
to every show.
What did you think of the shows with Marky or
with Richie, in terms of -- I know they started speeding up their
songs so they could fit a lot more in.
They always put on a good show. Sometimes it seemed
mechanical, but most of the shows were great. They were never bad.
They always tried their best. And I've seen a lot of Ramones shows.
It was always very important to them to be good every night.
Did you ever wish you were up there with them
again?
No.
Ha!
I really enjoyed watching them.
It's one thing to read about these guys with
their crazy problems, and I know it must have been something else
entirely to have to --
I was with the Ramones for a long time. It doesn't
seem like a long time -- it was three or four years. But we played
a lot of gigs. To me, I was with them a long time. I did a lot of
shows. How they themselves were able to go on for so long, to me
is incomprehensible. But I was so happy that they were able to do
that. I thought it was wonderful that so many people got a chance
to see them. They were great. I wish they could still be doing that.
Yeah. I guess I was kinda surprised also that
Dee Dee was in their final show and -- were you at the final show?
No.
Was there any invitation offered or were you
not talking to them much at that point?
My mailbox was empty. No invitation. I have no idea
why.
Considering how little radio play they got over
the years, what did you think when you were elected to the Hall
of Fame?
First of all, it was wonderful. It proved that we
were special. Some people get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
based on the fact that they sell a lot of records. So obviously,
for a group like the Ramones to get in, it has to be special. So
I think that meant probably more to us than it might have meant
to some other artists who got in.
As far as whether I felt it would be possible for
us to get in? Well, call me deluded or whatever, but I always felt
that if anybody belonged in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was
the Ramones. Was I surprised that we got in on the first ballot
and all that? Oh yeah. The chances of that I think were remote.
That was really mind-boggling.
What was that reunion like for you? Had it been
a while since you'd seen them?
It was bizarre. The thing with the Ramones, especially
near the end, was any kind of interaction was just so strange. They
just kept getting stranger and stranger, I guess, at the end.
Because they wouldn't even talk to each other?
Partially. Yeah, that had a lot to do with it actually.
That's about the main thing, you're right. That was the cause of
it. Because when people don't communicate, they form different camps.
Then when it comes to situations like the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, it causes a disadvantage. And actually this didn't only happen
with the Ramones. The Talking Heads weren't talking to each other
either. It happens in most bands actually.
Touring is not a positive thing for future friendships.
It puts a lot of strain on best friends. In most groups -- well,
look what just happened with Mick and Keith. Mick's knighted or
whatever, and Keith is talking like it's nothing -- that's understandable.
But yeah, it puts a lot of strain on friends, and they often go
their own way.
I've read I think four books on the Ramones;
pretty much any one that comes out, I buy and read. And they always
seem to be trashing each other, but I don't think I can remember
anyone saying anything bad about you. Am I forgetting something?
All I remember from this book is Johnny saying that when you left,
they lost some intelligence. They lost an intelligent guy. And he
said he was surprised that you left. I don't think anyone said anything
bad.
They might have said something in the past, but
I don't remember. Basically they try not to mention me too much.
They really don't mention Richie Ramone. They
try to pretend he didn't exist.
Right.
So you worked with the Replacements on two of
their best albums too, right?
No, I did the Tim album.
Oh, you did the Tim album?
I produced the Tim album.
Okay, was that the first -- oh damn, I'm forgetting.
So that was the first one without Bob Stinson?
No, that was the last one with him.
Could you tell he was falling apart at the time?
No. He was really bizarre, but I was very used to
working with bizarre people. My cup of tea, you know? And it was
great! I loved working with Bob. He was only able to be at the studio
like -- he was there maybe two days. And then he was gone. But those
two days, we tried to get as much out of him as possible. Maybe
it was one day. It might have been just one day.
Really? Why? What was he doing?
I don't know. I think he was a cook in a restaurant
or something. Don't ask. He was a strange person. In a good way!
For me, I mean. I didn't know him.
How was he strange? I don't really know much
about him, except that I know how he ended up, I guess.
I wish I could tell you, because I had such little
experience with him. I'd have to sit him down and communicate with
him on certain things, and then he got up there and did it. And
then he was gone.
Had you been a fan of that band before?
Yeah! As soon as I heard about them. There was a
buzz about them, and I thought I should check 'em out. Then when
they came to New York, I went to see their show.
And you worked on Rattled too? The Rattlers
album?
Yeah, I worked on the Rattlers album. I didn't do
the album; I did maybe five songs. And I did Redd Kross -- the Neurotica
album.
Oh alright. Did you stay friends with Mickey
Leigh over the years? Or was that just a one-off thing?
No, I've known Mickey Leigh since he was twelve
years old. I'm sort of like an uncle to him.
And then that was another thing, I guess. At
the end, Johnny forming a camp against them or something.
Yeah, yeah. But it's a very incestuous relationship
really. You know, Mickey is married to John's first girlfriend.
Wow! What did you think when you first heard
that Dee Dee had left the band? Did you think they were gonna break
up? Were you surprised that they kept going?
I knew that they put a lot of pressure on him, so
maybe he got tired of it, I guess. But the interesting thing was
that when I went to see them, I didn't know what to expect. They'd
replaced him and I wondered, "What am I gonna see here?"
And C. Jay was doing Dee Dee! But a young Dee Dee. I actually got
a kick out of it.
It was kinda interesting to see, because actually
he made the band younger. He took ten years off of them, just by
his energy. He was just so excited to be in the band. So I was very
pleasantly surprised. It gave it an interesting effect. I was like,
"Wow. This is better than I thought it was gonna be."
So they lucked out with C. Jay.
I especially really like Mondo Bizarro
at the end there. So you didn't feel like by doing that they were
starting to become nothing but a nostalgia act, like some people
accused them of?
To me, it was very important that younger audiences
get to check out the Ramones, and C. Jay allowed the opportunity
to see at least a facsimile of the Ramones, which was better than
no Ramones. And they put on a great show.
I mean, it wasn't Dee Dee, but he respected Dee
Dee tremendously, and tried to basically still give them as much
Dee Dee as he could do. So under the circumstances, it turned out
real good for especially young fans who'd never seen them. And Dee
Dee was off doing five different things by then. He was burnt out
as a Ramone.
The first time I saw the Ramones -- you know,
I hadn't heard them until 15 years ago. I'm 30, so when I turned
15, I got into 'em. The first time I saw them was when they were
touring Brain Drain (note: this isn't true, and I don't know
why I made this mistake. I saw them on the Ramones Mania
tour, several months before the release of Brain Drain),
and Dee Dee looked so bored. So miserable.
That's what I've heard. Yeah.
So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when
he left the band.
If anybody felt strongly strait-jacketed by wanting
to move on to different things, it was Dee Dee. He was into all
kinds of music, so I can understand that Dee Dee felt it was time
to move on.
I know we already kind of discussed this with
Johnny, but Dee Dee seems to have been just like all over the place
personality-wise.
Yeah. Yeah, he was. He was also a major drug abuser,
and I guess drugs had an effect on him sometimes, depending on what
he was on.
Oh okay. Did that change him over the years,
over the long term as well?
Oh, he deteriorated over the years. Then he would
clean up for a while and become nice and friendly. I'd seen him
like that, even more recently. And then he would fall off the wagon
and become disturbed. But the thing is he would change anyway. Supposedly,
somebody said he was bipolar, I don't know. But he was a very complex,
troubled person.
And what about Joey with -- that's another thing
that was obviously never publicized over the years, was Joey's compulsive
--
Yeah, he was obsessive-compulsive. He was also quiet
-- in the beginning, he was real quiet and shy, and kind of like
that. Then slowly he sort of came out of his shell after a while.
But his main problem was the OCD.
And that was always really plain? He was always
doing things like that?
Yeah. It was inconvenient because he would always
be straggling behind because he had to do certain repetitive things.
So it was very inconvenient actually. It was time-consuming to have
to deal with it.
But you didn't really know what it was?
Oh, we didn't know. We just thought he was neurotic
actually.
Did you know Joey was sick before he passed away?
I had found out like a year before that, but he
was fine until he broke his hip. And then I guess to do the operation,
they had to take him off the medication for a couple months. And
then it came on, you know? And then boom. It just happened like
that.
Were you communicating with him?
Yes. When he was in the hospital, I called him and
we had a long talk. I guess he was ver -- you know, we had a good
talk then, but before that, I guess he was always very competitive
with me. I never understood why he was so unfriendly to me.
Now actually, after reading Monte's book, it's clear
that basically he felt competitive with me because I was the spokesperson
for the band when I was in the band, and he thought that, as the
lead singer, he should have been, or whatever. And I guess he just
-- I assume, I have to assume because he didn't actually tell me
this -- that he felt he had to be competitive with me.
So being in the band kind of ruined your friendship
with all three of them?
Not really. We split up on good terms. So I left
in a way
except at the end when they took away the publishing
of that album. I didn't make a big stink about it at the time to
preserve the friendship. In other words, on the surface, I always
was on good terms with them. There was no rage displayed or anything
like that.
And then were you surprised by Dee Dee, or had
you been expecting that to happen at some point because of his lifestyle?
Yes! Because he's like Keith Richards, you know
what I mean? Like once they get to that certain point, you think
they're gonna live on forever, so yeah I was surprised.
You are probably the only person to have ever
been in that band who can walk down the street without being recognized,
because you left so young and you changed your look so drastically,
sort of. Well, not drastically but you don't walk around looking
like Joey Ramone did, in other words. Or Johnny with his bowl cut.
Do people still recognize you? Or when they find out who you are,
are they just blown away?
Well, I sort of planned it that way. I enjoy being
Tommy Ramone when I want to be Tommy Ramone, and I'm perfectly fine
with being like Clark Kent, you know what I mean? I'd hate to be
constantly stared at.
In the bluegrass band, do you guys play live
ever?
No, not yet, but eventually. It's called Uncle Monk.
Uncle Monk?
Uncle Monk.
Uncle, and then M-O-N-K?
Mm-hmm.
Had you been playing any other kind of music
over the years? Or did you stay out of music for a while aside from
the production side?
I'd been writing songs, but no. I had a band about
10-12 years ago that we played a couple shows at CBGB, maybe three
of 'em. Just like a pop rock band. But the scene was very bad then.
Are you listening to any newer bands?
I keep my ear tuned to what's out there.
Anybody impressing you?
The White Stripes and The Strokes are pretty good.
Every now and then I see a good band. There have been a lot over
the years.
Who would you say is your all-time favorite artist?
My all-time favorite artists in rock would be The
Beatles. But I have favorites in other genres too, like Hank Williams,
Beethoven, Flatt & Scruggs.
This is one I meant to ask at the beginning.
I somehow skipped right over it in my list here. Before you started
drumming for them, what did the music sound like? When you heard
what they were doing, was it like, "This is metal"? Or
"this is --"
No. When Joey was playing drums, it sounded very
disjointed. Kinda very disjarring and choppy. When I started playing
drums, I gave it kind of its smoothness. Metal. Nah, it wasn't metal
at all. It was never metal.
Could the Ramones have created the sound and
the songs with -- it almost sounds like it required all four members
to come up with it and refine it. Like Johnny wanted to be the fastest
guitar player in the world he says, and Dee Dee was writing the
crazy lyrics and a lot of -- the point is -- I'm trying to get to
the point! Do you think it could have worked with any one of those
people not being there? Like if Richie Stern had stayed?
The Ramones were one of the few bands that was an
equal part of four. Most bands usually have one or two people directing
them, but the Ramones were actually four people each contributing
a fairly large percentage -- like a sum of its parts. And we were
unique that way, I felt. Maybe there's one or two other bands like
that, but we were definitely unique in that way. So no, if anything
is removed, it becomes something else.
Like it was possible to replace you after three
albums, but had the band started with Marky, that sound wouldn't
have --
Well, there's more to it than that. I wasn't really
replaced. I stayed with them. In other words, I was there for the
transition, bringing Marky in. I had to work with Marky.
Oh, you taught him how to play in that --
Yeah. So I never really left. If I wasn't there
in person, certainly my ideas and contributions were there.
Were all four of you happy with the way the music
developed into what it was? Or was someone saying, "Oh, we
should --." I mean, that first album -- at the time, I guess,
a lot of people just thought of it as noise, right?
Yeah, a lot of people didn't get it at first.
Did all four of the band members get it and really
like it at the same time? Or did it take some time to --
I don't know. We never really sat down and talked
about it. All I can say is my opinion, which is that I thought it
was what it was. Basically an original artifact that was cool! I
thought so, and I think Johnny might have felt that way.
Do you have a favorite Ramones record?
Yes, Rocket to Russia.
That's a lot of people's favorite Ramones record.
Okay, I guess I will let you go since I've already taken 45 minutes
of your time. But it was great to talk to you. Is there anything
else you wanna talk about?
No, no. I think we covered quite a lot.
Again, thank you so much for taking the time.
Okay, thank you.
Bye.
December 16, 2003.
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Reader Comments
Just read the interview with Tommy Ramone (CITIZINE
#5)! I know it was written ages ago, but I just read it. The Ramones
were/are, and forever shall be, my favorite band. When I was still
in Thorazine, we got to open for C.Jay's band Los Gusanos. I got
to see their drummer Bo play. He left the band after that tour to
return to his house painting business on Long Island I think. This
happened here in Philly at what was then Upstairs at Nicks.
C.Jay stuck to his guns when he told everybody,
"If you came here expecting a Ramones show, leave now."
Los Gusanos wasn't Ramones revisited, and I'm glad he did what he
did.
I remember reading about how C.Jay was afraid he
wouldn't be accepted as Dee Dee's replacement. There were people
in audiences giving him the bird and all. I was privileged to catch
one of C.Jay's early shows. I made sure to be close enough to the
stage for him to see me. When he was kinda looking in my direction,
I gave him a long thumbs up. As the song finished, he looked directly
at me and flipped me a quick thumbs up in return. Riding the train
back to Philly from NY, you couldn't tell me I wasn't King Shit
for a day!!
-- Dallas, drummer for Psy-Ops
(formerly of Thorazine)
Philadelphia, PA
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