Let’s talk rock ‘n’ roll chaos theory. Let’s pretend, for a few minutes, that the members of the Ramones were butterflies. Now let’s pretend that those butterflies never flapped their wings. What kind of world do we live in? One in which thousands of new butterflies never live: the Strokes, N.E.R.D, the Dandy Warhols, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and so many more. It’s retarded (in a good way) how many bands have borrowed from the Ramones, either sonically or aesthetically.
The Ramones proved that three chords, a steady drumbeat and a whole lotta’ passion were all one needed to rock the fuck out. Marky Ramone sat behind the kit for the the New York legends, making him veritable rock royalty. This also means he has profoundly more interesting stories than the guys at the RSL who talk about greyhounds and whether imperial beats metric.
Now Marky is sharing these stories. He’s been around the world telling kids everywhere about the old days, when punk rock was pure and innocent (except for the smack habits). Now he’s hitting Australia, providing us a glimpse of what it was like to be there at the dawn of Punk Creation. He’ll be showing a video he made of his time in the Ramones, speaking about the highs and lows of his time in the band, and then playing some classic tracks with local band the Spazzys. Finally, there’ll be a Q&A session, giving rock-nerds the chance to pick some punk-brain.
The international tour has been going well. ‘Other countries have been surprised a Ramone can talk,’ says Marky. ‘They expect fumbling, mumbling, speaking in Brooklyn-like “duh, duh, duh” and all that.’ Punters have found that Marky doesn’t just talk about the Ramones. ‘It’s [also about] my time in the scene with Wayne County, Richard Hell... auditioning for the New York Dolls.’
Marky speaks in a ludicrously relaxed New York drawl. He oozes unaffected nonchalance, speaking like it wouldn’t matter whether he was on a street corner or up on stage in front of hundreds of rock-lovers. He knows he was in a classic band but he’d still have a beer with you.
And the Ramones are classic. Judy Is A Punk was awesome back in 1976 and it’s awesome now. What does Marky think of this consistent Ramones-love? ‘It’s great... You gotta’ be grateful for that. Obviously a lot of the youth are relating to us in a lot of ways, whether it’s the music, the energy, the look, the simplicity.’
Every time you slip on a pair of black Chuck Taylor’s, be thankful that those butterflies flapped their wings.
(Originally published in The Brag. Note: this was my first interview ever! And it was with a Ramone!).
The Ramones proved that three chords, a steady drumbeat and a whole lotta’ passion were all one needed to rock the fuck out. Marky Ramone sat behind the kit for the the New York legends, making him veritable rock royalty. This also means he has profoundly more interesting stories than the guys at the RSL who talk about greyhounds and whether imperial beats metric.
Now Marky is sharing these stories. He’s been around the world telling kids everywhere about the old days, when punk rock was pure and innocent (except for the smack habits). Now he’s hitting Australia, providing us a glimpse of what it was like to be there at the dawn of Punk Creation. He’ll be showing a video he made of his time in the Ramones, speaking about the highs and lows of his time in the band, and then playing some classic tracks with local band the Spazzys. Finally, there’ll be a Q&A session, giving rock-nerds the chance to pick some punk-brain.
The international tour has been going well. ‘Other countries have been surprised a Ramone can talk,’ says Marky. ‘They expect fumbling, mumbling, speaking in Brooklyn-like “duh, duh, duh” and all that.’ Punters have found that Marky doesn’t just talk about the Ramones. ‘It’s [also about] my time in the scene with Wayne County, Richard Hell... auditioning for the New York Dolls.’
Marky speaks in a ludicrously relaxed New York drawl. He oozes unaffected nonchalance, speaking like it wouldn’t matter whether he was on a street corner or up on stage in front of hundreds of rock-lovers. He knows he was in a classic band but he’d still have a beer with you.
And the Ramones are classic. Judy Is A Punk was awesome back in 1976 and it’s awesome now. What does Marky think of this consistent Ramones-love? ‘It’s great... You gotta’ be grateful for that. Obviously a lot of the youth are relating to us in a lot of ways, whether it’s the music, the energy, the look, the simplicity.’
Every time you slip on a pair of black Chuck Taylor’s, be thankful that those butterflies flapped their wings.
(Originally published in The Brag. Note: this was my first interview ever! And it was with a Ramone!).
