Ramone, Johnny
01 JOHNNY RAMONE
Johnny’s style has been in the DNA of every punk band since
Every new electric guitarist should learn a Ramones song, but some people mistakenly think this means his style is easily replicated. Few realise Johnny produced that tirade of powerchords using all downstrokes – even live, when the Ramones often played at adrenalin- (or substance-) fuelled tempos far in excess of their albums. The sound is wildly aggressive in a way that down-up alternate strumming can’t match, and it directly inspired the rhythm styles of 80s thrash and 90s pop-punk, and any song that makes use of a regular eighth-note powerchord part carries Ramones DNA.
02 STEVE JONES
Some of Steve’s best playing with the Sex Pistols was on debut single Anarchyinthe
UK. In 2012, Steve told TG...
“W e banged it out in rehearsal while John was in the corner figuring out the words. I like the fact that it has two guitar solos. Out of all of the Pistols singles, that was the slowest. If you wanted to attach ‘punk’ to it, it’s not a fast track; it’s laid-back, almost like Booker T & The MGS. There are loads of [guitar] tracks on that – I don’t even remember how many. I used one of those MXR Phase 90s on one of the rhythms as well. At the time, [producer] Chris Thomas kept telling me to tune up and it drove me mad, but looking back I’m glad he did and I’m glad we spent time on it. I think that’s what makes the Pistols album different from The Clash or The Damned. We didn’t just go in and crash, bang, wallop.”