Hey! Ho! Let’s go!
Ramones drummer Marky shares tales of iconic band’s heyday
After all these years, the Ramones are the most iconic of punk rock bands — just like they should have been when they were all alive and together.
“I always say, better late than never,” said drummer Marky Ramone, the one surviving member of the classic-era lineup. “We had a good time; we weren’t thinking about awards or any of that. We played everywhere, we amassed an audience — the Hall of Fame and the Grammy tribute all came later. I always say that I wish it happened while Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee could be here to enjoy it.”
Marky will bring all his Ramones stories, along with some vintage photos and video, to City Winery tonight for a spoken-word show dubbed “My Life as a Ramone.”
He’s got plenty to draw from, since he shot hundreds of hours worth of video when the band was on tour. “I basically did that for myself — I wanted to see how the band was playing, and the interesting things that happened in all these countries I’d wanted to see when I was a kid. I talk in the show about my time in the music business, all the things the Ramones did including the tours, the sessions with Phil Spector and everything else. The revelation is that you get to hear it all from one of the Ramones.”
He joined the Ramones in early 1978, and was their longest-serving drummer. The very first song he recorded with them was “I Wanna Be Sedated,” which became their best-known track. “We never thought that song would be a hit — I mean, look at the lyrical content. But we put it out anyway, because we were the Ramones. That song came out of all the flying we had to do, and all the work in the studio. And I think we proved that people could relate to it — people have certain moments in their life, maybe they’re flying and they need to have a beer. They wanna be sedated.”
The Ramones became famous for in-fighting, and Marky was the one who got along the best with everybody. “I tried to be. When I joined the second time (in 1987), Johnny and Joey weren’t speaking, and I didn’t want any part of that. We didn’t hang out together after a tour, but I’d call Joey and we’d go to a club to see a band. Then I’d call Johnny and we’d go to a sci-fi convention, and Dee Dee and I would play together in the studio. I always tried to inject a little humor, like you need to do in any family.”
Marky still plays a full set of Ramones songs when he tours with his solo band; they were on the bill when the Foo Fighters played their last shows in South America. “I want to keep the music alive because I feel that the songs are too good not to be played,” he said. “The new generation of punk bands has realized who started it all, who solidified it, and that was the bands at CBGB. Ask the millennials who they were influenced by, and they’ll say it was us, Blondie and the Clash. Every band needs some kind of influence, and the Ramones influenced 95% of the punk bands out there.”