A Night with the Ramones…. It’s good to go back to your roots on occasion

By Mark | March 14, 2011

Before I discovered the Stooges, REM or the Violent Femmes, I discovered the Ramones. I remember the very first time I heard them. I was sitting on a folding lawn chair on the back porch of my parent’s house in rural New Jersey, listening to a classic rock station out of New York. I remember holding onto the antenna in order for the song to come in more clearly. It would have been early summer. I know that because I had my shirt off. Being a ghoulishly pale kid, I was trying to get the sun to make me look human. I was a pretty huge Beatles fan at the time, but I was starting to get into the Talking Heads, David Bowie and the Velvet Underground. The song was I Wanna Be Sedated. I was probably about 16. And it changed my life. I’d go on to see the Ramones play live a few dozen times, driving into New York whenever I could. Those were some of the best times of my life.

If you don’t own their first album, you really should.

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7 Comments

Mark

Posted March 14, 2011 at 10:12 pm | Permalink

I should add that I was aware of punk well before I first came into contact with the Ramones. I was a kid living in Atlanta when the Sex Pistols first came to play there. I remember watching news footage at my friend David Spivey’s house and being absolutely terrified. Now, of course, I wish that I’d had the balls to hitchhike into town and see the show. I was probably about 10 at the time.
Mark

Posted March 14, 2011 at 11:17 pm | Permalink

I think I’ve mentioned it here before, but one of my only big regrets in life is not trying harder to interview Joey. I had a few chances, but I never had the guts to follow though.
Bob

Posted March 15, 2011 at 8:56 am | Permalink

Probably the greatest American rock and roll band of all time.
Mr. X

Posted March 15, 2011 at 10:07 am | Permalink

I loved the band, but I never quite got their politics. Or, maybe I got them and just didn’t agree with them. Speaking of which, does anyone understand Joey’s obsession with Maria Bartiromo?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRNwUhf4JM8
Robert

Posted March 15, 2011 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

I went along with a friend of mine who served a court summons on Dee Dee when he was living on South Forest Avenue at Oakland Avenue.
Stephen

Posted March 15, 2011 at 2:14 pm | Permalink

If you’re a real fan, go to the corner of Bowery and East Second Street and steal the sign.

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/09/27/5188266-nyc-forced-to-move-oft-stolen-joey-ramone-sign
Mark

Posted March 15, 2011 at 7:45 pm | Permalink

My friend Eric just reminded me that my favorite artist influenced his favorite artist….

When Springsteen met Joey Ramone in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Ramone asked Bruce to write a song for his band, The Ramones. Springsteen wrote “Hungry Heart” that night but decided to keep it on the advice of his producer and manager, Jon Landau.

When we saw Springsteen sing Hungry Heart at the Palace in 2009, Hungry Heart was his best performance. This is that performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEsqJLkgq8