Ramones - At the Roots of Punk

I meet Marky Ramone on a sweltering Palermo evening, backstage at the “Beers and Bones Festival”, the only southern Italian date on his 2007 international tour. 

Either way, the ice is soon broken, and I ask him if we can talk about his time with the band that changed the course of rock: at this point, the interview really starts to get going…  

Tell me a bit about your beginnings… when did you start playing drums?

I started playing at the age of eight, and I first recorded with a band when I was sixteen, back in high school. Then I started spending time in New York, and there were already musicians like the Ramones, Richard Hell, Blondie, Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Wayne County… I joined Richard Hell's band and then, in '78, the Ramones, when I was 22. I can say I grew up in New York, loving music.

Who do you think was the first “punk” band? The Ramones, or someone before them?

The Ramones had the "sound" and the speed: 1-2-3-4 and off you go… every song had that kind of approach. Iggy & The Stooges had a few "punk" songs in their repertoire, but not all of them were… let's say they only had some elements of punk. The New York Dolls, on the other hand, were a glam band with blues roots — personally, I never considered them "punk". The Ramones were really the first to create the punk "wall of sound". Then, in England, they imitated what the Ramones had done and started their own bands, beginning with Sex Pistols and Clash…

Back then, did you get the feeling that Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols had "stolen" something from you Americans?

In a sense, yes: they inherited Richard Hell's look and drew inspiration from the Ramones. In particular, Sid Vicious was a huge fan of ours and always paid close attention to what we were doing. But ultimately none of that matters to me — what matters is that good music gets made.

You started playing with the Ramones from their fourth album, "Road To Ruin" onward: in which songs do you feel your contribution to the band's music comes through the most?

"I Wanna Be Sedated" and "I Just Want To Have Something To Do" on "Road To Ruin"… then "Rock'n'roll High School", "Do You Remember Rock'n'roll Radio", "The KKK Took My Baby Away", "Pet Semetary"… those are the songs where I contributed the most — quite a few good songs.

Which musicians do you think influenced the Ramones the most?

Back then we liked a lot of things: 1950s doo-wop and all the early rockers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard… then we liked the Kinks, the early Who, the Beatles… the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean and surf music… and of course a good chunk of the output of Mc5 and Iggy. Put all that together, and the result is the Ramones!

Most people know them only for the "punk" songs, but the Ramones also had ballads in their repertoire like "Questioningly", "7-11", "Bye Bye Baby"… where did those come from?

From the girl groups of the Phil Spector era… Phil Spector also had a huge influence on our sound: we listened to him and loved him when we were still kids, so our softer tracks were heavily influenced by his music.

What was your experience working with Phil Spector during the production of "End Of The Century"?

I loved working with him, and he quickly became a great friend of mine and Joey's. Johnny and Dee Dee, on the other hand, couldn't stand him: two of the Ramones enjoyed collaborating with him, the other two not so much at all. I'm still in touch with Phil today — we talk on the phone and email each other often.

"Pleasant Dreams": I think it's a wonderful, very underrated album. What do you think?

It was the Ramones' "pop" album. I love it, and today it's much more appreciated than it was when it came out. Back then, some hardcore bands accused the Ramones of having gone too "soft"… but we felt that "Pleasant Dreams" was a great pop-punk album: full of melody, great harmonies and great vocals. It's among my favorites. Definitely.

Which current bands do you think have carried on the Ramones' legacy?

Obviously there will never be another Ramones, but thankfully there are plenty of bands that have carried on that legacy, starting with Green Day, Rancid, Queers. Then there are many other bands who were influenced by the Ramones but went on to develop their own distinctive style.

Were the Ramones just a "punk" band, or the one and only "punk" band?

The Ramones were everything and the opposite of everything.

Let's get back to the present... Are you working on anything new?

Yes, I'm working on a book about the New York punk scene, starting in 1974 and brought up to the present day. Along with it, there will also be a DVD with interviews with the people who lived it; but that won't happen before 2008. Other than that, I also host a radio show in America, all punk-rock music, and sometimes I have fun DJing too: I play whatever music I want and it's a lot of fun. For now, that's plenty!

How do you feel being the last remaining "Ramone"?...

Well, Tommy is still around too. But if you mean the only Ramone still active, then yes, it's just me... and I feel like I want to help keep the spirit of the band alive.

As is well known, Marky is the sole survivor of the calamities that struck the Ramones in recent times, robbing us, in just four years (2001-2004), of the three core members: Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny. Today, Marky is also the only true keeper of the band's musical legacy (the other two, lesser-known members, Richie and C.J., were not inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame). When I ask him that final question, I'm a bit hesitant... I know I'm touching a very sensitive subject and my voice comes out barely above a whisper. Marky immediately reminds me that Tommy is still around (in reality, he hasn't played with the Ramones since 1978 and no longer goes by "Ramone"), perhaps so as not to feel burdened with too much responsibility. But then he lets me understand that he's well aware the band's legacy has ended up in his hands, entrusted to his drumsticks. I hand him a pen: he writes a lovely dedication on the new Italian Ramones biography. We say goodbye warmly, hoping to see him again soon around these parts... Marky, the "last of the Ramones".

(Palermo, 24/07/2007)

Thanks to Ignazio Torres, Bizio Rizzo and the staff of the "Beers And Bones Festival" 2007.

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