Joey Ramone, the undeniable King of Punk Rock, died Easter Sunday, April 15th 2001 at 2:40pm. The sadness of losing him hit me head on like a truck into my brain. "Joey dead? That can't be." I thought. I knew the man was very sick but for some reason I didn't really believe he could die. And it's funny, i never knew the guy personally but I did, literally, grow up with him. Ever since 9th grade when I saw Joey and the boys on MTV and i fell in love with the three chords loud fast demolition style rock and roll. Not only that but I could relate to their lyrics of teeange alienation, lost love, and a deep value in pop culture from comic books to Burger King. From that point on i was a full fledged Ramone addict.
Going to a school in a small farming town way up in upstate NY, there were only a few others who actually knew who they were, let alone people who liked them. I hate to brag but I did change that. I let everyone know how great they were and how they were the complete rock and roll band. In 11th grade I started playing in a band with my bass. Although our guitarist and drummer were well versed in their instruments, I was a newcomer, but being inspired by the start-from-scratch mentality of the Ramones, I tried my hardest to learn the bass toplay rock the best I could. The first two songs that I ever learned were "I Wanna be Sedated" and "Blitzkrieg Bop."
We even played an entire Ramones cover show once.
What I learned about Rock I learned through the eyes of the master, Joey. He was at the front of it all. With ripped jeans, sneakers and leather jackets, the Ramones typified rock and with Joey's ominous presence onstage, he was a true rock god. I did all I could to be just like them, from quoting songs to wearing tight fitting jeans and t-shirts and wearing chuck taylors instead of the high school "uniform" of Abercrombie, Gap and Nike. You could easily say that Joey turned my life around. I was a teenage fuck up, a walking Ramones song if you will. I made my way through school by jsut sliding by and used my creativity and intelligence in other more worthwhile areas. What I owe the most to the Ramones is my getting interested into punk rock. Before hearing them I listened to U2 Aerosmith and Van Halen. Although good bands, punk rock really got me where it counted. I began listening to the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Rancid, and the Queers. But I always went back to the Ramones, and Joey was always there to belt out the 3 chord two minute long classics like "Teenage Lobotomy" and "Cretin Hop."
Now that I'm in college and a little bit older, I still love putting on a Ramones album and turning the volume all the way up and bouncing around to a good old fashion punk classic. But now that Joey is gone it feels like the dynasty that is punk will crumble from its base. There is no Godfather anymore, and nobody to take the helm. There are many good bands out there but nobody will ever compare to the Ramones, and nobody will ever compare to Joey. You will be missed.
"I REMEMBER YOU..."
For a great tribute go to www.officialramones.com |
