INTERVIEW WITH ARTURO VEGA

INTERVIEW WITH ARTURO VEGA

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Copyright© 1998 -> for everything in this page by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone and Arturo Vega

THIS INTERVIEW IS MADE IN 1998 AND IT IS IN ORIGINAL FORMAT BELOW. ARTURO VEGA PASSED AWAY IN 2013. READ LOT MORE OF HIM HERE

I got a really big panic, when I saw official Ramones jacket on the Misfits stage. This happened in Provinssirock, Finland, in June 1998. I couldn't believe who it was. He was Arturo Vega. Arturo is one of the closest friends of the Ramones and as we fans know, he was also the lighting director of the Ramones. He has designed Ramones' eagle logo and mostly other Ramones arts..... He was really friendly and we talked a long time. Here's also a little interview.
Arturo Vega was the Ramones creative director since first Ramones days in 1974. With the Ramones Arturo worked on 2 261 shows, and only missed 2 Ramones shows altogether.

This interview is in its original format as it happened in 1998.
You can find Arturo Vega's text from my Heaven Needed A Lead Singer: Fans Remember Joey Ramone book, 2 pages long interview from Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone book and 4 pages long interview from Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives book.

Jari-Pekka: So now you are in a Misfits tour. What did you like of the Misfits show yourself?
Arturo Vega: Sure, it was great.

Jari-Pekka: It's great when you think that you've designed Ramones logo and mostly all Ramones shirts and etc. Which are your favourites of the Ramones T-shirts:
Arturo Vega: I've designed most of them actually. Expect that John Holmström drew cartoons, but some ideas was mine. Surfin' Pinhead-shirt is one of my favourites. (obs: John Holmström draw example cartoons to Rocket To Russia)
Then Arturo asked which T-shirts I've got. I was wearing Four Faces-T-shirt (back: Adios Amigos) He said that he designed that and he took the photographs in Australia.
He also noticed my leather jackets Mondo Bizarro-backmark. He has designed same style Mondo Bizarro T-shirts, but not my back mark.
Jari-Pekka: What is your painting style?
Arturo Vega: I paint abstract style. I've been painting for a long time, I used to paint before the Ramones.
Jari-Pekka: I've read something of these things and also that you lived near to CBGB:
Arturo Vega: Yes, I lived around the corner. Joey and Dee Dee lived with me for a while. Dee Dee lived with me for only a few months.
Jari-Pekka: He had Different lifestyle:
Arturo Vega: Very, very different lifestyle. He was taking drugs and stuff like that etc. Me and Joey didn't like that. Joey lived with me many many years. He lives near by me now.
I used to paint before the band though I was going to do rock'n'roll life: maybe for five years, ten the most. But it was 5, 10, 15 years and... I started to paint again 1989. 1996 Ramones retired and I thought this is it - no more bands for me now, I only wanted to paint and run.
Jari-Pekka: How did you meet Misfits:
Arturo Vega: I met them on last summer. I had already decided that I was only going to paint. I didn't think to work with band touring anymore. But at last I decided that I could do one tour a year, only one tour a year.
Jari-Pekka: You're so professional and...:
Arturo Vega: They liked me a lot and I liked them a lot, and I'm very happy when I am with them. But I really wanted to paint, it's what I really wanna do and I'm running the New York City marathon on next November. I want to train really hard for that.
This is last tour with them this year, containing two weeks South American tour: I really want to paint, just wanna paint and run.
Jari-Pekka: What did you like of the last Ramones shows in South America?:
Arturo Vega: It was really exciting and especially in the last show there. There was 75 000 people. It was great, Die Toten Hosen and Iggy Pop were opening acts.
Then we talked about the Ramones visiting in the Provinssirock-festival, eleven years ago (1988)( I've got unedited tape of it). And also about the Ramones visitings in my hometown 1992 and 1994 (Nummirock-festival) and about my Ramones videostuff.
Arturo Vega is still living in New York and he hates Coney Island a big time: it's so small, stinky and loudy. Arturo also told that Marky had his camera with him all the time. All Around The World-video is Marky's tape.

Jari-Pekka: What did you think of this CBGB time. I've got 100 Village Voice pages from the beginning times of the the Ramones. (Village Voice was/is a local magazine to the many Ramones members). Pages contains different Ramones advertisements, articles, reviews from the years 1974 - 1981. (part of these are also in Ramones: An American Band-book):
Arturo Vega: These are in official book. I designed the most of these advertisements. I designed 1975 my first Ramones-poster. It was for CBGB festival: There were 40 bands playing in the weekend, Talking Heads etc. I took a photo from me with this eagle bat belt which is on the first back cover, that is me. I took this photograph with an automatic photomachine. It cost 25 cents. This kind of machine which you just put coin and it takes a pic of you. This is how we took this photograph. I use this photo on Village Voice too.
Ramoniac thanks to Arturo Vega and
special thanks to inspector of used language, Ville Partanen-Beatle