Jari-Pekka:Could we discuss about the
time when you were on a tour with Marky Ramone And The Intruders and
generally about Ramones. You're also good friend of Joey and etc.
Jerry Only: Sure we
can.
Jari-Pekka: How did the co-operation
start with Marky Ramone And Intruders:
Jerry Only: Okay, Marky is good friend
of Arturo Vega, who was touring
with Ramones over 20 years. Well, good friends of mine are Joey and
Daniel
Rey, who produced some Ramones albums.
We played with Marky couple of shows and he asked if we can tour
with him. I said: Sure. We toured with Marky, and he came to stage
every
night and we made couple of songs with him like Blitzkrieg Bop.
Jari-Pekka: How about Roseland-gig:
Jerry Only: I guess you mean what
happened when we
played at Roseland in New York City. Joey came up and sang 5 or 6
songs
with us. During and after the show, there was situations. I knew that
Marky And Joey
had a little fight. So, very last song we performed; Marky came to play
drums and Joey sang, so we made them to talk to each others again. And as
you know, one of my dreams is to get those guys back together and to
go to a tour
with them, because I always wanted to have a tour with Ramones, and it's
very sad that when I get my band back, there's no Ramones longer around.
And about the unfortunate things about my career: I didn't get to play
with Ramones. So, I'm trying to put them back together - if I can.
(laughing)
Jari-Pekka: It demands hard work. But I can
see that it is a big dream
for both of us:
Jerry Only: Yeah, I know that, but I
must try and it's my job to try.
Playing with Marky is really enjoyable, and because Marky is really funny
guy, and we have these albums under work; me and Marky together. We're
gonna play
some old songs from 50's and 60's. Marky really enjoys to play, he's just
like
me. If I wasn't able to be in Misfits, I would be clever enough to play or
to do
something. I respect Marky a lot, 'cause everyday he comes up
and plays his drums - and he loves to play! We do things together. He's a
very good friend of mine.
It just seems to me that if you really love to play, there's no reason why
your band should stop playing. Why wouldn't you continue? I'd
do
anything for him (laughing).
Jari-Pekka: I've got some reviews. What did
you think about these first gigs with Marky (he looks my gig list where's
listed these first gigs) He points Ottawa and says:
Jerry Only:
Buffalo was the first place we played with them. We had a really really
good show in Toronto (the 2nd gig) and also in Montreal it
was incredible. You know that when we first time played
with Marky, we played really hard and got the pressure away. Marky Ramone
And The Intruders is a very good band. Marky accepts and knows that we've
got a very good following from the fans and a very good audience. And he
asked if they could come to tour with us.
Jari-Pekka: How did you choose to play
Blitzkrieg Bop and etc. in encores(We want more! - song; notice from
inspector of used language, Ville Partanen-Beatle):
Jerry Only: You know that it's a very
easy
song to play. (laughing)
Jari-Pekka: What did you think about Ben
Trokan and Johnny Pisano?:
Jerry Only: Ben is a very young and very
very good player and Johnny
is a very good bass player. Sometimes Johnny Pisano comes up to my house
and we play songs. Johnny plays Led Zeppelin songs and this king of stuff
very
very well. I can't play this kind of stuff. I saw Ben when he played with
Remains. Dee Dee is OK.
I will come out and sing with Marky Ramone And The Intruders. I will do
Blitzkrieg Bop, sometimes I might sing I Wanna Be Sedated. Then Marky uses
to come and sing I Wanna Be Sedated with me. Then Chud plays drums.
It was also really funny. We had a really good time with Marky Ramone
And The Intruders. Ben is a very young guy and his band is also young but
it is very good. I think what they need is a good break. I think it's
gonna be hard when you're in band like Ramones, Misfits, Sex Pistols or
something like that. When you stop something like that, and you try to do
something else, it's always hard, because the most of people just see,
what you were doing before. It's hard, but they've did a very good songs.
They're a really young band and I think Marky will be around there a long
time. Marky's very talented and a very good drummer. We come together very
well and we hang around together. He's a very funny guy.
Jari-Pekka: Which are your favourite
songs of Ramones and Misfits?:
Jerry Only: My favourite Misfits songs
are the old ones like Astro Zombies, Last Caress and Teenage From Mars. I
like real spacey-ones, the ones that move really fast. New ones like
American
Psycho, From Hell They Came and Don't Open 'Til Doomsday
Ramones favourites: I like Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Blitzkrieg Bop, Glad
To See You Go, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker. I use to play Ramones songs when I
practise.
I've tried to do some gigs with Joey also. In Joey's birthday party I
played ten songs with Daniel Rey and Joey. Joey really likes to play and
perform, Ronnie Spector was there also.
Jerry Only: It was cold on this
morning
Jari-Pekka:It felt like hell:
Jerry Only: In showtime came
everybody a little bit warmer and the heat of the people and the heat of
the lights
helped very much.The last time we came to Europe, we got very very
sick. Every day was a rainy day, now, it has been sunny every day.
Jari-Pekka: There's a million different
Misfits bootlegs and cover songs.
Here's also one split bootleg single of Ramones and Misfits.:
Jerry Only: Oh, really. Funny thing is
that I used to hate that when people
covered our songs. We played our songs better. Now I appreciate bands
covering our songs. When Metallica covered Last Caress, it kept Misfits'
name
alive over the years. I use to listen all these covers. My favorite
musicians
are from 1950 - 1960, this is what I like. You can tell that I use to
listen Smokie Robinson. But anybody can think what it is when a rap band
covers your song?
Now, about the bootlegs; I use to hate them: they're really over-priced,
bad
quality, there's no artist control. Bootlegs rip my fans. Also you
might get famous thanks to the bootlegs.
Jari-Pekka: What did you like about the
first
tour after re-arranging and, about this gig:
Jerry Only: First time we came to Europe
it was great. It seems to me, that when we came the
first time, many people didn't know about our shows. We've made
now
different songs and writings. It was a very big stage and I liked it.
Audience was good, I think that people really respect bands which don't
drink alcohol after show - it's bad for next day's performing. We take
care a
lot
about our performing. We don't drink alcohol and we don't smoke. We try to
do the best
we
can do.
Jari-Pekka: Tell something about the 70's
New
York-scene:
Jerry Only: Unique: you see 500
people and you know by looking at someone that he is in a band. These ones
were
'members' of the Ramones. And that was one of the reasons I
collected a
band. In Misfits we had an own look.
As you know we had influence to our songs and style from horror films,
science-fiction
and
these kind of things. When you
look at the band, you see immediately, what they're
going to
sing about.
Misfits was a part of it's locality. We're not
political at all, there's no political texts. We don't either worry about
social
problems. In our country we had problems in the 60's and the reason was
the Vietnam war.
People
kept singing that we should win the world peace. A few years later,
these topics didn't longer exist. Songs like Last Caress and
Halloween will live many years.
(Misfits thanks to Jerry Only and
Very Ramoniac thanks to inspector of used language, Ville
Partanen-Beatle)