ROCK IN PEACE: DEE DEE AND JOEY RAMONE
(BOOK)
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Updated on May 6, 2020
THIS BOOK IS SOLD-OUT.
BUY MY 1ST
OR 3RD BOOK HERE.
Tommy Ramone commented this my Rock In Peace: Dee Dee
And Joey Ramone book this way: "Obviously
you have put a lot of love and work into this book Rock In
Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone. It's overwhelmingly Ramones. For Ramones
fans, it's the chance to get an over abundance of Ramones interviews and
Ramones nostalgia and Ramones photos. Ramones friends and all kinds of
good things. Obviuosly a book made with love and
affection."
Two deaths in two years is too
much. This is the unfortunate reality that us, the fans of the greatest
band of all time had to deal with. At first, heaven called Ramones singer
Joey Ramone on April 15, 2001 and then only a little more than a year
later, bassist Dee Dee Ramone passed away on June 5, 2002. Both were 49
years young. Like my first book (Heaven Needed A
Lead Singer: Fans Remember Joey Ramone), this book is also full of
love for what Dee Dee and
Joey Ramone and the rest of the Ramones family did for all of us.
Official release date was May 19, 2004.
Dee Dee's death was due to an accidental heroin overdose and this news was
particularly sad since Dee Dee was known to be free of drugs for many
years. I decided to contribute a portion of the profits from this book to
aid in the study of drug addiction.
It is the only way we can come to
understand Dee Dee's fatal overdose and other drug-related deaths. When I
toured with Dee Dee in 2000 and 2001, I never saw him use hard drugs. I
also would have noticed from his behaviour if he had used them. On those
tours, we did so many things together. I donate of the profits also for
Juliana Von Wendt Fund. This fund was founded in 1971 and they support
humane researching method without animals.
Dee Dee always treated me in such an amazing way. Like when he asked me to
join him on stage or when he wanted to give me his personal diary of the
tour, he had filled it with his personal thoughts, pictures and
drawings... Somehow I didn't even think twice about whether or not I would
take on the challenge again for this, my second book. It was clear that I
would start to build on the project. I owe so much to Dee Dee, Joey and
the Ramones. My life has been so much happier because of them. You will
find a vast amount of material concerning Dee Dee and Joey. But this book
is naturally more of Dee Dee because my first one had so much material of
Joey. As I look at the final pages, I'm amazed at how I was able to
compile all these special texts and photos together.
(Photo:
Jari-Pekka, Joey's mother Charlotte Lesher and Andy Shernoff of the
Dictators.)
I will say, that the book features a great deal of Dee Dee's and Joey's
closest friends. In this book, Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone, you
will find two interviews with Marky Ramone. Marky
also wrote a great
opening text. I was also honoured to include a long interview with
Tommy
Ramone. He replied to various questions concerning the 60's and to
the
present time. You will also find interviews with Jerry
Only of The Misfits, Leonard Phillips of The Dickies, Andy McCoy of Hanoi
Rocks, Nick
Royale of Hellacopters, Dregen of Backyard Babies, Howlin' Pelle of Hives,
Martti Syrjä and Juha Torvinen of Eppu Normaali etc. Eppu Normaali
is the
most popular Finnish rock band in Finland ever. Also there are interviews
with "Ramones producer" Daniel Rey, Chris Spedding
(produced Dee Dee's albums etc.), Lech Kowalski
(director of Hey Is Dee
Dee Home etc.), Arturo Vega (creative director of
the Ramones etc.), Paul Kostabi and Heidi Follin
(Dee Dee's artist partners, Paul is a musician of Youth Gone Mad and one
of the closest friends of Dee Dee), Andy
Poncherello (Dee Dee's
closest friend in LA), Lothar Felkel (great fan
story which started in the
1970's), Bebe Buell (singer, media personality...)
etc...
Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone, features more than 60 famous
musicians/ people contributing their Dee Dee, Joey memories (as well as
general Ramones stories). Some of the contributors (outside Finland)
include: The Dictators (Andy Shernoff), Die Toten Hosen
(Campino, Breiti
and Vom), Teenage Head (Gordie Lewis), Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore),
Chesterfield Kings (Andy Babiuk), Hellacopters (Robert Hellacopter), The
Lurkers (Arturo Bassick), The Queers (Joe Queer), Hymans (Micke Hyman),
Groovie Ghoulies (Kepi), Dropkick Murphys (Marc Orrell), Type O Negative
(Johnny Kelly), Electric Frankenstein (Sal Canzonieri), Dwarves (Blag
Dahlia), Kowalskis (Kitty Kowalski), Marco (Nerds), Henry Rollins, Jayne
County, Merle Allin, Danko Jones, Rodney Bingenheimer, Chris Goss and Mike
Vallely. Mike Vallely is the singer for Mike V. And The Rats, but
for more than 15 years he has been ranked one of the best skaters in the
world.
Some of the contributors from Finland are: Ne Luumäet
(Joey Luumäki),
Pojat (Make), Klamydia (Vesku, Riku and Severi), Häiriköt (Erkko), HIM
(Ville Valo and Kaasu), 69 Eyes (Bazie and Jussi), Children Of Bodom
(Alexi Laiho), Charon (J-P Leppäluoto), Flaming Sideburns (Eduardo
Martinez), 22 Pistepirkko (Asko, PK and Espe), Diablo (Aadolf Virtanen),
Popeda (Pate Mustajärvi), Alivaltiosihteeri (Pasi Heikura and Jyrki
Liikka), Lasse Erjamo (Deadbabes), Kauko Röyhkä, Timo Rautiainen & Trio
Niskalaukaus (Timo Rautiainen) and Antti Niemi. Antti Niemi was the
long-time goalkeeper of the Finnish national soccer team, and when book
came out he played for the Southampton Saints FC (many years). Now (season
2006-2007) Antti's team in the premier professional league is Fulham
FC.
I have been fortunate enough to collect a lot of very special unreleased
Ramones and Ramones related photos and drawings. You'll find in this book
an extra cool drawing done by the Canadian artist Darren
Merinuk, which
gives me many tears of happiness. There are also works done by
Gonzalo
Facio the caricaturist from Argentina, four drawings of our heroes
by
Swedish Hellacopters singer-guitarist Nick Royale,
and also a really cool
Dee Dee work by Finnish Retkibanaani's drummer, Toni
Helin. Darren's, Nick's and Toni's works are made only for
this book.
In all, the book contains more than 300 photos!!! Including 32 full colour
pages. In total, the book has 208 pages. The page size is B5. You'll be
especially amazed to see all the photos taken by Lothar Felkel.... This
book is from Dee Dee's and Joey's fans, friends, and me. It contains
material from my Ramoniac world. One of the most amazing experiences was
to get a chance to visit Joey's apartment with Joey's
mother Charlotte
Lesher and his brother Mickey Leigh. You'll find the story with
color pictures, also included. There are also reports from the Joey
Ramone Place ceremony, my trips to the Joey's Birthday Bashes and other
Ramoniac happenings. This time you'll find in the Ramoniac Kids pages,
how kids are
named after our heros and what kind of a Ramones themed birthday party
Guns N'Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed and his wife
Lisa Reed organized for
their daughter etc. etc. You will be surprised many times over while
reading this book.
The most important thing though, is that all of these memory texts are
from YOU, the fans. Every one who wrote did so from their heart and used
this book as a platform to express what Joey had meant to them. You'll
find hundreds of memory texts by fans.
Also there are others who worked very, very hard on this book and my main
thanks go of course to Dee Dee and Joey, but also to Randy Wisebrod, Maria
Montoya-Kaye and Lynne Cameron. All texts (expect memory texts by
fans) are grammar checked in this book. I'm also gratefully thankful to
everyone
else who supported me with this huge project. You're also listed in this
book.
I firmly believe that both Dee Dee as well as Joey are most deserving of
this book and they would be proud of it. Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey
Ramone.
Sincerely,
Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone
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BUY MY 1ST
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PRESS PHOTOS:
1)
Jari-Pekka and Dee Dee. This photo was taken just after Dee Dee gave
Jari-Pekka his personal diary as a gift in 2000. Photo: Kimmo
Aaltonen.
(Resolution 300, RGB, JPG).
2) Jari-Pekka
Laitio-Ramone, Joey's mother Charlotte Lesher and Andy Shernoff of the
Dictators. Photo: Al Maddy (Resolution 300, RGB, JPG).
3) Marky
Ramone, Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone and Jerry Only of the Misfits.
Photo: Tut (Resolution 300, RGB, JPG).
4)
Jari-Pekka and Andy McCoy of Hanoi Rocks. (Resolution 300, RGB,
JPG)
5)
Jari-Pekka and Alexi Laiho of Children Of Bodom. Photo: Timo
Siekkinen. (Resolution 300, RGB,
JPG)
6) Jari-Pekka
and HIM members. From left to right: Mige, Ville Valo, Gas, Jari-Pekka,
Burton and Linde. Photo: Heidi Anttila. (Resolution 300, RGB,
JPG)
7) Type
O Negative members and Jari-Pekka. From left to right: Kenny Hickey,
Peter Steele and Johnny Kelly, and Jari-Pekka standing. Photo taken at
the Sauna Open Air in Finland in 2007.. (Resolution 300, RGB,
JPG)
8) Tarja
of Nightwish (she's in a book as well) with a copy of Rock In Peace: Dee
Dee And Joey Ramone in Argentina in April, 2005. Photo: Andrea Yeber.
(Resolution 250, RGB, JPG)
SOME FAN COMMENTS OF THE BOOK:
Thank you for this second wonderful book. For each Ramones fan there are
so many important details and news about our heroes. All the interviews
you've done are exactly with these people, who really have something to
say something about Dee Dee and Joey. You put so much love in this book -
it's the perfect tribute book to our heroes!!! Keep on living your
Ramoniac life!!!
(Andreas Gabriel, 28, Berlin, Germany)
I've barely been able to tear myself away from your brilliant books. They
are really amazingly written and put together and it makes me really happy
to read them and realise that I am not by any means the only Ramones fan
out there! (which it previously felt like a lot!). So I just wanted to
write and say thank you very much for that.
(Grace, 20, Exeter, UK)
It is not my intention to make this sound like a "book review". I don't
know enough about Joey or Dee Dee to make any real
informative comments about them or the Ramones in general. There is
plenty of material out there to read, to give you an "impression" of who
they were. Jari-Pekka brings out the real experience of who they were
because of his sensitive nature. He presents Dee Dee and Joey to us,
through the eyes and hearts of those around them. He pays homage in a
beautiful way. He has amassed a volume of interviews, texts and comments,
photographs, and graphics from people around the world. Friends, family
and fans, all play a special and equal role. It is fun to read everyone's
insight and opinions in the sense that not only do you understand Joey and
Dee Dee better, but also you get to know the "commentators" themselves.
Underneath, a little bit of everyone's personality shines through.
He adds his own tales and experiences, details and anecdotes in a most
delicious way. You feel like you're a kid again setting off for an
adventure. He is proud to have known Dee Dee, and is elated to be given a
gift as precious as Dee Dee's own diary. Kindness, is returned to those
that share it.
Jari-Pekka is a gentle and sensitive person; there is no angle behind his
motivation. He simply wants to pay respect to two Ramones that touched his
life. It's the unique way he sets out to do it that brings us all
together for the spin. What you get is pure emotion. Well, maybe in the
end I kind of did write a bit of a review. Hopefully, I paid a little
tribute to Jari-Pekka himself; he deserves a pint of the finest ale.
Cheers mate!
(Josie Montserrat, Canada)
I started reading book the day after Joey's 53rd B'Day Bash and I've been
reading some of it everyday since. I'm so proud to be a Ramones fan for
the past 27 years and from reading Jari-Pekka's book, it makes me even
more proud. To read about how Dee Dee & Joey have touched so many lives as
they touch mine. I've been Honored that Jari-Pekka gave me the opportunity
to be part of his 2 books. I will always be thankful for that, to share my
feelings about Joey & Dee Dee to the world. They will always be a part of
my life. I recommend to all of you who have not gotten his book to get a
copy. For those who have a copy I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!!!!
(Mike Breschard, 40, USA)
Thank you sooooo much for one more great treasure book from you!!!!!! I
wanted to get it so much as I do love the first one! You're great author
and I like your style and the love that shines through in your
books!!!!!
(Jana, Russia)
I think it`s hard to believe that Joey and Dee Dee died so young and can`t
enjoy their lives for a much longer time. Both of them worked really hard
to become a "Rock`N`Roll Hall Of Famer". But there´s one Ramone who worked
hard that the fans never forget their Kings from Queens. I think it`s
Jari-Pekka`s always updated homepage and his two books about the Ramones,
specially about Joey (first book: Heaven Needed A Lead Singer: Fans
Remember Joey Ramone) and now the new one Rock In Peace: Dee Dee and Joey
Ramone. The first was a really interesting book and was a great tribute to
Joey and I think Jari-Pekka knows a lot of him. Second book same as the
first (Jackie is....) is very exciting too. It`s great to see all these
rare photos (I`ve seen a lot Ramones pics in the Internet but not these
photos with a lot of friends from Joey and Dee Dee). You can read a lot of
stories you never heard about these things. For example: Dee Dee`s art
painting times with Heidi Follin and Paul Kostabi (a very crazy story
about Dee Dee`s artists time as a painter). Oh I think he was so crazy in
these times and he was searching to do some other things than making music
but last and least he was Dee Dee Ramone and a rock`N`roller and great
songwriter. It`s cool to read the interviews in this book with Tommy
Ramone, Arturo Vega, Marky Ramone, Jerry Only and a lot of people who were
in contact with Dee Dee until his death. I think this book is like a
Ramones album. Very exciting stories. It´s better to read than the other
official books about the Ramones, because the most fans know what`s
written in these books. (But I like them too). Rock In
Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone is a book with stories and pics you`ll
never find anywhere else. So order it and think of Joey's words: "If
you´re not in it, you`re out of it). Some money will spended to aid in the
study of drug addiction and I think it`s a good idea cause Dee Dee`s live
was much influenced by drugs and it´s sad that he ended his live in this
way. I hope there will be no Johnny or Marky tribute books in the next
time cause they wanna live. So take it fans page 1-2-3-4...
(Pedda Ramone, Germany)
I just want to add a plug for Jari-Pekka's books. They are both well worth
having. He's got interviews in both of them that you won't find anywhere
else, and he talks to a lot of people who NEVER get covered in all these
punk books and movies that are coming out in droves these days. There are
many more of these books and movies to come, but Jari-Pekka's will always
be unique and worth having.
(Laura Brown, 45, NYC, USA)
MAIN MAN: A TRIBUTE TO DEE DEE
RAMONE -CD
Together with a first pressing of this book came a CD MAIN MAN: A
Tribute To Dee Dee Ramone. (it was limited offer and I've run out of CD's
now).
The CD is titled: MAIN MAN: A Tribute To Dee Dee Ramone. The CD
features
31 bands from 10 countries and has fabulous artwork by Darren Merinuk.
Larry of the AMP
Records (Canada) got idea of that CD and he also mainly composed it
etc., you can still order CD through AMP Records.
Bands are playing songs about Dee Dee
and the Ramones. This ain't
no covers comp... It's an all original tribute to the memory and spirit
of a true punk rock legend. AMP Records has released
before in example Life's
A Gas: A Tribute To Joey Ramone CD.
Here's one
review by Claire online (www.punk-ezine.com).
MAIN MAN: A Tribute To Dee Dee Ramone is featuring:
1) Accelerators: I Wanna Be Like Dee Dee Ramone (USA)
2) Spoiled Rotten: Rock 'N' Roll Is Dead (Dee Dee Is King) (Canada)
3) Predator: All Good Cretins (Sweden)
4) Snot Rockets: Let's Get Zonked (Again) (USA)
5) Plastic Bastard: Poison Heart Tattoo (Canada)
6) Saturday Night Kids: Kathy Hates The Ramones (USA)
7) Jesus H. Presley: Have You Seen Dee Dee Ramone (UK)
8) Fifi And The Mach III: Treat You (Japan)
9) Squareheads: Dirtnap (Canada)
10) Meat Depressed: Dee Dee Says (USA)
11) Hymans: I Don't Know Where I Belong (Sweden)
12) Shock And Awe: Ain't No Friend Of Mine (UK)
13) Vectors: Everyone's Against Me (Sweden)
14) Grayline: Dee Dee Ramone Was A Murder Junkie (Canada)
15) Rydells: Jackie And Judy (USA)
16) Tokiado: Stop The Ramones (France)
17) Princovia: Dee Dee's Garden (Slovenia)
18) Transistors: Dee Dee And Joey (Germany)
19) Quickies: Gabba Gabba Hey (We Love You) (USA)
20) Häiriköt: Joey Ja Dee Dee (Finland)
21) Havenots: I Love Her And She Loves The Ramones (USA)
22) Cretin Family Therapy: Song For Heroes (Finland)
23) Nobody's Heroes: Teenage Ramone (USA)
24) Bussy And The Rockets: Hard To Understand (Spain)
25) Peloton Art: 1975 (Sweden)
26) The Vapids: Dee Dee King Of Rock (Canada)
27) Mickey DeSadist: Touchie Feelie Tonite (Canada)
28) Teenage Confidential: Sha La La (Japan)
29) Bullet Treatment: Road To Ruin (USA)
30) Youth Gone Mad (featuring Dee Dee Ramone): Dee Dee Deceased (USA)
31) Romeros: Dee Dee Left Home (Germany)
BOOK/ CD RELEASE PARTY:
July 23rd, 2004 we (Jari-Pekka and AMP Records) had a book/CD
release party at the Underground in Hamilton, Canada. Spoiled Rotten
headlined release show and Gordie Lewis from Teenage Head played along
with Mickey DeSadist from the Forgotten Rebels with them etc.
Grayline and The Snot Rockets were also playing. You can only expect
how many great Ramones songs was heard on that night... Also
really surprise Ramones songs at live like Crummy Stuff and Everytime I
Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You. There was also lot signed stuff
from famous bands in a lottery etc.
Here is the schedule:
10:45-11:15 Grayline
11:30-12:00 Snot Rockets
12:00-12:15 Special Ramones Acoustic set with Larry Retard and Mike
Trebilcock (Killjoys)
12:15-1:30 Spoiled Rotten w/guests Johnny Bud, Gordie Lewis and Mickey
DeSadist