OR GO TO MAIN PAGE OF MY RAMONES SITE
WHEN:Tuesday July 20 The Ramones signed HEY HO LET'S GO! -ANTHOLOGIES at Virgin Megastore, Union Square, 14th & Broadway, New York, NY. 212.598.4666
THERE WAS AT FIRST Dee Dee, Joey, Johnny, Marky, Tommy and also CJ appearad at last. CJ told before that he wasn't called anyone from Ramones and also he can't be there due to rehearsals for the next Los Gusanos-CD. But great that he was there.
MISSING RAMONES MEMBERS:
- Richie wasn't in publicity for around 20 years, until Richie Ramone made a long awaited appearance, he performed at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in 2006 etc.
- Clem was touring with Blondie.
etc.
REVIEW BY LIFESUCKS:
On July 20th, 1999, the Ramones released a Boxed Set Anthology called Hey Ho Lets Go, and did an in-store signing for it. The Boxed Set had 2 CDs, with a total of about 60 songs from all Ramones albums. It also included a book, with lots of info written on the Ramones, and lots of rare photos of the Ramones. This Boxed Set was released on Rhino, which had also recently released the Ramones new video documentry called Ramones Around The World.
The signing was at the Virgin Mega Store, at Union Square, in New York City. There was a big hype about this signing. A lot fans remembered the last time the Ramones did a signing for We're Outta Here, at Tower Records in New York City, two years earlier. The Ramones who said they were coming to this signing were: Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone, and Tommy Ramone. I think CJ Ramone said he couldn't attend because he had to rehearse with his new band, Los Gusanos. There were rumors they even attempted to track down Richie Ramone for this signing, but he has put the Ramones behind him unfortunately and nobody has heard from him in over ten years, so that was that, he sure wasn't there.
Earlier that morning, Joey Ramone and Marky Ramone were on the Howard
Stern show. Those two had fought several times before on the Howard Stern
show. But this time they made a truce, and did not fight, despite Howard
Stern and Robin Quivers's attempts to instigate a fight, as well as
several phone calls from various fans all attempting to instigate a fight.
They just said, enough is enough, and they wouldn't fight.Later that evening, at 7:00 PM, the signing began. I took the bus from work to get there, and I remember along the bus ride, I looked out the window and noticed several people on the streets with Ramones T-shirts, walking the direction of Virgin Mega Store. I knew exactly where they were going.
When I got there I walked in at just the right second. I looked down, saw the line had more than started, the table was set up with seats ready for the Ramones. There was a poster behind the table that said RAMONES ANTHOLOGY, and had photos of all their albums covers. Just then a voice came out on the loud speaker saying "Here they are, the Ramones!!". There was a door to another room behind that wall, and walking out came (in this order) Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone, Joey Ramone, Tommy Ramone, and also CJ Ramone. So, Marky Ramone and Joey Ramone sat next to each other, to prove even more they were done fighting. And CJ Ramone, who said he would not be able to make it, was there after all.
There were tons of fans waiting on line. Everyone got the boxed set signed, and one additional item. Some fans got posters signed, records or CDs signed, T-Shirts, Leather Jackets, books, and all kinds of other stuff. I remember one fan who got a baseball bat signed. The fans all looked real happy, it seemed like it really meant a lot to them to ba able to meet the Ramones. There were tons of fans lined up. I remember Bobby from Bad Religion came, and the Ramones would have let Bobby skip everyone on line to get the Anthology signed. But by Bobby's choice, he chose to wait on line to get his anthology signed, like all other fans. The fans there were of a wide range of people. Some were older Ramones fans who were probably fans in the 70's, some were younger fans who weren't born in the 70's, some kids into punk, some into metal, and lots of others.
Upstairs, they were selling all the Ramones albums on CD next to
eachother. I suppose if any fans were looking for a last minute thing to
get the Ramones to sign, Virgin Mega Store would have it there waiting for
them. They were also selling Marky
Ramone & the Intruders new album, The Answer To Your Problems?, which
also got released on that exact same day.
I think the Anthology is great, full of great tunes from various times, of
a legendary band that stayed together 22 years. The cover is cool, with a
black and white photo of Marky Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone and Dee
Dee Ramone standing in front of a brick wall. That photo has a similar
atmosphere to cover of the Ramones debut album and Rocket To Russia, but
this was a photo most fans had never seen before. The two CDs don't
entirely sum up all Ramones albums. But I think its impossible for an
Anthology to fully sum up a band that was around for 22 years making
records, you need to have all the Ramones albums. But for any new fans,
younger kids who are just begining to get into Ramones, and are not sure
which Ramones album to buy first, this would be a good one. One thing it
does for people have been Ramones fans a while, is further ensures
that the Ramones will always be remembered as legend. And for long time
fans, it can be great to just listen to a few songs from each Ramones
album next to eachother on a CD. Also the book is really great too. The
book has lots of great stuff to read about the Ramones, and has rare
pictures that fans have never seen before.Well, that signing was on a Tuesday, and that week a few more Ramones-related events happened in New York City :
Thursday, Joey Ramone hosted a show at a club called Don Hills, in NYC. The show was a benefit for a band Joey Ramone supports called the Independents, who had their van and all their equitment robbed. CJ Ramone's band, Los Gusanos, were one of the bands that played at the benefit.
Friday, the Ramainz played their record release show at a club called the Continental, in NYC. The Ramainz are Dee Dee Ramone on guitar and vocals, Marky Ramone on drums, and Barbara (Dee Dee's wife) on bass. They play mostly Ramones songs, but a few original songs as well. They released a live album, appropriately called Live In NYC, which is on GB Music. Their album is a recording of another show of theirs at the Continental. Marky Ramone produced the album, with a friend of his.
Monday, Marky Ramone & the Intruders played their record release show at a club called Wetlands, in NYC. This show was the first show of a big US tour, promoting their new CD, which is called The Answer To Your Problems? , and its on Zoe Records. The album has 14 songs. It is produced by Lars Frederiksen of Rancid, and Joan Jett sings on one song called Don't Blame Me.
(This really extensive review is by LifeSucks, THANKS)