In 1989, CJ Ramone took over as bassist with punk-rock icons The Ramones. CJ proved he was more than up to the task, and helped the group survive and thrive in its final years.
CJ and his band – including Steve Soto and Dan Root (Adolescents) on guitars and Pete Soso (Street Dogs) on drums – celebrated the 25th anniversary of his joining The Ramones with a new album released through his new label, Fat Wreck Chords.
Next week CJ will be bringing his new show down under playing all the Ramones classics as well as some choice cuts from his new album, ‘Last Chance To Dance’. But before then, we asked CJ to walk down memory lane... here’s his top 5.
5. ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ by The Shirelles
The first song I can remember wanting to hear as a kid. Not sure why, but I still get melancholy when I hear it.4. Hearing Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’ for the first time
This was a life-changing event for me. Up to the age of 11 or 12 (’75-’76) I listened to what my dad and mum listened to, which was everything from country to doo-wop to Credence Clearwater Revival. But after I heard Black Sabbath, the world was never the same. I was already into horror movies that my dad took us to at the local drive-in theatre, and Sabbath gave me the same feeling in my gut that those early occult films did. They were the first band I bought every record from. To this day they are still my favourite. ‘Hand Of Doom’ and ‘Planet Caravan’ are the tracks that hooked me.3. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden’s ‘Priest And The Beast Tour’ at Madison Square Garden, NY, 2 October, 1982
The greatest, live show I’ve ever seen. Priest was out for their new record, ‘Screaming For Vengeance’ and Iron Maiden were on the ‘Number Of The Beast’ tour. That one show made me want to be in a band and tour the world forever!2. My first show as a Ramone – Leicester, UK, 30 September, 1989
Standing between Johnny and Joey in the wings, listening to the opening music from ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’ was probably one of the greatest moments of my life. Just a few weeks earlier I got the call while in military custody, that I was picked to be Dee Dee’s replacement. When the Marine Corps turned me loose, I had 5 weeks to learn 40 Ramones songs. I went from the lowest point in my life to the highest in those few weeks, and I never looked back.1. Playing on stage with Lemmy Kilmister, 6 August 6, 1996
It was The Ramones final show at The Palace in Los Angeles. To make it a gala event, Johnny and Joey invited a bunch of their friends from other bands to come up on stage and each do a song with the band. Ben and Chris from Soundgarden, Tim and Lars from Rancid, Eddie Vedder, even Dee Dee Ramone came out. The highlight for me was when we broke into ‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S.’ and Lemmy stepped onto the stage, bass in hand. I stood shoulder to shoulder with him as we sang and thumped our way through the song he wrote in tribute to the Ramones, including a line: “CJ now, HIT THE GAS”! A lot of great things have happened to me in my life, but when I’m running them down on my last breath, that’ll be one of the few I hold on to.CJ Ramone Tour Dates
Sun 8 Feb - The Brisbane Hotel (Hobart)Tue 10 Feb - Crown & Anchor (Adelaide)
Wed 11 Feb - Transit Bar (Canberra)
Thu 12 Feb - Bald Faced Stag (Sydney)
Fri 13 Feb - Prince Of Wales (Brisbane)
Sat 14 Feb - The Reverence (Melbourne)
Sun 15 Feb – Bendigo Hotel (Melbourne)
