LeftyBassist.com

i like dee dee ramone so much and i always get picked on for saying that he's my favorite bass player so i just wanted to know what of some of the members here think of him thanks

As someone who got his start back in the Punk days of the late 70s, I played in a band that took inspiration from The Jam, Ramones, Pistols, etc. It took great stamina and physical strength to play that music, no way I could keep up nowadays. And The Ramones went song to song quickly, it always impressed me that Dee Dee could keep up that constant down-stroke.
Sounds like you need new friends.

yes finally someone who understands lol not mention dee dee did amazing stuff on stage like his leaps and jumps and just the all around energy he brought just amazing stage presence IMO thank you man finally found someone who isnt a dee dee hater lol

Dee Dee rocks.

Who cares if he isn't a "virtuoso"... Rock is very much about attitude and presence as it is anything else.

thank you man.

Ha, no thanks necessary. A lot of people just don't get rock & roll. You don't have to like Dee Dee, but he was/is a valid influence (just as The Ramones are, period, whether you dig them or not).

For the haters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7FdJajqxmU

Uh oh, I probably shouldn't have watched that right before heading out to the gig.

though i never really cared for punk i always had a soft spot for dee dee.

If you hear something in how DeeDee plays/who he is, then there's no reason why he can't be your favorite bass player. Favorite and best aren't the same thing.

I like the Ramones.

Most of my favorite bassists aren't super technical players. It's about the voice they have on the instrument doing something for me.

Troof.

True story: I auditioned for the Ramones when Dee Dee left and before they replaced him with C.J. They ran an ad in the Village Voice for a bassist, so I thought I'd give it a go. I knew it was a long shot - I was about 2 feet shorter than the rest of them and blonde, LOL. But I was a fan and wanted to meet them. Besides, I thought, "How hard could it be to play The Ramones?"

Famous last words. Two prerequisites they had:

1. Must play with a pick
2. Must play down strokes

Joey wasn't there so Johnny was running the audition. He asked me what songs I wanted to play so I blurted out, "Teenage Lobotomy". 1-2-3 Bam! They proceeded to launch right into it about 300rpm and I was completely lost within seconds. They played ALL of their songs about 10 times faster than their records.

It was painfully obvious I wasn't the right guy for the gig. Since then, I've had the greatest respect for Dee Dee's playing. A true punk pioneer, and arguably the funniest Ramone as well. Loved his Rap record too.

Wow man, that is a killer story haha. Wish it had worked out for you though!

1-2-3-4
Cretins wanna hop some more
4-5-6-7
All good cretins go to heaven

Bye Bye Dee Dee

Hey ho, let's go!!

I've always loved the Ramones, and always will. As everyone has said, the energy they put out is both infectious and amazing. It's hard to mistake them for anyone else. I can appreciate virtuoso performances, but I love watching noisy bands in dark and dingy pubs, and supporting the guys/gals who go for it 100% day in and day out. I put the Ramones in this category, as I feel they made music for themselves, and it just so happened some of us got it.

So PRB, wear your "Leather jacket, ripped blue jeans and your Ramones T-shirt" with pride, and consider us friends who understand.

Pjmuck...wow... awesome story.

Cheers!

PJ Ramone would've worked just fine.

This is the coolest bass forum ever.

great hair

I just wanted to point out that, despite the portrayal of Johnny in the documentary End of the Century as being somewhat of a dick, he and Marky were incredibly cool and nice to me. While their manager was busy staring at his watch and pressuring them to usher in the next bass candidate, Johnny told him he wanted me to play a little longer, surprisingly, so they let me do, "Blitkrieg Bop" too despite my butchering of the first song. (Oddly enough, they weren't sure how it went, since I guess they hadn't played it in a while?). I fared a little better on that one.

I ran into Johnny a year later at a Fangoria Horror Convention and also Comiccom (He was a big time comic book collector), and reminded him how awful my audition was. He was perfectly friendly and we talked comics a bit.

R.I.P. Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee

AWESOME STORIES!!!

Here's mine:

My very first "concert" was in 1989... it was a free show at a community college in Canton, NY... it was the Ramones... the original line-up.

I think I was 15.

They were up there filming their Pet Cemetary video and decided to do a free show at a local college... I was lucky enough to hear about it and get there in time to actually get in.

A local cover band opened up... playing RUSH songs of all things.

Since "events" like this don't really happen at this school, they were totally unprepared for what was about to take place. To "protect" the band, they built a barracade out of 2x4's nailed together to keep the crowd away from the stage. Yes... I said nailed together... and, no... I'm not joking.

I was in the very front... and it held up fine during the cover band... but once the fog machine started and Dee Dee let out his "1-2-3-4!!!" the barracade literally EXPLODED into a pile of wood with nails sticking out of it all over the place... I was doing everything I possibly could to fight to stay alive. I saw a guy land on his back... ON SOME NAILS... and get right back up and start moshing again. It was absolutely the most insane thing I had ever experienced.

After some real close calls, I finally found my way to a safe spot... which happened to be directly in front of Johnny and his amp. It was so fucking loud that my ears could literally only send white noise to my brain... my equalibrium was completely off... and I did a half turn and put my hands on the closest thing I could find, which was Johnny's stage monitor.

I looked up, he looked down, and the next thing I saw was the heel of his Chuck Taylor on my forehead, giving me a solid "get the fuck away from my shit" boot-to-the-head back into the gigantic moshpit filled with 2x4's and rusty nails.

Ultimately, I survived, and, looking back, it was one of the greatest moments of my life.

great story Addison.

Here's mine, not quite so intense tho.

AFAIK the Ramones only played Montreal once, in 1979, and I was fortunate enough to be there. It was in August on a day of record heat and humidity. The band played in a venue that was rated to hold 300 people. Well, they managed to squeeze in close to 600 of us in there.
15 minutes before showtime, the A/C system died. The band - and the warmup band, who for the life of me I can't remember - went on regardless. Me and my bud were about 3 or 4 rows from the stage in the pit. No moshing going on, but a lot of fans were trying to hand Joey bananas, my bud included. Joey grabbed his and tossed it over his shoulder after looking at it for about 2 seconds. Guess he wasn't hungry . But somehow a picture of him handing it to Joey made it into the local newspaper (Montreal Gazette) who gave about 2/3 of a page of coverage, including the pic.
Part of the reason for all the coverage was the dead A/C system. It reached over 120F in the room by the end of the show. The promoters were fighting with the fire dept because the promoters refused to open the doors and emergency exits to allow air to circulate as there were a buttload of folks that wanted in to the concert. Don't ask me how, but the promoters won that battle.

It was so damned hot and humid that when we left the venue, steam literally was pouring off of us. And I ain't talkin little bits here and there, I mean we looked like portable steam showers for a good 5 minutes after exiting. I took off my t-shirt and wrung about a quart of liquid out of it.

The concert was exceptional of course. I have never heard a wall of Marshall's sound so good!

Coincidentally, the singer in my Who tribute band is also in a cover band called the Ravones (shameless plug!)
http://www.myspace.com/ravones