{"id":508,"date":"2024-06-07T15:08:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/?p=508"},"modified":"2024-09-16T15:10:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T15:10:29","slug":"cj-ramone-i-am-the-poster-boy-for-what-happens-when-you-stay-in-the-music-business-too-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/cj-ramone-i-am-the-poster-boy-for-what-happens-when-you-stay-in-the-music-business-too-long\/","title":{"rendered":"CJ Ramone \u2013 \u2018I Am The Poster Boy for What Happens When You Stay in the Music Business Too Long\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When most bands put out a live record you expect it to be good, maybe a few of your favourite songs and some banter or whatever. It\u2019s all kind of a pedestrian concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Me First and the Gimme Gimmes<\/strong> do it all bets are off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might know the songs, but it\u2019s doubtful you\u2019re a fan and yeah, there might be banter but sure as fuck things are about to get weird. The Gimmes\u2019<\/strong> latest live record is set at an actual honest-to-god quincea\u00f1era where no one in the crowd knows who they are \u2013 because why play to your fans when you can play to a bunch of people who\u2019d likely throw out their stereo if they heard a punk song? It\u2019s a hell of a concept and needless to say, the record fucking rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were fortunate enough to get the chance to talk to CJ Ramone<\/strong> (yes, CJ Ramone<\/strong> of the fucking Ramones<\/strong>) to talk about the new record, ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES \u2013 \u00a1BLOW IT\u2026AT MADISON\u2019S QUINCEA\u00d1ERA!<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the new album, it\u2019s exciting for a lot of people because, you know, their first live album is a classic, and it\u2019s really funny. So is the new one. It\u2019s really something different to what you get from most bands. How did it come up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it\u2019s 10 years since the Gimmes had done a record and Spike had brought it up and said \u2019hey, thinking about doing the record\u2019 and he started listing off some of the songs. Initially, we had not heard the Mexican songs that were on there. We had heard the more contemporary stuff \u2013 the Olivia Rodrigo [song] and one of the other ones. So when we finally got the list of all the tracks and the recordings of all the tracks, we realised it was going to be a bit more than a typical Gimmes record. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, the Mexican songs, although we make them kind of sound like a Gimme song, they\u2019re not actually arranged like traditional rock and roll or punk rock songs are. So it actually took us a while to really nail all those tracks to really get them; Because we weren\u2019t just doing a live recording, we were filming it, too. So we had to get it right. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when Spike first brought it to us, we all looked at each other like, \u2018oh, boy, what audience are we targeting?\u2019 But one thing I\u2019ve learned with Spike [after] playing with him now for several years, is he has an unbelievable knack for picking good stuff. And of course going back early on,it was a kind of a shared thing between the original members and the Gimmies. But since I\u2019ve been in the band he just has a knack for nailing them. And he really, really did a good job picking songs on this one. <\/em>I mean, having listened to the record a couple of times now, it sounds like a Gimmies record. And that\u2019s the biggest compliment I could give it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=sNaQJUYC8MY%3Ffeature%3Doembed\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s one of the fun things about the Gimmies; they\u2019ve got their own sound that they\u2019ve infused into songs that everyone knows. I once took a friend to a show when you were in Australia. And he\u2019s like \u2018Oh, man I don\u2019t know any of their songs\u2019 and I was like \u2018well\u2026 you probably do know some\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I tell people that all the time because my friends that I\u2019ve known for years, that saw me with the Ramones and my solo thing. I get in touch with them. When I first started talking with the Gimmies. I\u2019d be like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m playing with the new band come out, see the show?\u2019 And they\u2019re like, \u2018I don\u2019t really know the band. And I\u2019ve seen you play a bunch times\u2019. I\u2019m like, \u2018You have not seen this. You gotta see it\u2019, and every one of them afterwards. Everyone\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, my God, I didn\u2019t know whether to laugh be insulted and cry. Like why? Oh, they were like, \u2018Oh, my God, What? What?\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s what made you get into this man that have held you end up with this man. But it\u2019s funny, because the gal who used to book me, Stormy Shepherd, booked all my tours [and] also books the Gimmies, and when the Gimmies were looking for a bass player, she actually said, \u2018Hey, you should get in touch with CJ, because he\u2019d probably be interested\u2019. And, of course, I was immediately interested.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I mean, you\u2019re such a good fit for the band as well. Something that struck me on this record is that, you can actually hear a lot more of your sort of signature sound in the bass\u2026 in the way that these songs come together. Obviously, you\u2019ve had to step in for Mike, who has his own sort of sound. Is that something that you\u2019re allowed to, like, really go for when the songs are coming together? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the jump they told me, \u2018You be CJ, we\u2019re bringing you on to be CJ, we\u2019re not bringing you on to try to be Mike or J Bentley\u2019 from Bad Religion, who was actually in the band directly before me. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were like, \u2018We want you\u2026 we\u2019re bringing you on to be CJ\u2019. But while my sound is very much the same, I tried doing all down picking on the stuff. And all of the tracks\u2026 most of them\u2026 are way, way too fast for down picking. So I actually had to learn to alternate pick when I first got into the band, which was fun, and interesting. But now I\u2019m really comfortable with it. And it\u2019s a lot of fun. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I still pick very aggressively. And, my sound is my sound. It was nice to come in and they just say, \u2018hey you do what you do. And that\u2019s what we want on stage\u2019. But it\u2019s a cautionary tale. I tell everybody. I\u2019m like, I am the poster boy for what happens when you stay in the music business too long. You end up wearing cheap clothes playing cover songs. But realistically, when I stopped doing the CJ Ramone thing, I was really done. I had had enough of carrying the ball for a long time, and I was just tired. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this\u2026 man this is so much more fun. All I have to do is show up and play bass. I sing background vocals when I want to. Everybody in the band is really cool. I\u2019m touring in a bus\u2026 only took me 30 years of playing in a band to finally tour on a tour bus. It\u2019s a perfect retirement job, like perfect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unreal. And they\u2019re such fun shows. I\u2019ve seen the Gimmes quite a few times now and it\u2019s always surprising. Different songs, the rotating roster of musicians. The crowd just gets into it. It\u2019s not like going to see some premier rock band where if they don\u2019t play your favourite song you\u2019re gonna cry. Everyone\u2019s just like, what will be will be and that\u2019s alright.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, well, you know, the interesting thing that Spike and I were just talking about was a lot of the songs are songs that as a young punk, you would have hated \u2013 a lot of the songs [are] disco songs and Beach Boys songs and stuff that you definitely would not have listened to. However the older you get, you hear them and they go, \u2018oh, maybe they weren\u2019t so bad\u2019. But that\u2019s pretty much the criteria for how the Gimmies pick songs. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They pick songs that most punks would have hated when they were younger, and they just took them and made them into punk songs. It\u2019s kind of funny too\u2026 it\u2019s like rubbing people\u2019s faces in it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=00Pz7c5gdWs%3Ffeature%3Doembed\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oh for sure. Man back in the day there\u2019s plenty of stuff I would have rejected outright and now I just hear the beauty of the melody or whatever. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean, that\u2019s something about me from when I was a kid, I was always a music fan. I wasn\u2019t necessarily a genre fan. I loved Heavy Metal, I grew up playing in heavy metal bands, right? Because there were no punk bands where I lived, right? So I grew up playing in heavy metal bands, I loved metal. But I also grew up on country music, because when I was really young, my mom and dad listened to a lot of country. I grew up with all this stuff. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My parents listen to Van Morrison and Johnny Cash and everything. Rod Stewart, like, all these artists that when I was a kid, I grew up listening to it. My mom also loved classical music. So we had some classical music on in the house. So I really grew up listening to everything. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I got into metal, I really got into it, because metal was the first style of music I found on my own. I heard Black Sabbath and I was like, \u2018oh my god, what is that?\u2019 You know what I mean? And that was it. So for a good long time, I really pretty much only listened to punk and metal. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the years have gone on, I go deeper and deeper into my record collection. And I think most people, most older people who are really into music will tell you, the older you get the closer you get to the stuff you listened to when you were a teenager. And even deeper than that. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think for kids today, it\u2019s not like it was when I was younger, where like, if you were part of the punk scene, you could only be part of the punk scene. There was even a time period where [there were] metal kids and punk kids and hardcore kids. That was three different groups of kids that did not mix very often. The hardcore and the punk kids maybe, but the metal kids and hardcore and punk kids couldn\u2019t stand up near each other or it was on. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But things have changed a lot. I think kids now benefit from that. There isn\u2019t such a stigma attached to being a fan of music in general. And I\u2019ve got to work and play with some younger people who create pretty interesting music because of that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think part of what would make it fun as a musician doing what you\u2019re doing is that you\u2019re getting to play all these different genres of music. And year to year you\u2019re playing a whole bunch of different songs. You\u2019re not getting up and playing the same 20 Song Setlist or something? Does that keep it fresh? Is that why it\u2019s such a great \u2018retirement gig\u2019 as you call it? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, it really is. It really is neat. And I gotta say, some of the songs I really do enjoy playing. It\u2019s just playing covers, it\u2019s always fun. It really is. It\u2019s always fun when you do them like the Gimmies are doing. I couldn\u2019t tell you what it\u2019s like to play in a cover band doing contemporary music or something like that. But in the Gimmies it is so much fun. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It\u2019s so much fun just to rip the songs up and be able to riff and be aggressive with it. It really is a good time. And all the guys I played with are really good players. We\u2019re all solid veterans with multiple years on the road. So there wasn\u2019t a lot of drama.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I really appreciate it\u2026 And everyone knows the stories about the Ramones and all the drama there. So it\u2019s nice to be in a camp where everybody gets treated with mutual respect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I can imagine. And, I\u2019ve had a chat with a couple of guys in the band and every one of them has been just really down to earth. I think most importantly, they\u2019re people who love music. They love what they\u2019re doing. Anyway I think we\u2019re running out of time. So, CJ, thanks so much for chatting. The record is great. I think the fans are gonna really really dig it. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that might be reading this on Wall of Sound who are as excited as I am?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new record is called Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Blow it at Madison\u2019s Quincea\u00f1era and it\u2019s a really good record. It\u2019s a really, really good record and all the old school Gimme fans will dig it.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When most bands put out a live record you expect it to be good, maybe a few of your favourite songs and some banter or whatever. It\u2019s all kind of a pedestrian concept. But when Me First and the Gimme Gimmes do it all bets are off. You might know the songs, but it\u2019s doubtful you\u2019re a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":512,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjramone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}