One of my long time internet friends and not to mention Ramones and rock and roll fan Randi Marx once shared with me questionnaires she got filled out by the Ramones. I remmebered reading them and finding them very funny and informative. Especially being a Joey Ramone fan, I found his particularly funny and interesting...and different from the other guys. My friend was nice enough to re-scan the original questionnaires and write about her experience meeting The Ramones.
She originally had this posted on her site ArcaneHarvest.com but when I recalled how much I liked them she sent them my way. Please do not use the images without permission. They aren't mine, and I got permission to use them. Just had to put that out there!
She originally had this posted on her site ArcaneHarvest.com but when I recalled how much I liked them she sent them my way. Please do not use the images without permission. They aren't mine, and I got permission to use them. Just had to put that out there!
"I first saw the Ramones with The Runaways. I can't remember the exact year. Seems
like it was 1978 or 79. I saw them in Atlanta. It was so exciting, and I knew they would
be my favorite band, along with the Sex Pistols.
I moved to Atlanta in 1980, and it was a perfect time to be there. The Ramones played
there, or around there, over and over. I saw the Ramones about six times in two years.
They usually played at a venue called The Agora Ballroom. It was amazing to be there.
I usually was right against the stage, in front of my very favorite Ramone, Dee Dee. I
had a great camera and got amazing photos.
All the bands I loved played at the Agora or another amazing club called 688.
As time went on, it was impossible to find any thing on any of the bands I loved. It's
hard to imagine now, but there was no internet, not MTV, and no way to see the
alternative bands. Everything was "top 40" and so mundane. The only way to keep up
with the NY movement was a magazine called Rock Scene. Then another independent
magazine came out, simply called PUNK. I worked at Turtles Records during this time,
but the only way I could get my favorite records was either in the "import" section or
special order.
So I started a local tabloid newspaper called "23rd Street", named as such for the street
where my favorite hotel, The Hotel Chelsea, is located in NYC. I got in touch with
record companies and got press kits (My favorite one being The Sex Pistols. It was
delivered wrapped in a God Save the Queen tshirt).
I wanted the interviews to be unique, so I drew from the teen magazines of my youth, 16
and Tiger Beat, and used some of the questions from those interviews. I decided to
type it up like a questionnaire, and instead of sitting and asking them questions, they
would fill it out. I didn't realize at the time I'd end up with a great souvenir later, pages of handwritten answers.
My first band to interview was The Ramones. I got in touch with the manager of the
Agora who put me in touch with the manager of the Ramones, and I met with him. He
gave me the room lists and had me come to the hotel. He told me they'd probably do
the interview but I'd have to ask Johnny. Oh no, Johnny? The most difficult to approach
and the most serious. So I went to him in the hallway and asked. I'll never forget that
moment, and he was wearing a Superman shirt, those with the big S in the middle of the
shirt. He looked over the questionnaire and actually laughed as he read the questions.
He said they'd be glad to do it. I had written their names across the top. He took his
and told me just to go to the other guys' rooms and give them theirs. I went to Joeys
and Linda answered the door. This was before she left Joey to be with Johnny. She
took the questionnaire and read over it, also laughing, and invited us in. She gave it to
Joey, who said he'd need some time to read over it.
The Ramones were playing two nights at the Agora, Friday and Saturday. This was
Friday afternoon. I didn't get Joey's back until Sunday afternoon. It took him that long.
We had no idea he was OCD. No one had probably even ever heard of such a thing
back then.
I met up with Dee Dee as he was coming off the elevator with his wife, Vera. He tripped
when he came off the elevator and almost fell right in front of us. Then he quickly
righted himself and stood straight up like a soldier. Vera smiled so sweet and said "Well,
Dee Dee?!" It was so funny at the time.
I gave him the questionnaires and asked if he'd give the other one to Marky. He took
them and was reading the questions out loud as he went down the hall.
I got Johnny's back before I left that afternoon. It was folded perfectly. You can still see
the fold marks. The others' came back in different forms. Joey's was rolled up. Dee
Dee's was wrinkled, and Marky's was all bent. Doesn't take a psychologist to figure out
what all that might mean.
I got Marky's and Dee Dee's back on Saturday. I had to wait on Joey's. Later Saturday
night Linda told me he was working on it, but it'd be Sunday before I could get it
probably. So I met with him and Linda on Sunday. We sat in his room while he
struggled over the "10 things you can't live without" He'd write, count, then scratch out,
then write some more.
I do remember Linda trying to help him. At one point, she said, "How about Uncle
Floyd?" and Joey said, really loud, "NO! I can live without him!" It was funny at the time.So here they are, the questionnaires in their original form. They haven't been published since that year, so long ago, in my tabloid, 23rd Street. Enjoy."-Randi Marx
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Dee Dee
Johnny
Marky
Joey
Copyright: The Arcane Harvest and Bite-the-Dust.com/Fiberglass Jacket All Rights Reserved. No part of these questionnaires may be used without permission from The Arcane Harvest or Bite
the Dust.
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