Hey-Ho,
Let's Go- Uncle Monk
by
Peter Aaron
...It’s
certainly a long way from CBGB and the Bowery. Looking back,
how does the punk legend feel about the loss of not only his
former bandmates, Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee Ramone, but of
the club itself and its former owner, Hilly Kristal, who passed
away in August? “It’s all very sad, very hard
to absorb,” says Tommy. “To have all three of
those band members die so young [Joey, 50; Johnny, 56; Dee
Dee, 50] and so close together was really tragic and unusual.And
Hilly wasn’t that old, either [75]. It was sad to see
CBGB go, too, but every place has a lifespan, I guess. It
all reminds us how fast time goes, and how we should count
as a blessing the friends we have that are still around.”
It
must be pretty gratifying, now that the Ramones are finally
getting their due after so long. “Very gratifying,”
says the one-time drummer, who conceived the group but handed
over his sticks to Marky Ramone in 1978 in order to concentrate
on management and studio production. “Historically,
I knew the Ramones would eventually be recognized. Because
the band was just so different than anything else at the time
[it began], and we influenced so many other bands. But how
it’s just gotten bigger and bigger in terms of commercial
popularity and how it keeps getting bigger all the time—that’s
a really unexpected phenomenon.”
Tommy’s
second career, that of an award-winning record producer, has
seen him working with the likes of Talking Heads, Redd Kross,
The Replacements, and, of course, the Ramones [1985’s
Too Tough to Die]. Any plans to get back into that side of
the business? “Not right now,” he says. “But
if something worthwhile comes along that I like, then maybe
I might. It has to be the right thing.”
And
when it comes to the concept of playing rock’n’roll
again, the exalted keeper of the four/four beat is similarly
non-committal.
CONTINUE... |
