Marky Ramone: In 1992 I Talked To The Ramones Drummer About "Mondo Bizarro"

Originally published in American Music Press (October 1992)
By Devorah Ostrov

Legend has it that punk rock began on July 4, 1976. On that perfectly patriotic date, the Ramones — formed some two years previously in Forest Hills, NY — made their pivotal UK debut at the Roundhouse in London. And pretty much every Brit kid who went on to form a furiously fast, three-chord band was in the crowd that night. "We had hoped that the kids would see us and feel they could do it too," commented guitarist Johnny Ramone at the time.

The Ramones' Mondo Bizarro tour comes to

Cologne, Germany - December 5, 1992

Sixteen years and more than a dozen albums later, the Ramones are still going strong. The group's latest offering (and their first on Radioactive Records) is called Mondo Bizarro, and it features some of their finest material in a decade.

"It's a good one!" declares drummer Marky Ramone when I call him in New York. "We took our time. We selected the best songs. We practiced them a lot. And this is the end result."

"Poison Heart," the first single release, is a classic sounding pop tune co-written by Daniel Rey and former Ramones' bassist Dee Dee (who left the band in 1989 and took some pains to distance himself from the guys by issuing a solo LP as Dee Dee King).

Surprisingly, Dee Dee also co-wrote (again with Rey) two other songs — "Strength to Endure" and "Main Man" — both sung by his replacement, C.J. So, they don't hate Dee Dee and vice-versa?

"No! No way!" exclaims Marky (who replaced original drummer Tommy Ramone in 1978, after stints with Dust, Wayne County's Back Street Boys, and Richard Hell's Voidoids). "Maybe, in the beginning, there was a little animosity because he left us. But it all worked out. We're still friendly with him; he's still friendly with us. He's a Ramone!"

Marky Ramone - recent publicity photo

Another big surprise is the amount of radio play "Poison Heart" is receiving. While lack of airplay was once the bane of the Ramones' existence, Bay Area station Live 105 (KITS) is spinning the song so often you could actually get sick of it.

"It's weird, right!" laughs Marky. "It's strange because when we came out, we were just a bunch of aliens. There was no one like us, so they were afraid of us. And a lot of radio stations didn't want to play us because we went against the grain. You had your Foreigner, your Journey, your Fleetwood Mac... rock was really soft at that point."

He continues, "Eventually, you had all these bands wearing leather jackets and holes in their pants. They started playing fast songs and, obviously, they were influenced by us. These people admit it. And now, I guess, a lot of people who owe us are saying, 'Maybe it's the Ramones time.'"

Is he talking about Skid Row covering "Psycho Therapy" on the "B-Side Ourselves" EP?

"And Motorhead did 'Ramones' on their last album. And Guns N' Roses always wear our t-shirts, and they've always said that we're one of their favorite bands. I don't necessarily like or dislike these bands, that's just their way of showing gratitude to us. Now they're playing 'Poison Heart,' which is great. But I hope they recognize the fact that there's other songs on the album that are just as good."

L-R: Joey Ramone, C.J. Ramone, Johnny Ramone & Marky Ramone

Photos from the Mondo Bizarro CD

Marky particularly likes the opening track, "Censorshit." Written by vocalist Joey Ramone, the lyrics reference a certain politician's wife and those irritating P.M.R.C. stickers that alert us to the imagined evil lurking in our favorite records: "Tipper, what's that sticker sticking on my CD?/Is that some kind of warning to protect me?/Freedom of choice needs a stronger, stronger voice/You can stamp out the source, but you can't stop creative thoughts..."

Dust - Marky Ramone (Marc Bell), Kenny Aaronson & Richie Wise

"We feel censorship is very un-American," asserts Marky. "I think a conservative minority is trying to push their view on the majority of the country."

"We were at the Berlin Wall when it came down," he adds. "I chipped away pieces of the wall for myself! There's no more communism in Russia, so why the hell are they gonna have censorship here?"

What does he think about the possibility that Tipper Gore (co-founder of the P.M.R.C. and wife of Bill Clinton's running mate, Al Gore) might soon be in the White House?

"Clinton's opposed to censorship," Marky notes. "When he gets in, he's probably gonna tell her to cool off. But if she screws around during the first four years, he'd better watch out. The [entertainment] industry will go against him and not vote for him in four years. And then he'll lose because the industry has a lot of influence."

Poster for two shows in Mexico City - 1992

Will he be voting for Clinton?

"Yeah, I have to," Marky responds a little reluctantly.

Getting back to Mondo Bizarro, fans of the group's early efforts will enjoy "Heidi is a Headcase," a direct descendant of "Suzy is a Headbanger," as well as the '60s surf-inspired sounds of "Touring" — so reminiscent of Jan and Dean, it could be a cover!

"That's what's so good about that song," observes Marky. "It could be a cover, but it isn't!"

Speaking of covers... Known for their speeded-up interpretations of simplistic pop ditties, another shocker on Mondo Bizarro is their cover of the Doors' "Take It as It Comes." Which is — how do I phrase this properly? — sort of complicated with oodles of keyboards!

How did that happen?

"One day, John said, 'Let's do a Doors' song.' And I said, 'What!?' I didn't wanna do 'Light My Fire.' But when he brought in this obscure album track, I agreed it was a good idea. It wasn't a single, and no one has really heard of it. We just put our style to it, and that's what happened. Very simple."

Have any of the surviving Doors heard their version?

Richard Hell & the Voidoids - featuring Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) 

Photo by Kate Simon (from the "Blank Generation" 45)

"Ray Manzarek… He's flattered that we did it. As a matter of fact, we were gonna have him on keyboards, but he said he doesn't play music anymore. We used some other guy from some other band [Joe McGinty, ex-Psychedelic Furs]."

Marky (in collaboration with a mysterious character called Skinny Bones) also supplies two new numbers: "Anxiety" and "The Job That Ate My Brain." The first is a bit of stressed-out silliness; however, the second is an interesting tale about day-job woes: "Out of bed at 6:15, in a rush and you can't think/Gotta catch the bus and train, I'm in a rush and feelin' insane/I can't take this crazy pace, I've become a mental case/Yeah, this is the job that ate my brain..."

Promo poster for Mondo Bizarro

(Radioactive Records - 1992)

"In this fast-paced society, there's a lot of things that people wanna do," elaborates Marky. "They've got families to raise, they want to relax, they want to play, but they gotta get up and work for some company. They don't have time for themselves. It sucks!"

That last sentiment sounds like Marky is speaking from personal experience. Has he ever held down a day-job?

"I used to mix cement. I used to put up wrought-iron gates... y'know, construction stuff."

When was this?

He briefly falters. "This was before... this was around... after I left the Ramones in '83. For four years, I was doing stuff like that because I didn't wanna be involved with the music business anymore."

I'd been wondering how to bring up his temporary departure from the group (during which he was replaced by Richie Ramone). From what I've read, it wasn't pretty. Creem magazine documented one especially divisive moment: "Johnny is on the phone, obviously agitated, saying things like, 'I'm pissed about this! … If he doesn't wanna do it...!' Turns out that drummer Marky has pulled a walkout with the Toronto date just three days away."

"Me and Dee Dee..." Marky starts to explain, then hesitates. It's clearly still a sensitive subject.

The Ramones

L-R: C.J., Johnny, Marky, and Joey

"He had a drug problem and I had a drinking problem, and it was getting to me. It was winning, y'know. I ended up drunk every day. So, I turned around one day and thought, What's more important? Acting like a jerk and embarrassing myself? Getting up off the floor every morning? Or playing in a band that I like? So, I just stopped. I went away for a while and did straight jobs just to get back to some other kind of reality."

What made him finally return to the fold?

"Well... John, ah... called me one day..." says Marky, still choosing his words carefully. "Richie wasn't working out, and he asked me to come back in the band. And that was it."

Marky Ramone on the cover of Modern Drummer

February 2014

Spin magazine recently acknowledged the Ramones' impact by naming them one of the most significant bands in rock history (the list of seven also includes Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Sex Pistols).

According to Spin: "No group in the last eighteen years has been more important or more influential, including the Sex Pistols (who probably couldn't have existed without the Ramones). There's a real straight line from the Ramones to Nirvana, for anyone who'd care to trace it."

How did that make them feel?

"We were very flattered," states Marky.

The Ramones are an American institution, I point out.

"That's what I hear, but I don't know what it means. I'd just like to sell a few more copies of our new album. Y'know what I mean? That would be nice."


* You can read my other interviews with the Ramones here:
devorahostrov.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-ramones-turn-20-release-all-covers
devorahostrov.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-ramones-this-january-1978-interview
devorahostrov.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-last-time-i-talked-to-joey-ramone