CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast

CJ Ramone
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CJ SAYS: A RAMONES PODCAST A podcast unlike any other... Combining music history, rock ‘n’ roll storytelling, life lessons from the road well traveled, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, untold nuggets, and tributes from the Ramones’ most famous & dedicated fans. Hosted by CJ Ramone & Matt Stocks. Weekly episodes published every Thursday on all major podcast platforms. For exclusive bonus content head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hey! Ho! Let's Go!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    028 - Monte A. Melnick Part One

    Hey kids! Welcome to the season finale of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This episode comes to you in two parts and we're going straight to the source for our Series One closer… Before the leather jackets, uniform haircuts and three-chord assault that rewired the nervous system, the Ramones were just a bunch of kids knocking about Queens, riding their bikes, and figuring out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Enter Monte A. Melnick: longtime Ramones tour manager, keeper of the keys, witness to the madness, and the man who was there before the legend had a pulse. Monte takes us back to the very beginning over the course of this two-hour conversation, to his friendship with Tommy Ramone and the unlikely chain of events that helped turn a neighbourhood connection into one of the most influential bands on the planet. Make no mistake, Tommy was the architect. He was, as Monte confirms, the brains behind the entire operation! And that's not all Monte confirms! So, join us for one final trip down the rabbit hole with one of the Ramones’ inner circle... This is Part One. Part Two will close the first season of CJ Says in two weeks time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Oct 22

    027 - 'Adios Amigos' Side A Deep Dive

    Hey kids! The end is nigh. The leather jackets are battered, the engines are running on fumes, and the greatest punk rock ‘n’ roll band on the planet is staring down the barrel of its final studio album. But Adios Amigos isn't quite the predictable last blast you might expect. There's more going on here than meets the eye… This week, we dive into Side A of the Ramones' final record, from Tom Waits' ‘I Don't Want to Grow Up’—the unlikely cover CJ championed—to Daniel Rey's invaluable contribution behind the boards, and how Dee Dee's solo songs found their way back into the band he left behind in 1989. For CJ, Dee Dee was reaching new heights as a songwriter by this point, bringing a poetic, loose-limbed edge to the band's familiar three-chord assault.Then there's Joey Ramone’s ‘Life's a Gas,’ a playful, philosophical reflection on life's fleeting beauty, and CJ's own personal journey from the Marine Corps to the Ramones. This is a story about chasing your dreams, following your instincts, and sometimes having to choose your own path to follow. The final chapter? Maybe. But there's still plenty of life left in this machine. We’ll see you in two weeks for the Side B Deep Dive, which we’re putting up on all the public platforms. Then we’ll be taking a short break until the new year. But for now, drop the needle and come with us as we revisit the Ramones’ fourteenth and final studio album. Gabba Gabba Hey!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Oct 15

    026 - Linnea Quigley Interview

    Hey kids! Welcome back… Before she was dancing with zombies in The Return of the Living Dead, Linnea Quigley was a Midwestern kid who jumped ship for Los Angeles, found punk rock, picked up a guitar and started making some noise. In this episode, Linnea takes us from the early LA punk scene and her adventures in music to cult horror movies, chainsaws, prosthetics and the wonderfully deranged world of The Return of the Living Dead. And then there’s the Ramones… Linnea takes us behind the scenes of the legendary ‘Substitute’ music video shoot, recalling late nights with the band and hanging out with Johnny and giving us a glimpse into that glorious moment when punk rock, horror movies and underground culture all collided. Gabba Gabba Hey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Oct 8

    025 - 'Acid Eaters' Side A Deep Dive

    For the penultimate episode of the CJ Says Deep Dive Series, Matt Stocks and CJ Ramone dive headfirst into Acid Eaters—the Ramones’ glorious trip through the songs, sounds and sub-genres that first inspired the band back in 1977. For Matt, this record is personal. Acid Eaters was the first proper Ramones album he ever owned after being seduced by the album cover and the promise of whatever was happening inside. And CJ was there, in the studio, with the band, and he’s got the intel on all of it.What started life as an EP eventually mutated into a full-length covers album, giving the Ramones a chance to forget trying to second guess the ever-evolving music industry and simply play the music they loved. According to CJ, they absolutely loved the experience!On this Side A Deep Dive, we get into the song selections, the psychedelic concept, the garage-rock DNA of the Ramones, the recording sessions, and the sheer joy of four guys locking into a groove and kicking out the jams… Acid Eaters isn't just the Ramones playing other people's songs. It’s the sound of a band digging through their record collection, pulling out the deep cuts that shaped them into the group we all know and love, turning up the volume and showing us exactly where they came from. The trip starts here. Turn on. Tune in. Drop out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Oct 1

    024 - Joe Sib Interview

    Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we're joined by Joe Sib—singer, storyteller, comedian, label boss, lifer, and all-round punk rock renaissance man. We dive deep into the Ramones universe in this interview, from Joe's recollection of first meeting CJ on the Escape from New York tour in 1990 and discovering they were two kids with the same musical background, to why CJ felt like “one of us” when he stepped into the shoes of Dee Dee Ramone. We also head way back to the gloriously chaotic early days of Wax, a pre-fame Spike Jonze and the birth of Jackass, when music videos were fuelled by little more than youthful exuberance, no money, mad ideas, and a complete disregard for personal safety. Then there's Joe's infamous Pinhead story: his extraordinary quest to become the Pinhead at the Ramones' final New York show. The tale involves Johnny Ramone, Eddie Vedder, and one of the greatest cases of mistaken identity in punk-rock history. So join us for a trip through backstage corridors, dive bars and the volatile chaos of the punk-rock underground, where friendships become the stuff of legend and you absolutely never know what's going to happen next. As always, to stream the second half of this week's interview and access all our additional bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Sep 24

    023 - 'Mondo Bizarro' Side A Deep Dive

    Hey kids! Welcome back to CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we’re going deep into Side A of Mondo Bizarro with a man who was there. The one and only CJ Ramone… We kick things off with ‘C********t’, Joey Ramone’s furious, funny and unapologetically political response to the music-censorship battles of the early ’90s. CJ takes us inside the recording of the track, explains why it was an obvious choice to open the album, and recalls how the Ramones worked out the sequencing in the studio, moving songs around on the board as the record took shape. We talk about Joey’s vocal performance, the Ramones’ history of tackling social and political subjects, and why ‘C********t’ worked so perfectly as both a killer album opener and a statement of intent. Then it’s on to Marky Ramone’s ‘The Job That Ate My Brain’, with CJ shedding light on Marky's collaboration with songwriter Garrett Uhlenbrock and the wicked little world contained within the song. From there, as always, it’s a deep dive into all the songs on Side A of the album, including the songwriting, the studio sessions, the sequencing, and the stories behind the tracks—only this time, we get to hear it all firsthand from a man who was actually in the room. So crank it up, drop the needle, and join us for the Mondo Bizarro Side A Deep Dive. And if you want to keep digging, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays for the Side B Deep Dive and the rest of our exclusive Patreon content. You won’t regret it. Gabba Gabba Hey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Sep 17

    022 - Dirty Donny Interview

    Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we're stepping into the wonderfully deranged world of Dirty Donny — artist, hot-rod obsessive, Ramones fanatic, and one of the great modern custodians of the all-American art forms of rock 'n' roll, lowbrow and car culture. Drawing inspiration from legends like Coop and Big Daddy Roth, Donny has spent decades creating a visual universe packed with flames, monsters, skulls, chrome and enough gasoline fumes to permanently alter your brain chemistry. And then there was the small matter of spending six months hanging around Metallica's studio, painting guitars and becoming part of their creative world. We talk lowbrow art, rock 'n' roll, Americana, the DIY spirit and why underground culture has a habit of disappearing into the shadows before roaring back into the limelight. Donny also shares his thoughts on helping younger artists and keeping that creative fire burning for the next generation. So fire up your hot rod and join us for a trip down the rabbit hole of art, music, motorcycles and the beauty of doing things your own way. To stream the second half of this week's artist interview and access the rest of our exclusive bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays And to pre-order Donny's new book, Dirty Donny Must Be Destroyed: The Art of Donny Giles, out September 29, head over to www.dirtydonny.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Sep 10

    021 - 'Brain Drain' Side A Deep Dive

    Hey kids! Welcome to another Deep Dive episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we drop the needle on Brain Drain—the Ramones' eleventh studio album, released in 1989, and a record that arrived at one of the most turbulent moments in the band's history. By this point, the cracks were beginning to show. Richie Ramone was gone, Dee Dee was battling his own demons, and the band were facing the increasingly familiar struggle between artistic credibility, commercial success, and simply keeping the machine moving. And yet, somehow, Brain Drain produced some of the most memorable songs of the Ramones' later years. From the irresistible 'I Believe in Miracles' to the sublime soundtrack song 'Pet Sematary', Brain Drain is a fascinating collision of classic Ramones songwriting, vintage '80s production, and even a Christmas song thrown into the mix. In this week's Deep Dive, we get under the skin of the record (or skull) of Brain Drain—the songs, the stories, the lineup changes, and the bizarre context surrounding an album that's often overlooked in favour of the Ramones' earlier, more celebrated records. So grab your leather jacket, turn up the volume up dial, and join us as we revisit Brain Drain, an album made by a band who may have been running low on fumes, but somehow still had enough gas left in the tank to go to the distance as they entered the third—and arguably most successful—decade of their career... The Ramones weren't finished yet. Not by a long shot. As always, if you want to hear the Side B Deep Dive and stream the rest of our exclusive bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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CJ SAYS: A RAMONES PODCAST A podcast unlike any other... Combining music history, rock ‘n’ roll storytelling, life lessons from the road well traveled, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, untold nuggets, and tributes from the Ramones’ most famous & dedicated fans. Hosted by CJ Ramone & Matt Stocks. Weekly episodes published every Thursday on all major podcast platforms. For exclusive bonus content head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hey! Ho! Let's Go!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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