Marky Ramone Q&A

November 15, 2023

The Ramones are often cited as the first true punk rock group with a sound that would go on to influence scores of other bands that followed. Who were the bands that influenced you as you began your drumming career? Growing up I watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan tv show and decided that I wanted to play drums. As I got older I also admired and was influenced by Hal Blaine, Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell.

In 2015, you released your autobiography “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone.” What was your goal with the book – setting history straight? Preserving the band’s legacy? Were there periods that you felt uncomfortable retelling? Over the years many people asked why haven’t I written a book about my life, so it was just a fun project for me , I didn’t’t have any agendas and didn’t feel uncomfortable retelling my story. I hope it inspired younger readers to try and follow their dream.

What do you see as the primary mission behind Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg? How do you feel recreating the band’s signature songs in front of audiences that might never have seen the original band perform? It gives my great pleasure to play these songs in front of old and new Ramones fans. I feel they guys in my band do justice to the music.

What are you looking forward to about joining The 80s Cruise? The cruise is a week of people all coming together to have a great time and enjoy themselves.

The 80s Cruise is a celebration of an amazing decade of music, fashion, and world events (some good, some bad). What do you wish would return from that era? What are you glad we left behind? Really life goes on and really stays the same. We are all people just living a day at a time. I don’t think much has changed except for technology which is a double edge sword but there is no turning back so let’s just keep rockin’.