C J Ramone

What was it like auditioning to be the new bass player for the biggest punk rock band of all time?

“I was in the marines core when I auditioned for the ramones so I had a lot of confidence and military bearing. I had no expectation of getting it so I wasn’t nervous. I went in very relaxed. I introduced myself and shook hands with John and Mark, played a couple of songs with them. Joey came in when we were playing. I left and called everybody I knew and said ‘hey, I just played with the Ramones!’ with no expectation that they would call me back, and then they called me back”. 

How quick was it, after getting the call, that you guys went on the road? 

“It was a long process. I was a deserter from the Marine core so I sent a little bit of time in military custody. I actually got the call from Johnny when I was in custody saying that I actually got the gig! I went from the lowest part of my life in military jail to the highest point of my life in five weeks. Spent a bit of time in the brig, then got out, and in my five weeks, I learned forty songs, and did my first show in Leicester.”

What was your favourite song to play with the band?

“Really enjoyed doing Warthog, not just because I sang it, but because I always liked the heavier stuff. I was a huge fan of all their stuff and the best thing about being on stage was being on stage with the Ramones. I would’ve played nothing but B-Sides with them if I had to.”

Tell Us About Your New Podcast - CJ Says

“This year is 50 years since the release of the first Ramones record. April 23rd. That’s when we did the launch. My co-host, Matt Stocks and I, did an interview together a few years back on the Flog and Molly Cruise, so they were interviewing lots of different bands, and during the interview, we had a lot of different moments where we got into good conversations. Matt talked about it with my manager, and we all got together and decided that a podcast might be a cool way to go. I like podcasts because it’s a conversation, not an interview. It’s not a question and answer in a finite amount of time. We’re going through the whole Ramones record collection, talking through an hour at a time, discussing the covers, the producers, and all the stuff I know from being in the band and knowing people connected with it. 

New episodes every Thursday

One of your recent guests was Duff McKagan (Guns and Roses)

“Being a guy that came from the Seattle scene and into the L.A scene, Guns and Roses kicked that off. I always heard he was a nice guy, but sitting down and talking to him, I was starstruck. It’s one of my first interviews and there’s one spot where I ask him a question, he starts talking, and I was just sitting there listening to the story. My manager is signalling me like ‘Say something, you’re meant to be interviewing him!”. So much of what I talk about on in this podcast are stuff I thought about when I was listening to these records as a kid, and always wandered about but never talked to anybody about. I recognised when I was very young that I was beyond a music geek, so I never talked to anyone about that, and now I finally have the opportunity to talk freely about it!”

You can listen to FuzzKill Radio 9pm every Sunday on Altzone Radio. 

New episodes of CJ Says drop every Thursday.