Marky Ramone Interview From 1996

Here’s the fishwrap interview that Ida Langsam set up for me with Marky Ramone way back in 1996. Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for 1996!

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As we all should know Marky Ramone drums for pioneer punk band, The Ramones. Last summer the Ramones released Adios Amigos!, a hard hitting album that finds the Ramones staying true to their original punk rock roots and reuniting with Dee Dee Ramone who co-wrote five songs on the album. We caught up with Marky in San Diego where the Ramones were playing to support their newest album. Marky confirmed that Adios Amigos! is their last Ramones alum, and this is the last Ramones tour. He told us that the band is breaking up in March., so catch ‘em while you can.

The longtime Ramones drummer has his very own album coming out this March and it’s self-titled after the name of his new band, The Intruders. the album will be on Blackout records, and will include Marty’s re-recorded version of Richard Hell’s punk anthem, “Blank Generation.” Marky played on the original before he became a Ramone.

This is what he told us concerning the topic of rock & roll magazines.

“I like Slug and Tab, they’re fanzines. Tab is from the Chicago-Ohio area. This guy Mike Heck wrote an article about me in Tab and he knew every detail. I called him up and said, ‘How did you get this information?’ He says ‘We’re very thorough.’ when I heard that I asked him to send me some other issues and as far ass their takes on bands and their politics, they’re right on the money.

As far as more mainstream magazines go, I like Pulse. And Details is okay, for a glossy mainstream magazine. I hate Rolling Stone. Politically I agree with them, but as a big international magazine sometime they overlook certain origins. Origins of bands like the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash. If they do articles on punk bands they won’t even mention their influences. Even if a band would cite us as an influence, I don’t think they put it in the article. But I do like their politics, but they lost their vision. You know what happened? All the hippies turned to yuppies and they have to cater to the yuppie. When they started putting Army Reserve ads and Army Marine shit in there, you they just caved. And I never thought Rolling Stone would cave in.

I like Spin magazine much better than Rolling Stone. Spine is what Rolling Stone should have become. They’re more in tune with the music [scene] than Rolling Stone is.

Vanity Fair, you know, it is what it is, but politically they’ve done some good stuff.

I used to like Punk magazine, which Legs McNeil and John Holmstrom did. John did some of the early artwork for the Ramones. Now he does High Times which is good occasionally, but it can get a little repetitious.

I like Hits, they’re very good.

The main thing I don’t like in any kind of a magazine is when they start to cater to the yuppie. There’s nothing wrong with the American Dream, but when you start getting greedy and you don’t care about things like the environment,, the poor, the homeless, ‘I’m in it for me, screw everyone else,’ then you’re a fucking prick. I don’t like any magazine that has that kind of an attitude in it’s editorial content.”

Comments

[Gene]

Cool interview, Marty! I did a google search on Marty Wombacher fishwrap and it looks like it was popular in it's day!

[biff]

i hate rolling stone too! AND i hate rolling ROCK!