CJ RAMONE TOURING IN EUROPE IN AUGUST, 2009.This is page 3, and here story continue...
August 28, 2009, Hannu Jokinen, Timo Pullinen and I met Jan Beddies at the hostel boat Eastern Comfort where we three were staying. It was time to find a way to Ramones Museum Berlin. CJ Ramone, Daniel Rey and Brant Bjork had meet and greet and signing session at Ramones Museum Berlin. There were around 60-70 Ramones fans waiting outside. CJ Ramone, Daniel Rey, Brant Bjork, and tour manager Gene Frawley etc. were looking things first alone together with Florian Hayler who run Ramones Museum Berlin.
When doors opened, guys were behind of desk and started signing items what fans had brought. They patiently signed all kind of items.
At that time I was walking and looking items again. It is always really great to visit Ramones Museum Berlin and see collector items, personal items of different Ramones members and rare promo items like promotional baseball bat. It is referred to Beat On The Brat song. With baseball bat was helped to promote Ramones debut album. USA version of baseball bat has text: "The Ramones - A Hit On Sire Records." Florian is trying to find UK version of same bat. It has different text: "Ramones - Beat On The Brat."
Two promo items related to Road To Ruin album and Needles And Pins single are pins boxes with pins, first has text: "Ramones - chart the Road To Ruin" and second: "Ramones. Road To Ruin. Needles And Pins."
Items related to Animal Boy album and Crummy Stuff single are also really interesting to me as Animal Boy is among my four favourite Ramones albums. In that glass vitrine had Animal Boy tour poster/book, flyers of Crummy Stuff single and Crummy Stuff cookie box (best before date of cookies inside has gone long time ago...), frisbie, Animal Boy scarf etc.
Ramones Museum Berlin has from Andrew D. Gore's collection Johnny Ramone's first USA passport. Thanks to Johnny's mother and Ramones creative director Arturo Vega, there are many photos of Johnny being child and young, and as well things related to Johnny's birth, to his years in kindergarten and school and Forest High School diploma.
About It's Alive record there was photo taken in that New Year's Show on December 31, 1977, and Gabba Gabba Hey sign with info letter: "Everyone who attended the show got the little Gabba Gabba Hey sign."
There are hundreds of more items at Ramones Museum Berlin. Like many Dee Dee Ramone's, Barbara Zampini's and Paul Kostabi's paintings.
Acoustic set
There is a small stage at the Ramones Museum Berlin as well. CJ (guitar), Daniel (guitar) and Brant (tambourine) played acoustic set. CJ started: "So we are gonna play couple of Ramones songs in a style you probably never heard them play before."
When I think shows related to the Ramones, Tommy Ramone and Claudia Tienan has played as a Uncle Monk acoustic versions of I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. CJ, Daniel and Brant also started their mini set with I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. So it was acoustic and slower version than for what we are get used to. CJ's voice was a bit strange to listen in so soft way. It took a while to get used to it. CJ asked audience to sing chorus and lot people did so. People were really concentrated to follow their performance.
I was watching show close to the stage with Jan Beddies. This time I was only taking photos, not videotaping etc. Next song with slow tempo was Listen To My Heart. After that gentlemen were thinking next one. They decided to do Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, it was a bit faster and CJ's voice was going more easy way.
The most touched I was of Here Today Gone Tomorrow. It really was lovely
version with strong feelings. You could feel how much CJ missed Joey,
Johnny and Dee Dee.And everybody else...
After fans stopped applauding CJ explained his thoughs: "It is a funny thing if you break down a lot Ramones songs, or something like that, you realize how beautiful they are and how heartfelt Joey's lyrics were. That is why we wanted to do them like this."
CJ, Brant and Daniel were thinking what to play next. Some fan had asked earlier guys to play some Bad Chopper songs. CJ said no. Now fans were yelling to hear pieces like Pinhead, Blitzkrieg Bop, She's The One, Danny Says... "We can't do Danny Says, that is difficult."
Then someone shouted My Back Pages, and it was chosen. Poison Heart was last one.
I think this was full set:
1) I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.
2) Listen To My Heart.
3) Sheena Is A Punk Rocker.
4) Here Today Gone Tomorrow.
5) My Back Pages.
6) Poison Heart.
Slam Magazine and Tornado Ride Records
I like to mention in my reports some people who I met and who came to chat to me. At the Ramones Museum Berlin I met that day some Ramones fans for the first time, people like Andrea Gallinini, Peter Hanzl, Steven Van Laethem, Stefan Nikolaus and Anneliese Richartz.
Stefan and Anneliese had a bit earlier ordered some of my books and Steven Van Laethem longer time ago. Steven Van Laethem was at the museum with his friend. They both play in a band called The Dickson Batteries.
Andrea Gallinini run Italian label Tornado Ride Records who has released mainly LP's and 7' vinyls. Records like Walter Lure: Live In Berlin (LP), Hamburg Ramönes: Long Black Hair (LP), Gonzales: Checkmate (LP) and Darlington/ Teenage Bubblegums (7' split).
Peter Hanzl is editor-in-chief of Austrian based music mag Slam Magazine. They released Rock Classics: Ramones special issue on October 28th, 2009. It has 132 pages (in German language), rare photos and interviews, four posters and a 12 song CD entitled The Roots Of The Ramones with tracks from bands like the New York Dolls, MC5, Iggy & The Stooges, The Troggs and The Flamin' Groovies. Rock Classics: Ramones special issue has interviews with or stories of every Ramones members, Roberta Bayley, George DuBose, Ed Stasium, Daniel Rey etc. Also quotes from or interviews with Campino of The Die Toten Hosen, Bela B of The Die Ärzte, Mille Petrozza of The Kreator, Mike Ness of The Social Distortion, Jon Spencer, Ramones tribute band Rämouns, and also longer interview with me (Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone).
Before we left from Ramones Museum Berlin Florian paid me my books he had sold after my last visit. I left Flo some more copies of my second and third books, Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone and Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives. So people who visit Ramones Museum Berlin and has no my books, they're available there...
In this tour CJ had as his merchandise lot his T-shirts. You can buy and see his official T-shirts through his site www.cjramone.com. There are regular "CJ Ramone American Punk", Bad Chopper and Los Gusanos (Los Gusanos is CJ's old band) T-shirts, baseball T-shirts, women's cap sleeve T-shirts etc.
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