Dude, that sucks <img> <img> <img>

Hey Buck or Starbuck,

I’d love to read that article, appreciate the offer!!!

Listening to Dee Dee’s cover of The Heartbreakers Born to Lose currently <img>

Allison

</font><blockquote><font>quote:</font><hr><font>Originally posted by Buck or Starbuck?:
<strong>This german article titled ‘Dee Dee Ramone, the true Ramone’ tells the story, if someone is interested I will try to translate it, and post it here….
</strong></font><hr></blockquote><font>Here it is:

Tegelen, a small dreamy town near the border of Holland and Germany. I am standing, a little confused in front of a small shop, which windows are covered with newspapers. Here, of all places, Dee Dee Ramone is recording his first solo-album? There is indeed a recording studio hiding in this place. Mark, the friendly studio-owner (recently promoted to be the manager of the ‘punk-guru’) explains that Dee Dee is away to Venlo to buy some English newspapers, and that the rest of the band is still in bed after a long night of partying,. That’s rock’n’ roll!

At last the former Ramones bassplayer enters the uncomfortable kitchen where I hab been waiting, he shouts ‘Hallo, Katze’ (in perfect German) at the studio cat, and makes himself a cup of some undefined brew, which later turns out to be tea.
How does a famous American musician get the idea to record an album in Holland?
"I have decided to live over here in Holland, or eventually in Berlin because it so unsafe over in the States. I am a musician, not a gangster. At the moment there are so many people in New York carrying guns, and it’s getting worse by the day. I’ve stayed in England for about six weeks, but I didn’t like it over there as well. I like Germany, because my mother is German, and my father was stationed in Berlin with the US Army. So I lived there til I was 16 and know the country quite well. My new agent is Dutch, my record-company German, so I decided to stay over here for the time being".

Luckily Dee Dee (in stead of his reputation of being shy and reclusive) turns out to be a very talkative and interesting guy. He also is willing to talk about his former band, to which he has a real love-hate relationship.
"I don’t think that the Ramones will be together for much longer, originally ‘Acid Eaters’ was intended as an ep, now they have made a full album of it, they are running out of ideas. That was the main reason for our divorce. I also grew tired of the destructive way of working in that band, all the troubles and frictions with the others, which have a very bad influence of the quality of the work. The boys are burned out, and in bad need of a paeriod of rest. I also got tired of the craziness of Joey, Johnny and Marky, and I am glad that I now found my own rhythm of life"

Dee Dee (real name Douglas Colvin) is very pissed off by some negative remarks of his former collegues.
"I don’t know why they are always telling bad things about me, the Ramones should look at themselves first, and think about their mistakes. I haven’t done anything bad to them, and I am not a threat to them, despite that, there are some stupid things about me in the Ramones-book [which one? – den Buck]. I have always tried to be cooperative, but I’m waiting for a sign from Johnny and co, I am a little sad about it…"

I am telling Dee Dee about an interview with C. Jay [the guy who replaced Dee Dee – den Buck], in which C. Jay was talking very highly about Dee Dee, and worshipped him as his greatest influence and example.
"C. Jay is a nice guy, who is also treated very badly by the others. What did he do to them? He is a nice guy, who is an excellent bassplayer and a hard worker. Bu that’s the Ramones for you, agressive guys without any fun!"

Dee Dee tells that he has offered some of his new songs to his old companions, and that they refused them. He also tells that Joey is planning a solo album. At this point we start talking about Dee Dee’s new songs.
"The EP sounds just like the old Ramones, the LP is pure punk-rock, not unlike the stuff on "Too tugh to die", we like to call our music "creep-rock", I mainly play guitar, sounding a little like Keith Richards and Chuck Berry. I love it to plug my guitar into an loud amp, and then let go in some oldfashioned way. All the stuff was written last year wit co-autor Daniel Rey, with whom I also wrote many Ramones hits, like Pet Semetary, Nina Hagen is singing on two tracks as well, would you like to hear the demo?"

Stupid question! We go to another room, fitted out with a sofa, a TV, an old organ and a table with some porno-mags and a couple of cassettes with Chuck Berry’s greatest hits, how approriate….
Dee Dee puts the cassette in a very old tape-recorder, and them I’m hearing just what you expect from a Ramone, straight, melodic punkrock, great! After that I am the first outsider to hear the finished recordings of "Chinese Bitch" and "I Hate Creeps Like You". Fantastic and highly recommended!

Driving home on the Autobahn it is obvious to me: despite of Joey, Johnny und Marky – Dee Dee ist the true Ramone!

Thomas Vigano
Ton Bukkems tried to translate it into English (I hope it makes sense to you…..)

Big thanks from me as well for the translation, great article!!! Dee Dee will be missed <img>

Listening to Bad Little Go-Go Girl by Dee Dee

Allison

Adios Amigo! <img>