Linda Ramone, Tommy Ramone, the only survivor of the band, and Editor/JRA Chief of Staff John Cafiero were at Amoeba to sign ‘Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone’ last Thursday night.
There was an honest crowd, but not an overwhelming crowd, made of all-age people, families and young punks, quietly waiting for Linda and Tommy, a little late on the schedule. Tommy looked a little reluctant to be there or may be that's his natural bonhomie, because he accepted about everything that was presented to him, posters, photographs, even kindly signing drumsticks and an endless series of stuff that an abusing fan kept putting in front of him. I heard him talking with fans and he seemed to be quite down-to-earth and totally accessible.
Linda looked very young, like a Beverly Hills babe with this silver sparkling outfit and his perfect make-up, as she was signing the books with a pink marker, whereas Cafiero never removed his shades and made sure everyone saw he was wearing a t-shirt ‘Cash from Chaos’ t-shirt, a tribute band paying homage to the punk era of the late 70's and early 80's.
I haven’t read the book, just looked at it in the store and checked out some reviews; it looked fancy, filled with pictures of Johnny from his childhood to the end of his life, and I am sure fans will find it quite enjoyable.
In interviews, Linda said Johnny started to write the book when he became ill and never stopped working on it, even between chemotherapy treatments:
‘Johnny's legacy to him was so important, even while he was sick. … It was like he knew he was dying, and he wanted to do something’.
Initially, Linda was planning to include friends’ interviews, but finally didn’t as she preferred to only have Johnny talking about Johnny. But Johnny Ramone died in 2004, what took so long to publish his memoirs? Linda said that several factors, such as lawsuits and different projects, were responsible for the delay in the book's release.
Johnny Ramone’s strong personality is all over ‘Commando’ of course, his admiration for American ‘heroes’ like John Wayne and the NYPD, and all-American things like baseball and Cadillac cars. Such a contradiction when you think about the rebellious nature of punk,… to what Johnny once responded: ‘I wrote the book on punk. I decide what’s punk. If I’m driving a Cadillac, it’s punk.’
Johnny was the opposite of this punk-rock cliché, taking notes about the band’s earning at each gig, saving money rather than spending it, praising his country and capitalism, making his band wearing a black-leather jacket-jeans uniform, avoiding drugs, collecting and obsessing about lists and organization, even grading himself all Ramones’ albums: an A+ for ‘Rocket to Russia’ : ‘This was the best Ramones album, with the classics on it’. And a C for ‘Mondo Bizarro’: ‘The songs are the weak spot on this album’.
You have to ponder on his top 10 list of ‘favorite Republicans’ which includes Ronald Reagan, Vincent Gallo, Richard Nixon, Charlton Heston, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Nugent and Sean Hannity! Ouch!
But when he is finally losing his battle with cancer and he poignantly wrote about it:
‘It changed me," Ramone writes of his battle with cancer. "And I don't know that I like how. It has softened me up, and I like the old me better. I don't even have the energy to be angry. It has sapped my confidence. I fought it as hard as I could. I figured it would win in the end, but I hate losing. Always did. I liked being angry. It energized me and made me feel strong.’
I am sure some fans will accuse Linda Ramone to be cashing in on her husband’s legacy, this punk rock legend who was an outspoken republican and baseball card collector. But at the end, I am also sure fans will buy the book.