New
York City, September 18, 2002
I met DeeDee in 1973. He used to come into the building where I lived to see a girl he was dating. The door to my loft was always open and he would come in and talk to me while I painted. He only talked about girls. When I asked him what he did for a living his answer was that he didn't like what he did, but did it anyway because he met a lot of girls.
After a few months of these casual encounters he came in one day as I peeled of the masking tape I used to outline the images on the canvas, suddenly revealing a finished piece. He seemed surprised by the process as if I had performed a magic trick. He stared at it for a few seconds and said: these are paintings right? So I said; yes they are what do you think? His immediate answer was:
"Oh Art is OK but it's not that important"
Up to that point I was feeling very good, high on a feeling of self-importance proudly admiring my just finished work. His words brought me back from that place a person goes when he gets carried away by his intuition, selfishness and paranoia. I felt as if he had cut my wrists and slowly but surely my blood was dripping out of my body. I tried to tell myself he didn't know what he was talking about, that he provably was a sales clerk at a ladies shoe store, but I asked him to explain what he meant and without thinking about it he assumed for the first time in front of me the posture I would see many more times through out the years to come. Extending his arms showing the palms of his hands like a child stating the obvious he said:
"Well Art is not necessary"
That was the first sign that DeeDee was only interested in what was truly essential. Then as if trying to compensate for the negativity of his pronouncement he added; me and my friends are going to put a band together. We're going to be very good maybe you'll want to do Art for us.
Twenty five years and over twenty five hundred shows later (The Ramones did 2,263 of which I missed two, and DeeDee started to tour solo almost as soon as he quite the band) I found out that DeeDee was playing a tiny club in New York City. I had refused to go and see him play again thinking I couldn't possibly enjoy it and he never insisted that I did but this time I decided to surprise him. I had not seen him for some time and I was ecited about it. The day of the show I couldn't wait to go. I had passed by the club (Really just a bar) where he was playing many times but had never been inside. As soon as I saw the room I could not believe he was playing such a small place. I approached him and when he saw me he gave me a big smile and a hug and said:
"You're here"
We talked for about 15 minutes and it felt good, then he said he had to get ready for the show and went to the corner where the "stage" was. The guys in his band didn't know what to do to set up or they were afraid to do the wrong thing and waited for DeeDee to make all the decisions. The result was confusion if not chaos. Then they started to play, It was bad. I listened for three songs and decided I had enough and walked outside. I was leaning on a car parked right in front of a window and DeeDee was right on the other side, I could not hear very well but I was able to watch him perfectly so I continued observing for the rest of the show. The new perspective changed everything. On one side I saw a crowd with expressions of curiosity , and in the other side to my amazement I saw a man doing exactly what he wanted to do completely oblivious to the bewildered faces in front of him. He had no problem with his working conditions, the problem was all mine. He had left one of the greatest Rock n' Roll bands ever because he valued his freedom above anything else. DeeDee was in total control because there was no self-pity and absolutely no regrets in his demeanor. He knew what he had to do and he was man enough to do it. I walked away thinking I had never been more proud of him.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEEDEE
Arturo Vega
Mi primer show de Ramones en Argentina fue en 1992, Dee Dee ya no estaba en la banda. Luego cuando él vino aquí con The Chinese Dragons y ICLC, yo no pude ir a ver los shows, por distintos problemas. La última vez que Dee Dee estuvo en BA fué en 2001, cuando presentó "Greatest & Latest". Yo preparé una caricatura para regalarle a Dee Dee, sin saber si podría verlo a él. El show estuvo bastante excitante, y Dee Dee estuvo muy fastidiado con el público, ya que algunos estúpidos lo escupieron. Él abandonó el escenario muy enojado, y cuando regresó después de unos minutos sucedió de nuevo lo mismo,y le arrojaron una lata de cerveza también. Dee Dee se fué del escenario 3 veces!!! Yo creía que él ya no regresaria, por esa gente esupida que lo agredía. Finalmente él volvío y pudo terminar tranquilamente su show. Después, yo fuí al camarín, sin tener ninguna esperanza de poder verlo, ya que él estaría muy enojado con lo que había sucedido. En la puerta del camarín había una persona de seguridad, que no me dejaba entrar, yo le decía que solo quería regalarle el dibujo y me iría sin molestar. Me pidieron el dibujo para que Dee Dee lo observara, y enseguida me dijeron que él quería verme!! Cuando entré,Dee Dee me invitó a sentarme junto a él. Me agradeció por el regalo muy amablemente y empezamos a hablar sobre dibujo y pintura, me contó sobre sus pinturas, se lo veía muy bien de salud, ya que él me dijo que ya no se drogaba y que solo fumaba marihuana, y así le salían mejor sus pinturas!! jajaja! El dijo que las drogas son muy malas y que jamás yo me drogara, eso era realmente malo. Nunca olvidaré ese momento, fué un sueño. Dee Dee me demostró en esos pocos minutos que compartimos, después de pasar un mal momento minutos atrás en escena, lo gran persona que él era y su humildad y amabilidad. Se fué el último heroe del punk rock! Gracias por todos estos años de brillante música, Dee Dee!!
Gonzalo Facio
BUENOS AIRES ARGENTINA.
DeeDee by Gonzalo Facio.
from Jake Coyner
Inside The Outsider
Dee Dee grew up in a screwed-up way
A messed-up original that loved to play
He thought his friends were his enemies
But addictions were his wasting disease
Dee Dee didn't seem to care
He had a lyrical brain beyond compare
Yeah he wasn't D-U-M or B
Maybe schizophrenic, he couldn't see.
The drugs made him worse instead of better
He couldn't see that he was successful
He wanted to grow and be something more
He died in the end from a fatal score.
Dee Dee, we will miss you man
Your sense of humor was your own brand
You should've stayed and gotten gray
Why'd you have to go away?
-Ricky
from Diederik Van Der Sijpe, Belgium
i saw Dee Dee all 3 of the times he came to chicago for his solo shows. i thought all 3 were great shows and was actually impressed with his guitar playing. it reminded me of neil young and paul westerberg , sloppy but sincere , i've never been a real fan of the clean rock and roll players. he forgot words to songs and sang the wrong verse at every possible chance he got. but he was SO genuine in his delivery of solo songs and ramones classics , even motorhead and chuck berry tunes. one of the songs he did was "party doll " , which Joey wrote for him . and he dressed really wierd the first time i saw him , he wore a goofy looking purple velour suit with leopard skin lapels , topped off with shoes that came to a sharp point and looked to be about a size 21. he even gave me a Chinese Dragons t-shirt that my wife managed to lose. i also found out what i believed all along , NOBODY can play guitar like Johnny Ramone. it just doesn't even sound close with somebody else playing those songs , those guys were all true originals. anyway , DeeDee was great and i consider myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to see him and the band so many times. Rocco
Luca Di Gaetano and Dee Dee Ramone
I met Dee Dee in June 2001 (2 months after Joey had passed). I felt that I had to meet at least one of the Ramones, since Joey had died that was heartbreaking. I knew that Dee Dee was very accessible (and lived in Calif.) from everyone online always writing about their meeting him and how very kind and open he was.
I found out that he was doing a book signing for Chelsea Horror Hotel in Burbank. So, I was nervous, but knew that as a Ramones fan, I must do this. I show up, it wasn't very crowded, that Sunday afternoon. I envisioned a line wrapped around the block. But, anyhow I walked in, purchased my book, waited out front. The local newpaper was conducting an interview with Dee Dee. I go back in a short while later, got in line--before I knew it I was at the signing table. I excitedly shook his hand and let him know that I was so pleased to meet him. He was very sweet. I didn't want to say anything stupid to this great punk rocker, so....I just smiled at him. He'd informed me that he'd just returned from a trip to N.Y. and during this trip the city was the way he remembered it in the 70s and he referred to "Taxi Driver". He also let me know that he was going to stop performing, which I'd found a bit disheartening. He showed me his art and we discussed that for a while. I let him know that I thought he was a genius.
We wrapped up out chat and I again thanked him and shook his hand. He gave me a kiss on the cheek, that I'll never forget.
I also got my photo with Dee Dee in the local newpaper that week. What more could you ask for? I was stupid and didn't realize till way later, that Dee Dee was doing an acoustic performance and selling his fanzine there. Gabba Gabba Hey, what else can I say?
Anyhow, Dee Dee's death was a shock to me. When I received Arturo's email that day.. I saw the subject "Our Dee Dee".. so I said sarcastically "What, did he die!?"..so I opened it and sure enough that was the case. So people were calling me and I called a few people and left messages. And everyone was like what do you think he died of ? I said that I thought he'd died of natural causes from a broken heart because I knew that Dee Dee was very sad (on the inside). But, that was not the case. I didn't think he'd die that way. I thought that maybe he'd live to be the oldest of the Ramones. To tough to die.
With Love, Luno
Corona, CA
aahhh- DeeDee
I STILL grieve the loss of you
you will FOREVER be in my heart
I met you just one time but that one time was enough for me to realize
the beautiful sweet person that you are
You will never cease to be
I celebrate your birthday amigo
Love
Lin
I met DeeDee in 1973. He used to come into the building where I lived to see a girl he was dating. The door to my loft was always open and he would come in and talk to me while I painted. He only talked about girls. When I asked him what he did for a living his answer was that he didn't like what he did, but did it anyway because he met a lot of girls.
After a few months of these casual encounters he came in one day as I peeled of the masking tape I used to outline the images on the canvas, suddenly revealing a finished piece. He seemed surprised by the process as if I had performed a magic trick. He stared at it for a few seconds and said: these are paintings right? So I said; yes they are what do you think? His immediate answer was:
"Oh Art is OK but it's not that important"
Up to that point I was feeling very good, high on a feeling of self-importance proudly admiring my just finished work. His words brought me back from that place a person goes when he gets carried away by his intuition, selfishness and paranoia. I felt as if he had cut my wrists and slowly but surely my blood was dripping out of my body. I tried to tell myself he didn't know what he was talking about, that he provably was a sales clerk at a ladies shoe store, but I asked him to explain what he meant and without thinking about it he assumed for the first time in front of me the posture I would see many more times through out the years to come. Extending his arms showing the palms of his hands like a child stating the obvious he said:
"Well Art is not necessary"
That was the first sign that DeeDee was only interested in what was truly essential. Then as if trying to compensate for the negativity of his pronouncement he added; me and my friends are going to put a band together. We're going to be very good maybe you'll want to do Art for us.
Twenty five years and over twenty five hundred shows later (The Ramones did 2,263 of which I missed two, and DeeDee started to tour solo almost as soon as he quite the band) I found out that DeeDee was playing a tiny club in New York City. I had refused to go and see him play again thinking I couldn't possibly enjoy it and he never insisted that I did but this time I decided to surprise him. I had not seen him for some time and I was ecited about it. The day of the show I couldn't wait to go. I had passed by the club (Really just a bar) where he was playing many times but had never been inside. As soon as I saw the room I could not believe he was playing such a small place. I approached him and when he saw me he gave me a big smile and a hug and said:
"You're here"
We talked for about 15 minutes and it felt good, then he said he had to get ready for the show and went to the corner where the "stage" was. The guys in his band didn't know what to do to set up or they were afraid to do the wrong thing and waited for DeeDee to make all the decisions. The result was confusion if not chaos. Then they started to play, It was bad. I listened for three songs and decided I had enough and walked outside. I was leaning on a car parked right in front of a window and DeeDee was right on the other side, I could not hear very well but I was able to watch him perfectly so I continued observing for the rest of the show. The new perspective changed everything. On one side I saw a crowd with expressions of curiosity , and in the other side to my amazement I saw a man doing exactly what he wanted to do completely oblivious to the bewildered faces in front of him. He had no problem with his working conditions, the problem was all mine. He had left one of the greatest Rock n' Roll bands ever because he valued his freedom above anything else. DeeDee was in total control because there was no self-pity and absolutely no regrets in his demeanor. He knew what he had to do and he was man enough to do it. I walked away thinking I had never been more proud of him.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEEDEE
Arturo Vega
Mi primer show de Ramones en Argentina fue en 1992, Dee Dee ya no estaba en la banda. Luego cuando él vino aquí con The Chinese Dragons y ICLC, yo no pude ir a ver los shows, por distintos problemas. La última vez que Dee Dee estuvo en BA fué en 2001, cuando presentó "Greatest & Latest". Yo preparé una caricatura para regalarle a Dee Dee, sin saber si podría verlo a él. El show estuvo bastante excitante, y Dee Dee estuvo muy fastidiado con el público, ya que algunos estúpidos lo escupieron. Él abandonó el escenario muy enojado, y cuando regresó después de unos minutos sucedió de nuevo lo mismo,y le arrojaron una lata de cerveza también. Dee Dee se fué del escenario 3 veces!!! Yo creía que él ya no regresaria, por esa gente esupida que lo agredía. Finalmente él volvío y pudo terminar tranquilamente su show. Después, yo fuí al camarín, sin tener ninguna esperanza de poder verlo, ya que él estaría muy enojado con lo que había sucedido. En la puerta del camarín había una persona de seguridad, que no me dejaba entrar, yo le decía que solo quería regalarle el dibujo y me iría sin molestar. Me pidieron el dibujo para que Dee Dee lo observara, y enseguida me dijeron que él quería verme!! Cuando entré,Dee Dee me invitó a sentarme junto a él. Me agradeció por el regalo muy amablemente y empezamos a hablar sobre dibujo y pintura, me contó sobre sus pinturas, se lo veía muy bien de salud, ya que él me dijo que ya no se drogaba y que solo fumaba marihuana, y así le salían mejor sus pinturas!! jajaja! El dijo que las drogas son muy malas y que jamás yo me drogara, eso era realmente malo. Nunca olvidaré ese momento, fué un sueño. Dee Dee me demostró en esos pocos minutos que compartimos, después de pasar un mal momento minutos atrás en escena, lo gran persona que él era y su humildad y amabilidad. Se fué el último heroe del punk rock! Gracias por todos estos años de brillante música, Dee Dee!!
Gonzalo Facio
BUENOS AIRES ARGENTINA.
DeeDee by Gonzalo Facio.
from Jake Coyner
Inside The Outsider
Dee Dee grew up in a screwed-up way
A messed-up original that loved to play
He thought his friends were his enemies
But addictions were his wasting disease
Dee Dee didn't seem to care
He had a lyrical brain beyond compare
Yeah he wasn't D-U-M or B
Maybe schizophrenic, he couldn't see.
The drugs made him worse instead of better
He couldn't see that he was successful
He wanted to grow and be something more
He died in the end from a fatal score.
Dee Dee, we will miss you man
Your sense of humor was your own brand
You should've stayed and gotten gray
Why'd you have to go away?
-Ricky
from Diederik Van Der Sijpe, Belgium
i saw Dee Dee all 3 of the times he came to chicago for his solo shows. i thought all 3 were great shows and was actually impressed with his guitar playing. it reminded me of neil young and paul westerberg , sloppy but sincere , i've never been a real fan of the clean rock and roll players. he forgot words to songs and sang the wrong verse at every possible chance he got. but he was SO genuine in his delivery of solo songs and ramones classics , even motorhead and chuck berry tunes. one of the songs he did was "party doll " , which Joey wrote for him . and he dressed really wierd the first time i saw him , he wore a goofy looking purple velour suit with leopard skin lapels , topped off with shoes that came to a sharp point and looked to be about a size 21. he even gave me a Chinese Dragons t-shirt that my wife managed to lose. i also found out what i believed all along , NOBODY can play guitar like Johnny Ramone. it just doesn't even sound close with somebody else playing those songs , those guys were all true originals. anyway , DeeDee was great and i consider myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to see him and the band so many times. Rocco
Luca Di Gaetano and Dee Dee Ramone
I met Dee Dee in June 2001 (2 months after Joey had passed). I felt that I had to meet at least one of the Ramones, since Joey had died that was heartbreaking. I knew that Dee Dee was very accessible (and lived in Calif.) from everyone online always writing about their meeting him and how very kind and open he was.
I found out that he was doing a book signing for Chelsea Horror Hotel in Burbank. So, I was nervous, but knew that as a Ramones fan, I must do this. I show up, it wasn't very crowded, that Sunday afternoon. I envisioned a line wrapped around the block. But, anyhow I walked in, purchased my book, waited out front. The local newpaper was conducting an interview with Dee Dee. I go back in a short while later, got in line--before I knew it I was at the signing table. I excitedly shook his hand and let him know that I was so pleased to meet him. He was very sweet. I didn't want to say anything stupid to this great punk rocker, so....I just smiled at him. He'd informed me that he'd just returned from a trip to N.Y. and during this trip the city was the way he remembered it in the 70s and he referred to "Taxi Driver". He also let me know that he was going to stop performing, which I'd found a bit disheartening. He showed me his art and we discussed that for a while. I let him know that I thought he was a genius.
We wrapped up out chat and I again thanked him and shook his hand. He gave me a kiss on the cheek, that I'll never forget.
I also got my photo with Dee Dee in the local newpaper that week. What more could you ask for? I was stupid and didn't realize till way later, that Dee Dee was doing an acoustic performance and selling his fanzine there. Gabba Gabba Hey, what else can I say?
Anyhow, Dee Dee's death was a shock to me. When I received Arturo's email that day.. I saw the subject "Our Dee Dee".. so I said sarcastically "What, did he die!?"..so I opened it and sure enough that was the case. So people were calling me and I called a few people and left messages. And everyone was like what do you think he died of ? I said that I thought he'd died of natural causes from a broken heart because I knew that Dee Dee was very sad (on the inside). But, that was not the case. I didn't think he'd die that way. I thought that maybe he'd live to be the oldest of the Ramones. To tough to die.
With Love, Luno
Corona, CA
aahhh- DeeDee
I STILL grieve the loss of you
you will FOREVER be in my heart
I met you just one time but that one time was enough for me to realize
the beautiful sweet person that you are
You will never cease to be
I celebrate your birthday amigo
Love
Lin