
On Friday June 29th at 6 pm, The Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles will again celebrate the legacy of THE RAMONES with a double header world premier.
TOO TOUGH TO DIE, the documentary produced and directed by Mandy Stein,
consists of 2 highly exciting yet emotional parts. The 1st captures
highlights of THE RAMONES 3OTH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT, which took place at the
Palace in LA on Sept 12, 2004. The event was meticulously produced by career
spanning Ramones creative director Arturo Vega and Joe Cib, and included
Tommy, Marky & CJ Ramone; as well as performances from Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Dickies, X, Eddie Vedder, Steve Jones, Rob Zombie, Daniel Rey,
Henry Rollins, Pete Yorn, Tim Armstrong, and Dicky Barrette. In addition,
there are commentaries from Lisa Marie Presley, Sonic Youth & Seymour Stein,
as well as many of the musicians.
Ironically, the event took place just 3 days prior to Johnny's passing, and
thus the 2nd part of the film covers the bittersweet tribute ceremony
unveiling the Johnny Ramone monument at Hollywood Forever, also the resting
place of DeeDee Ramone. The beautiful bronze statue captures Johnny, larger
than life, clad in his signature Ramones outfit and playing guitar.
Sculptor Wayne Toth applied incredible detail to the work, giving it life
like results. It premiers September 15 on Starz, but why wait?

Then there's the recently discovered 1982 performance of THE RAMONES at the
'Us' Festival. The event took place in Southern California and was an
exciting 3 day extravaganza with many of the top bands from the time. The
performance was professionally captured via a 4 camera shoot and recorded
onto 24 tracks. Honorary Ramones producer Ed Stasium has mixed the sound
for the film. The footage is amazing. The average temperature was 110, it
was midday, and bets were being taken as to whether they would wear their
leather jackets... come and find out.
In addition, Arturo Vega will be presenting an amazing display of band
memorabilia from his personal collection, as well as from those close to the
band. Longstanding tour manager, Monte Melnick will also be on hand
autographing his book 'On The Road With The Ramones'.
As always, the proceedings will be hosted by Linda Ramone; and both Marky
Ramone & Henry Rollins will be on hand to introduce the evening.
If you have never been to one of the events at the cemetery, please know you
are allowed to bring food and drink. It's a proper nocturnal picnic so
bring a blanket, spread the goodies and prepare for a lot of fun.
A $10.00 donation is requested to benefit Prostate Cancer Research.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood