Advertise on podcast: CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast

Hey kids! The final transmission of the season is coming in hot, and we're heading back into the eye of the Ramones storm with the man who kept the whole circus rolling for nearly thirty years: Monte A. Melnick. Although they’re well-known for their wicked sense of humour, life on the road with the Ramones was no joke. It was a travelling pressure cooker of personal demons and enough chaos to test the patience of a saint. And somewhere in the middle of it all was Monte, keeping the wheels turning while trying to manage the insane mix of personalities within the band. In Part Two of this season closer, Monte opens up about his extraordinary bond with Joey Ramone—a friendship that went far beyond the call of duty. From making sure Joey had everything he needed to survive the punishing machinery of touring to becoming a trusted ally to someone whose struggles were often invisible to the outside world. It was a labour of love, a genuine friendship, and one of the unsung contributions that helped keep the Ramones on the road for thirty years. Monte also revisits the darker realities of life within the band, including Dee Dee’s battles with drugs and Marky Ramone's struggles with alcohol addiction. It’s all here. Along the way, we hear also about CJ's arrival, the energy he brought to the group, and the complicated human relationships beneath the music. So pull up a stool and join the ultimate road veteran for a conversation about loyalty, addiction, friendship, and the extraordinary effort it takes to keep a legend alive—because behind every great rock ’n’ roll band are the people who picked up the pieces when the lights went out. Thank you for all your support over the last six months. We'll see you all in 2027 for Series Two. Ramones Forever!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome back for Side B of our Adios Amigos Deep Dive. If Side A was the beginning of the goodbye, this is where things get really personal. We dig deep into the final stretch of the Ramones’ last studio album, where the deep cuts hit harder, the memories run deeper, and the farewells start revealing themselves for the first—and, indeed, last—time, from ‘Cretin Family’ to CJ’s own ‘Scattergun’ and ‘I Got a Lot to Say’. Then come the heavy hitters: Joey’s hauntingly beautiful ‘She Talks to Rainbows’ and Dee Dee’s astonishing ‘Born to Die in Berlin’—a song that CJ considers one of the most poetic closing statements in rock ‘n’ roll history. Looking back on the Ramones’ journey, from ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ to ‘Born to Die in Berlin’, the connections start to feel almost too perfect to be a coincidence. Our Series One Deep Dive journey ends here… We’ll be taking a short break until the new year after next week's episode. But rest assured we’ll be back in 2027, bigger and better than ever. We’ll also continue to release weekly bonus episodes over on Patreon during our short little hiatus from the main show, so be sure to come over there and say hello if you’re in need of a CJ Says fix over the next couple of months. www.patreon.com/cjsays Thank you for coming on this amazing journey with us, and thanks to all the Ramones fans around the world for all your support. We truly appreciate it. Ramones Forever! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to the season finale of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This episode comes to you in two parts and we're going straight to the source for our Series One closer… Before the leather jackets, uniform haircuts and three-chord assault that rewired the nervous system, the Ramones were just a bunch of kids knocking about Queens, riding their bikes, and figuring out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Enter Monte A. Melnick: longtime Ramones tour manager, keeper of the keys, witness to the madness, and the man who was there before the legend had a pulse. Monte takes us back to the very beginning over the course of this two-hour conversation, to his friendship with Tommy Ramone and the unlikely chain of events that helped turn a neighbourhood connection into one of the most influential bands on the planet. Make no mistake, Tommy was the architect. He was, as Monte confirms, the brains behind the entire operation! And that's not all Monte confirms! So, join us for one final trip down the rabbit hole with one of the Ramones’ inner circle... This is Part One. Part Two will close the first season of CJ Says in two weeks time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! The end is nigh. The leather jackets are battered, the engines are running on fumes, and the greatest punk rock ‘n’ roll band on the planet is staring down the barrel of its final studio album. But Adios Amigos isn't quite the predictable last blast you might expect. There's more going on here than meets the eye… This week, we dive into Side A of the Ramones' final record, from Tom Waits' ‘I Don't Want to Grow Up’—the unlikely cover CJ championed—to Daniel Rey's invaluable contribution behind the boards, and how Dee Dee's solo songs found their way back into the band he left behind in 1989. For CJ, Dee Dee was reaching new heights as a songwriter by this point, bringing a poetic, loose-limbed edge to the band's familiar three-chord assault.Then there's Joey Ramone’s ‘Life's a Gas,’ a playful, philosophical reflection on life's fleeting beauty, and CJ's own personal journey from the Marine Corps to the Ramones. This is a story about chasing your dreams, following your instincts, and sometimes having to choose your own path to follow. The final chapter? Maybe. But there's still plenty of life left in this machine. We’ll see you in two weeks for the Side B Deep Dive, which we’re putting up on all the public platforms. Then we’ll be taking a short break until the new year. But for now, drop the needle and come with us as we revisit the Ramones’ fourteenth and final studio album. Gabba Gabba Hey!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome back… Before she was dancing with zombies in The Return of the Living Dead, Linnea Quigley was a Midwestern kid who jumped ship for Los Angeles, found punk rock, picked up a guitar and started making some noise. In this episode, Linnea takes us from the early LA punk scene and her adventures in music to cult horror movies, chainsaws, prosthetics and the wonderfully deranged world of The Return of the Living Dead. And then there’s the Ramones… Linnea takes us behind the scenes of the legendary ‘Substitute’ music video shoot, recalling late nights with the band and hanging out with Johnny and giving us a glimpse into that glorious moment when punk rock, horror movies and underground culture all collided. Gabba Gabba Hey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the penultimate episode of the CJ Says Deep Dive Series, Matt Stocks and CJ Ramone dive headfirst into Acid Eaters—the Ramones’ glorious trip through the songs, sounds and sub-genres that first inspired the band back in 1977. For Matt, this record is personal. Acid Eaters was the first proper Ramones album he ever owned after being seduced by the album cover and the promise of whatever was happening inside. And CJ was there, in the studio, with the band, and he’s got the intel on all of it.What started life as an EP eventually mutated into a full-length covers album, giving the Ramones a chance to forget trying to second guess the ever-evolving music industry and simply play the music they loved. According to CJ, they absolutely loved the experience!On this Side A Deep Dive, we get into the song selections, the psychedelic concept, the garage-rock DNA of the Ramones, the recording sessions, and the sheer joy of four guys locking into a groove and kicking out the jams… Acid Eaters isn't just the Ramones playing other people's songs. It’s the sound of a band digging through their record collection, pulling out the deep cuts that shaped them into the group we all know and love, turning up the volume and showing us exactly where they came from. The trip starts here. Turn on. Tune in. Drop out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we're joined by Joe Sib—singer, storyteller, comedian, label boss, lifer, and all-round punk rock renaissance man. We dive deep into the Ramones universe in this interview, from Joe's recollection of first meeting CJ on the Escape from New York tour in 1990 and discovering they were two kids with the same musical background, to why CJ felt like “one of us” when he stepped into the shoes of Dee Dee Ramone. We also head way back to the gloriously chaotic early days of Wax, a pre-fame Spike Jonze and the birth of Jackass, when music videos were fuelled by little more than youthful exuberance, no money, mad ideas, and a complete disregard for personal safety. Then there's Joe's infamous Pinhead story: his extraordinary quest to become the Pinhead at the Ramones' final New York show. The tale involves Johnny Ramone, Eddie Vedder, and one of the greatest cases of mistaken identity in punk-rock history. So join us for a trip through backstage corridors, dive bars and the volatile chaos of the punk-rock underground, where friendships become the stuff of legend and you absolutely never know what's going to happen next. As always, to stream the second half of this week's interview and access all our additional bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome back to CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we’re going deep into Side A of Mondo Bizarro with a man who was there. The one and only CJ Ramone… We kick things off with ‘C********t’, Joey Ramone’s furious, funny and unapologetically political response to the music-censorship battles of the early ’90s. CJ takes us inside the recording of the track, explains why it was an obvious choice to open the album, and recalls how the Ramones worked out the sequencing in the studio, moving songs around on the board as the record took shape. We talk about Joey’s vocal performance, the Ramones’ history of tackling social and political subjects, and why ‘C********t’ worked so perfectly as both a killer album opener and a statement of intent. Then it’s on to Marky Ramone’s ‘The Job That Ate My Brain’, with CJ shedding light on Marky's collaboration with songwriter Garrett Uhlenbrock and the wicked little world contained within the song. From there, as always, it’s a deep dive into all the songs on Side A of the album, including the songwriting, the studio sessions, the sequencing, and the stories behind the tracks—only this time, we get to hear it all firsthand from a man who was actually in the room. So crank it up, drop the needle, and join us for the Mondo Bizarro Side A Deep Dive. And if you want to keep digging, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays for the Side B Deep Dive and the rest of our exclusive Patreon content. You won’t regret it. Gabba Gabba Hey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we're stepping into the wonderfully deranged world of Dirty Donny — artist, hot-rod obsessive, Ramones fanatic, and one of the great modern custodians of the all-American art forms of rock 'n' roll, lowbrow and car culture. Drawing inspiration from legends like Coop and Big Daddy Roth, Donny has spent decades creating a visual universe packed with flames, monsters, skulls, chrome and enough gasoline fumes to permanently alter your brain chemistry. And then there was the small matter of spending six months hanging around Metallica's studio, painting guitars and becoming part of their creative world. We talk lowbrow art, rock 'n' roll, Americana, the DIY spirit and why underground culture has a habit of disappearing into the shadows before roaring back into the limelight. Donny also shares his thoughts on helping younger artists and keeping that creative fire burning for the next generation. So fire up your hot rod and join us for a trip down the rabbit hole of art, music, motorcycles and the beauty of doing things your own way. To stream the second half of this week's artist interview and access the rest of our exclusive bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays And to pre-order Donny's new book, Dirty Donny Must Be Destroyed: The Art of Donny Giles, out September 29, head over to www.dirtydonny.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another Deep Dive episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we drop the needle on Brain Drain—the Ramones' eleventh studio album, released in 1989, and a record that arrived at one of the most turbulent moments in the band's history. By this point, the cracks were beginning to show. Richie Ramone was gone, Dee Dee was battling his own demons, and the band were facing the increasingly familiar struggle between artistic credibility, commercial success, and simply keeping the machine moving. And yet, somehow, Brain Drain produced some of the most memorable songs of the Ramones' later years. From the irresistible 'I Believe in Miracles' to the sublime soundtrack song 'Pet Sematary', Brain Drain is a fascinating collision of classic Ramones songwriting, vintage '80s production, and even a Christmas song thrown into the mix. In this week's Deep Dive, we get under the skin of the record (or skull) of Brain Drain—the songs, the stories, the lineup changes, and the bizarre context surrounding an album that's often overlooked in favour of the Ramones' earlier, more celebrated records. So grab your leather jacket, turn up the volume up dial, and join us as we revisit Brain Drain, an album made by a band who may have been running low on fumes, but somehow still had enough gas left in the tank to go to the distance as they entered the third—and arguably most successful—decade of their career... The Ramones weren't finished yet. Not by a long shot. As always, if you want to hear the Side B Deep Dive and stream the rest of our exclusive bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we're heading north of the border to Vancouver to sit down with one of the great survivors of the punk rock underground: Joey S******d, frontman of DOA, and a man who’s spent nearly five decades making noise, causing trouble, and proving that punk was never supposed to be a spectator sport. Joey takes us back to the beginning—to the first time he saw the Ramones and The Clash and realised that this strange, furious thing called punk rock could change the course of your life. From the Commodore Ballroom to the sweaty clubs and broken-down vans of the Canadian underground scene, Joey’s story is about discovering music and deciding, against all reasonable advice, to throw himself headfirst into the lifestyle. But beneath the noise, the politics and righteous aggression lies something even more important: community. Joey remembers a punk scene where the bands looked after one another, raised money when somebody's gear got stolen, shared stages, ideas, and somehow managed to build a culture out of absolutely nothing. Along the way, we get stories of friendships, survival, and the strange pathways that connect Vancouver's underground music scene to international rockstars like Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses—proving that the widespread punk rock family tree is connected to the same roots, all off which spring from the Ramones… As always, to stream the second half of this artist interview and access the rest of our bonus content, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another Deep Dive episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we drop the needle on Halfway to Sanity—the Ramones' tenth studio album, released in 1987, which proved that after eleven years of broken hearts and internal warfare, the brothers weren't ready to lie down and die. By this point, the musical landscape had changed beyond recognition. Punk had mutated, MTV had taken over the airwaves, and the Ramones were deeper into their career than most bands ever survive. Yet here they were, still writing songs, making records, and somehow still sounding unmistakably like themselves… Produced by Daniel Rey, Halfway to Sanity finds the band somewhere between refinement and rawness. Debbie Harry drops by for a vocal cameo, Walter Lure adds additional guitar to the soundscape, and Dee Dee increasingly turns his songwriting inwards—swapping some of the cartoonish chaos of his earlier material for something more personal, vulnerable, and occasionally downright unsettling! In this week's Deep Dive, we pull apart the songs, the production and the circumstances surrounding one of the most overlooked records in the Ramones’ back catalogue. So grab your leather jacket and join us somewhere halfway between genius and insanity…then head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays and join us for the Side B Deep Dive where we turn the record over and discuss the second half of the album. Hey! Ho! Let’s GO!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we throw the doors of the punk-rock asylum wide open and invite onto the show the illustrious Blag Dahlia—frontman of the Dwarves, professional troublemaker, underground philosopher, solo artist, and one of the few men alive who can discuss the Ramones, Frank Zappa, jazz, rock 'n' roll, swing, and the decline of Western civilisation without even pausing for breath… In this interview, Blag explains why the Ramones changed his life, not because they were the most technically accomplished musicians, but because they made making music feel possible! We also delve into the DNA of the Dwarves: the filthy lyrics, outrageous iconography, and deliberate collision of pop songwriting and confrontational art. Because beneath all the blood, guts and public indecency Blag always had the same obsession: making great music. Along the way, we discuss why the Ramones had swing, why rock 'n' roll needs humour and danger to stay alive, and what happens when punk takes itself so seriously that the people creating it forget to have any fun. Blag also opens up about getting older, his constant quest for artistic reinvention, and the Ralph Champagne project, which proves that staying true to yourself doesn't have to mean staying the same forever. So join us for a wild ride into punk, pop, rock 'n' roll, and the fine art of staying weird! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another Deep Dive episode of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. This week, we drop the needle on Animal Boy—the Ramones' ninth studio album and one of the most idiosyncratically awkward records in the band's back catalogue. Animal Boy is a far from perfect record. Yet, there are flashes of brilliance buried beneath some questionable production, strange sequencing, curious keyboards, and moments where Johnny's guitar sounds like it’s been away locked in a cupboard. But underneath the sonic clutter is some seriously great songwriting—and, perhaps more importantly, a fascinating snapshot of a band beginning to pull in different directions. In this week's Deep Dive, we get under the skin (or fur) of 'Animal Boy' to uncover what works, what doesn't, and why the most interesting Ramones albums aren't necessarily the ones where every single song hits the bullseye...Sometimes the fun is in finding the few bullets that somehow survived the gunfight! Join us as we explore the production, the personalities, the song choices and the wider cultural landscape surrounding the band during the mid-'80s period. By the time Side A is over, you might find yourself listening to Animal Boy a little differently... As always, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays to stream the Side B Deep Dive and all the rest of our exclusive bonus content. There is now over 30 hours worth of extra episodes waiting to be enjoyed! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey kids! Welcome to another instalment of CJ Says: A Ramones Podcast. We've got a great artist interview lined up this week. Before New York became a cultural phenomenon, it was a state of mind—a city where punk rock, fashion, nightlife, and art collided inside smoke-filled clubs beneath neon lights. This week, we're joined by one of the true architects of that world… Miss Guy is a musician, DJ, performer and trailblazer whose journey into New York's underground began with a chance meeting with Malcolm McLaren and quickly evolved into a life spent at the heart of the city's creative explosion. From the drag-fuelled chaos of St. Mark's Place to co-founding the legendary SqueezeBox club night, Miss Guy wasn't simply there watching history unfold—he was actively helping to shape it. In Part One of this week's fascinating conversation with a proper New York legend, we explore the clubs, the characters, and the beautiful misfits who transformed New York into the creative capital of the punk rock world. Along the way, we discover why style became confidence, how the city's outsiders found strength in one another, and where the Ramones fit in amongst the underground scene that transformed pop culture forever. It’s time to leave daylight behind and step back in time to a New York that could never exist today. You just had to be there...and Miss Guy was…this is his story! To stream the second half of this week’s artist interview, as always, head over to www.patreon.com/cjsays Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.