Diva: Why did you decide to make it an oral history?
MM: The book found me. I'm not really a writer. When I was approached to do the book, the publisher said that they'd get me a ghost writer. And they came up with Frank Meyer. He's a musician and knows what the road is like so he was a perfect choice. I knew all these people and I figured I could get a lot of the story from them, so the book ended up being a little oral history, and a little me, and a little Frank. Frank did such a great job I gave him co-writing credit on the book.
Diva: What was it like to go back all of those years and to all those people to put the story together?
MM: It was very cathartic for me. I was talking to people I hadn't talked to in years. And I was finally getting everything out there. The band retired in 1996 and everyone pretty much went their separate ways. When it came time to write the book, I called Johnny for an interview. He got on the phone and gave me like 3 hours. He was a little irritated at what I had said about him in End of the Century, but he knew the kind of person he was. He knew he was difficult.
There are only two people alive right now who were there in the beginning and made it through to the end. I'm one. Do you know who the other person is? Let's see how big a Ramones fan you are.
Diva: Ummmm... Not Danny Field... Ummmm.... Oh!! Oh! It's the artist!! His name is...
MM: Arturo Vega. You got it. Arturo Vega and me. We were there from the beginning and were with them until the end. It's a very unique thing. No one else who has written a book can say that. I have a really personal perspective.
Diva: Which member was the most difficult to manage? My money is on Dee Dee.
MM: I'd definitely say that. He was a genius, an incredibly talented guy, and sometimes those people are on the razors edge of sanity. He was definitely a multiple personality type. One day he'd be really nice, then there would be sad Dee Dee, then angry Dee Dee, then happy Dee Dee.
His personality led to the drugs. And he did a lot of drugs. He died a rock n roll death.
Joey was a different story. He had a blood disease. He was doing well managing it with medications. The winter before he died, he fell and broke his hip. They had to take him off the lymphoma meds for the hip to heal. But without them, the disease came back in.
Johnny was very healthy guy but he wouldn't go to doctors. He thought he knew better. He was that kind of guy. Prostate cancer is a silent disease. You need to get checked and it can be cured if it's caught early. He ate well, exercised. It was very much a surprise. But that's how he was.
Diva: What happened with Richie?
MM: He originally agreed to talk to me, but he was suing the Ramones because they put out some digital versions of songs by him. When I got to writing my book, he wouldn't talk to me. He ended up losing the suit.
Diva: Was he even really a Ramone?
MM: [laughs] You can't count him out. He was in the band for years. He was definitely a Ramone. He kept the group going for a while. It's too bad he left in bad circumstances.
|
|
|
Diva Interviews