Diva: You're on the 3rd edition of the book. That's pretty awesome. How is the 3rd edition different from the first two?
MM: It came out in October of last year. I've updated it and added some new stuff. There's still a lot happening in the Ramones world. In the 3rd edition, I talk about the Joey Ramone sign in New York and the Johnny Ramone statue. And I give updates on Tommy, Marky, CJ and a bunch of other stuff that's been happening.
Diva: Hmmm. I may have to buy another copy. What did you think of End of the Century, the documentary?
MM: A bit harsh, but I like it. It came out before the book and when you watch it, you can see that I'm a little hesitant in talking about people. Like I said, Johnny was pissed. And some other people were probably pissed too. [laughter]
Diva: What's your opinion of the music industry these days? Do you think that it's easier for bands to make an impact with tools like the Internet and iTunes?
MM: It's definitely easier for bands to get stuff out now. When we were out there, we only had the radio and records. If you weren't on top 40 radio, no one heard you. The radio in the US passed us over. In other countries the Ramones were huge. In Argentina and Brazil, they were like gods and it was because they got so much air play.
Diva: The main thing that people say about the Ramones is that they never got the credit that they deserve. Do you think that that's still true?
MM: Absolutely. They retired in '96. All these people who loved them finally got into a position to help them and they're bigger now than they ever were. If they were this big when I was working with them, I'd a gotten a raise!
Even U2 thanked them on David Letterman. And do you remember when they were on the Simpsons? That was huge.
Diva: You may not know this, but Rockaway Beach and I Don't Want to Walk Around with You are used in episodes of What's New Scooby Doo.
MM: Uh.no.
Diva: And, there's a Joey shout out in the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD series. The animated dog is illustrating a point and morphs into a Joey-like singer.
MM: Hmmm.
Diva: Anyway... it seems ridiculous that the radio passed over playing Ramones songs because not every song was a hardcore song. What about songs like We Want the Airwaves, or Needles and Pins?
MM: Well, they tried to record songs that were more pop oriented. But that didn't work either. That's why they went through so many producers. They thought Phil Spector would change things.
Diva: From what I understand, Phil Spector can definitely have that effect.
MM: Yeah. Even that didn't go all the way. In the song "All The Way" on the "End of the Century" album Joey wrote me into the song.
Diva: What are you doing these days?
MM: I have a great job at the New York Hall of Science. It's in an old World's Fair building from 1964. I do all the AV stuff. I've been there for 6 years and I really like it.
Diva: What can you tell us that isn't common knowledge?
MM: You know that little sign on the cover of the book? The one that says 2,263 Miles to Go?
Diva: Yes. I have my copy in front of me.
MM: Do you know what that number represents? Diva: No..
MM: It's how many shows they did. And each one is listed in the back of the book.
Diva: Cool. Thank you so much for your time.
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Diva Interviews