On The Road with the Ramones: Bonus Edition

by Monte A. Melnick, Frank Meyer

NEW BONUS EDITION - ON THE ROAD WITH THE RAMONES. Throughout the remarkable twenty-two-year career of the Ramones the seminal punk rock band Monte A. Melnick saw it all. He was with the band for over 2,200 shows, from their very early CBGB dates to their final show in 1996 working his way up to be the bands tour manager. Now in this NEW BONUS EDITION with 40 more pages of new information. Monte tells his story of what it is like to be on and off the road with the band. Full of insiders' perspectives and exclusive interviews and packed with over 300 personal color photos and images; this is a must-have for all fans of the Ramones. The Ramones are Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famers, Recording Academy Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, MTV Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Long Island Music Hall of Fame Award winners and inductees into The Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

Genres: Music

352 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2019

Reviews

[Salvatore DiMartino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to a Zoom panel discussion on punk rock and the influence of the Ramones in which the author of this book participated. I found the discussion interesting and decided to purchase his book. The author was the Ramones tour manager (and more) from start to finish. As such he provides an unique behind the scenes view of the band and its fanbase. I thought it was a great read.

[Bob Primosch · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, a minor annoyance: my copy of the book arrived with the pages completely out of order. But that seems appropriate for a Ramones book.

The book is a fun, occasionally repetitive oral history of how the band was formed, the ethos behind its music and live performances, and its impact on other bands. Some punches are pulled (can’t be a coincidence that Johnny wasn’t asked why he didn’t attend Joey’s funeral)), and the band’s career after End of The Century (which covers more than a decade) is given short treatment except for CJ replacing Dee Dee and the band’s anticlimactic final show. But it’s good read regardless.

I’d also recommend Legs McNeil’s Please Kill Me, an excellent oral history of the NYC punk scene. The chapter on the Ramones includes some interesting backstory on how they constructed Johnny’s now legendary guitar sound with a $6,000 recording budget.

[Nicko Petko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the full story, all sides. A lot of great photos I’d never seen. Seemed a bit overpriced when I got it off Amazon, but Monte deserves to get the bag