END OF THE CENTURY
THE MOVIE

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The Ramones speak up! The Grand Wizard puts it this way:
"It's a very dark movie. It's accurate. It left me disturbed." -Johnny Ramone

This documentary premiered in New York City at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 8th and 9th.
Here are photos from the New York premiere, here are photos from the LA premiere, here are photos from the San Francisco premiere, and here are photos from the Toronto premiere.

The dark and fun stuff will be spoken by the most important people in the Ramones saga and then some.
Interviews
Johnny Ramone · Dee Dee Ramone · Tommy Ramone · Joey Ramone · Marky Ramone · Ritchie Ramone · Elvis Ramone · C.J. Ramone · Arturo Vega · Monte Melnick · Danny Fields · Linda Stein · Seymour Stein · Debbie Harry · Chris Stein · Clem Burke · Legs McNeil · John Holmstrom · Roberta Bayley · Joe Strummer · Walter Lure · Mickey Leigh · Ritchie Adler · Rickey Salem · Mark Ralin · Glen Matlock · Rob Zombie · Eddie Vedder · Rodney Bingenhiemer · Charlotte Lesher · Ed Stasium · Daniel Rey · Dan Kessel · Dave Kessel · Gary Kurfirst

"RAMONES: END OF THE CENTURY" (a feature documentary) by Michael Gramaglia And Jim Fields

SYNOPSIS
In 1974, the NY underground music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new and raw sound of a band of misfits from Queens called The Ramones. Playing in a seedy bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a chord of disharmony that rocked the foundation of the mid-seventies music scene. This quartet of unlikely rock stars traveled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe. Although the band never reached the top of the billboard charts, they managed to endure by maintaining a rigorous touring schedule for twenty two years which consistently drew crowds of outcast kids who came to see their legendary live show.

The story begins at the end of their career with the 2002 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony broadcast where the wayward sons of rock music are honored by the industry that all but ignored them for their entire career. But this night is bitter-sweet for the band. As Tommy Ramone’s acceptance speech conveys, many members of the group are bickering and battling over issues that seem to have transcended even the death of Joey Ramone. Despite this, Tommy manages to recall the forgotten truth that they are almost brothers, with a common background and bond that even the recent animosity cannot obscure. He even dares to suggest that through it all they may even love each other.

The story then turns back to the bands shared childhood neighborhood of Forest Hills Queens. Here Tommy gives a tour of the neighborhood, and the others describe a childhood of alienation salvaged only by their common love of underground music such as Iggy Pop and the Stooges. They tell of a childhood of delinquency, glue sniffing and a shared dark sense of humor, all set to a soundtrack of teen angst and frustration. These guys were headed nowhere. Their only shot was the deliverance of Rock n’ Roll. They formed a band and learned to write and play music by just picking up and doing it. And after a few false starts, they unveiled their newly invented sound at a club called CBGB.

With their stripped down sound, clean aesthetic and fast attack the band quickly became the darlings of the New York underground. Before long, their reputation gained them the notoriety of such scene makers as Andy Warhol, Malcolm Maclaren and Danny Fields. The night that Danny came down to see them he was so blown away that he asked to be their manager. The band accepted under the condition that he provide them needed funds for a new drum set to the tune of three thousand dollars. Danny brought them to the attention of Seymour Stein who signed them on the spot. Their first album sold poorly in the US but became an underground favorite in London. On July 4th 1976 the Ramones invaded the U.K. and inspired what was to become the English punk rock scene. At their first gig are the Clash, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Chrissy Hynde all of whom hadn’t even played yet.

The Ramones blitzed London only to return to the States where manager Danny Fields had to beg to get a gig in New Jersey. Where ever they played across the U.S.A. they drew a small crowd of misfits who were bored with the music and culture of the time and searching for something new and exiting. They got what they were looking for. The Ramones would tour continuously and whenever they return to a city a few months later, there were bands that didn’t exist the first time the Ramones came around but were inspired by them to pick up a guitar and play. Many of the local people in the small towns across the nation didn’t know what to make of this band of freaks in black leather jackets. Back in New York City the guys had a record deal but no money. They all lived in Arturo Vega’s (their art director) east village loft. This is where Dee Dee and his drug addicted and sometime-prostitute-girlfriend spent most of her time. Dee Dee and Connie had a relationship based on a shared addiction, which naturally led to incredibly violent confrontations and fights.

As their popularity grew on a grass roots level they began to become major rock stars from the rock journalists’ point of view. Suddenly, the bands from England that the boys had in a sense begat, began to blossom. The Sex Pistols and the Clash began to eclipse the Ramones. The politically charged lyrics and the highly stylized images of these British bands began to make the Ramones look outdated. They made a couple of strong attempts to compete with this rising UK movement by releasing two of their best album, Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin. Neither album sold well in the US. To add insult to injury the Sex Pistols began to be called the creators of punk rock and London was called it’s home. The Sex Pistols created a whirlwind of negative publicity and the Ramones got lumped in with it. The stress of touring and the pressure to sell records put a great deal of strain on the group. Tommy, the drummer, producer and founder cracks and leaves the group.

In a desperate move to make a big selling album, the group enlists the services of legendary producer Phil Spector. On paper the pairing of the two made sense, but the reality was very different. Joey, who had wished to see the band experiment a little and make a different album, was the impetus behind the union. But very soon it was apparent that Phil would not be the answer to the prayers. Right off the bat, Dee Dee and Phil, both eccentrics in their own right, clashed as Phil pulled a gun him. Later in the recording studio, Phil makes Johnny play a guitar chord over and over and over again. The Ramones, who were used to recording and album in one week at the very most, were comparing the experience of working with Spector to Chinese water torture. The strain of the sessions caused the engineer to suffer a heart attack while the finished results were to no ones liking. The band was never the same after then session, as the relations between Johnny and Joey, being strained at the outset of the Spector session, was completely ruptured at the end of the recording of the album.

Following the disappointment of the record sales of the Spector album, the band resigned itself to the fact that they would probably never sell any records. Johnny decided to look at playing like a job, they would record an album every couple of years and toured constantly. Ever since Tommy had left, Johnny and Joey were butting heads over the direction of the band. Johnny wanted to make the same music over and over again, while Joey wished to make a creative change. Joey continued to pursue new producers and new sounds while Johnny kept proposing Tommy produce every record. A full-blown power struggle ensues and the aggression is stepped up when it is revealed that Joey’s long-term girlfriend has left him and taken up with Johnny. Joey is heartbroken and the relationship between the two band mates is fractured for good. Though they continued to tour in a small van together for years, they would never talk again.

As the 80’s moved forward the touring continued to be the only means of revenue. The band played constantly. Soon, Marky Ramone, who replaced Tommy succumbs to alcoholism and is kicked out of the band. A number of drummers later, Marky returns to the band. Dee Dee decided to experiment in rap and releases a rap album much to embarrassment of Johnny who finds it more and more difficult to manage Dee Dee. Shortly thereafter, Dee Dee, overcome with exhaustion and bloated with anti-depressants leaves the band, his wife and his psychiatrist. Everyone tells Johnny he should consider retiring the band, but Johnny refuses to give-up. He will not lose. He finds a younger version of Dee Dee who doesn’t get paid as much and continues the never- ending tour for another eight years.

With Dee Dee’s replacement, CJ Ramone, the band enters a new decade with a renewed influence on the bands that would become the grunge movement. CJ, who was a life long fan of the band has a unique perspective in that he becomes a member of the band he idolized. He finds that the united front is anything but. In his attempt to understand the dynamic between Johnny and Joey he finds he is torn between both guys. And when he gravitates toward Joey, Johnny comes down hard on him and is no longer nice to him. They also tour South America and find that they are received like the Beatles.

Much of this late career success is mitigated by the deteriorated relationships and the early deaths of Joey and Dee Dee. But in the end the industry recognized the great influence the band has had over two generations of "alternative" music.