7th ANNUAL JOHNNY RAMONE TRIBUTE! - Oct. 1, 2011

Now, you may ask yourself, "What's a story about The Ramones doing on a Beatles blog?"

Well, in case you didn't know; The Ramones were named after Paul McCartney!!

That's right! Back in the Silver Beetles days, Paul was known under the pseudonym 'Paul Ramon.' As explained in The Beatles Anthology film, Paul felt the name "Ramon" sounded exotic, so he went with it. Paul also used the surname to anonymously check into hotels while with The Beatles.... Well, decades later a young musician named Douglas Colvin was playing guitar in an new Rock group, but soon switched over to bass (hmmm.. sounds like a bassist we all know...). Colvin was inspired by McCartney's use of the name Ramon so he suggested to the band that they all adopt the name "Ramone." That young bassist was Dee Dee Ramone... So, The Ramones were named as such because Dee Dee liked Paul's pseudonym, "Ramon".

Now that we've made the connection with The Beatles and The Ramones... ON TO THE TOPIC AT HAND!!

OCTOBER 1 marks the 7th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute at Hollywood Forever Cemetery!! I went to last year's Tribute for the first time, and I gotta say; IT WAS A BLAST!! Radio station Indie 103 was there MC-ing and interviewing drummer Tommy Ramone, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, and many others. Also, once the day became night two movies were projected on a 20-foot mausoleum wall. The first was "Rock And Roll High School" featuring The Ramones. Then they screened one of Johnny's faves, "The Bride Of Frankenstein." This year, Horror Punk band, The Misfits will be there and the movie selections include "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" featuring The Ramones AND "Plan B From Outer Space."

I STRONGLY SUGGEST ANYONE AND EVERYONE GO TO THIS YEAR'S TRIBUTE!! It's only 10 bucks and the money goes to fund The Johnny Ramone Research Fund for cancer. And, because it's at a cemetery and it's outdoors, you are allowed to bring picnic dinners and drinks!

For full details, schedule, and list of guests, check out the flyer below or for the full size flyer click HERE

johnnyramone.com