Episode 39: The Ramones

Season 2 Episode 1: "All the Way"  Dissecting both The Ramones and "On the Road with the Ramones" as Primary Sources with Monte A. MelnickMonte A Melnick was with the Ramones as their tour manager for their entire 22 years trotting all over the globe.  In 2003 he released a book called On the Road with the Ramones which chronicles the period from the mid 70s to mid 90s through quotes and anecdotes of those who were there.  He joined me for a conversation on the EPS Podcast to dissect the band, as well as his book” as primary sources of their respective time periods. Just like so much other media in the tumultuous times of Watergate, soaring prices, energy shortages and the end of the Vietnam war, the Ramones’ music is steeped in nostalgia for the era following World War II.  While the Ramones’ sound was loud, angry and raw like the time period during which the band was formed, you can still hear the remnants of the bygone era they clearly held in high regard.The book,  is a collection of primary sources from the period the band toured, but as such is a great document of the post-9/11 era.  That was the age of Barnes and Nobles and Borders, Amazons and online book exchanges.  People like me, who discovered the Ramones a little too late,  were constantly searching for more to learn about the band whose sound and attitude is so timeless.  Bypassing unofficial or unauthorized biographies that crowd the shelves, genuine accounts like this one met the demand of a curious microgeneration that was coming of age between the Gen Xers who always had the Ramones and Millennials who never did.