On the Road with the Ramones

On a much lighter note....found this cool myspace page online from Monte Melnick, Ramones tour manager from their entire career (2,263 live shows).
This book has got to be one amazing read for Ramones fans.

Release date of Spring 2008 according to the site.

Says "The book is packed with interviews from the Ramones and many many more people who where very close to the band". Not only does this book sound way cool, this myspace page is a treasure trove of links to other Ramones myspace pages. Tributes to the band and band members. Marky, CJ, and Richie are all there too.


Several hours worth of visiting his "friends" myspace pages. Saving the best for last, the photo slideshow is pretty awesome too. Photos of Monte Melnick with various well known people you are sure to recognize. Check it out!

On the Road with the Ramones

A Sad Tragedy

Linda Stein was found dead this week in her NYC apartment.
In the 70's she was instrumental in helping launch the Ramones.
Police are treating her death as a homicide. Investigation is continuing.
Some snippets from news reports:

Stein was born in Manhattan and was working as a teacher when she met Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records, Gaines said. During their marriage in the 1970s, the company helped launch the careers of the Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna, among others.

After the couple divorced, Stein managed the seminal punk rock group The Ramones and other bands before turning to real estate, where she turned her celebrity connections into clients and thrived in the competitive sales culture.

Linda Stein, center, with Joey Ramone, David Bowie and Dee Dee Ramone at the Mudd Club after a Ramones show in 1979.

Stein was formerly married to Seymour Stein, ex-president of Sire Records. It was the Sire label that released records that vaulted the Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna to fame in the 1970s and '80s.

Stein, a former schoolteacher, co-managed the Ramones with Danny Fields during the band's heyday. Many credit her with bringing the Ramones to England for a concert on July 4, 1976, that contributed to the popularity of the punk scene in the UK.

She was among those at the epicenter of punk rock, becoming a fixture at the legendary CBGB and co-managing the influential punk band the Ramones.

Stein's body was discovered by her daughter Mandy, a documentary filmmaker who did the film "Too Tough to Die" last year about the late guitarist Johnny Ramone. She had another daughter, Samantha, and a 3-year-old granddaughter.

UPDATE: 2/23/10 - NEW YORK — The personal assistant of a punk-rock pioneer and celebrity real estate broker was convicted Tuesday of bludgeoning her boss to death with a piece of exercise equipment.

Jurors spent less than a day reaching a second-degree murder verdict in the Manhattan trial against Natavia Lowery, the personal assistant to Linda Stein, who managed the Ramones before becoming a real estate agent with celebrity clients including Madonna and Sting. Lowery showed no reaction when the verdict was read.

Prosecutors said Lowery stole more than $30,000 from Stein, then clubbed her to death to try and hide the theft.