6TH ANNUAL JOHNNY RAMONE TRIBUTE – EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS ONLINE NOW!
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Photo: Paul Redmond/Getty Images |
With each passing year, momentum for the Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute only continues to grow stronger. The 6th Annual event held on July 25th, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA was no exception, having been the most successful and memorable one to date by far. With a consistent increase in interest, appreciation and attendance from fans all over the world, as well as enthusiasm from media and entertainment industry personalities alike; the crowd was as diverse as the events that transpired in honor of the immortal rock icon. The annual tribute, presented by Linda Ramone, (Johnny’s wife and companion of over two-decades) and JRA Chief of Staff John Cafiero, was held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, home of the 8-ft Johnny Ramone Memorial statue.
Celebrity guests and attendees included Rock and Roll Hall of Famers: Kirk Hammett of Metallica & Ramones founding member and original drummer/producer Tommy Ramone, actress Rose McGowan, Sex Pistols' Steve Jones, artist Shepard Fairey, musician and TV personality Kelly Osbourne, Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, guitarist Billy Zoom of X, musician Pete Yorn, fashion designer Tarina Tarantino and many more.
Special guests also included a fantastic collective of cast and crew from Roger Corman’s 1979 Cult Classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (a film centered on and starring the Ramones themselves). Vince Lombardi High alum appearing live and in-person to meet and greet Ramoniacs included PJ Soles (Riff Randall), Dey Young (Kate Rambeau), Mary Woronov (Principal Togar), Loren Lester (Fritz Hansel), Screenwriters Richard Whitley and Russ Dvonch (who also portrayed the freshman stuffed in the locker in the film’s opening sequence), & director of cinematography Dean Cundy. Just prior to shooting “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”, Dean had worked with PJ Soles rolling camera on John Carpenter’s groundbreaking slasher-film prototype “Halloween” (1978). Years after shooting the Ramones-centric cult classic, Dean would go on to lens Hollywood blockbusters for Steven Spielberg including Jurassic Park. An autograph signing was held with the cast and crew, joined by Tommy Ramone at the head of the table, posing for pictures and signing anything and everything the fans brought along.
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Indie 103.1 conducted a live broadcast on site hosted by radio personality Joe Escalante (of the Vandals). The broadcast was fed over the PA throughout the cemetery grounds and simultaneously streamed worldwide on the internet. Indie 103 offered listeners a great mix of punk music (both old & new) plus live interviews with special guests for a solid 2-hour block.
Films screened after dark on a 24-ft mausoleum wall kicking things off with a reel of vintage exploitation trailers, including a rare sci-fi cameo from Johnny Ramone! Johnny, (an avid fan of cult and horror films), had been coerced into making a cameo in an obscure scf-fi film called “Stranded” starring close friend Vincent Gallo. JRA Chief of Staff John Cafiero revealed the little known cult film factoid to the audience, enlisting the help of actress Rose McGowan to explain the bizarre back-story shortly before the clip was shown.
 A beautiful all-new anamorphic transfer of “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (out now on DVD and Bluray from Shout Factory) opened the feature presentation to thousands of eager fans seated on the grounds of Hollywood Forever. The double feature concluded with #1 on Johnny Ramone’s top 10 list of horror film favorites, “The Bride of Frankenstein”. To celebrate the screening, both Frankenstein’s monster and his Bride were on hand to pose for pictures with fans and present the film. Ren & Stimpy creator John K. shared a story about James Whale’s 1935 horror classic serving as an inspiration to one of the most popular cartoons in his infamous animated series, while longtime friend to Johnny and horror film aficionado Kirk Hammett provided insight on the Universal classic as well as his friendship with the late, great, Johnny Ramone.
To see all of this and more, check out some exclusive video footage from the event courtesy of the JRA, and stay tuned for more coming soon including interviews with the cast and crew of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School!
Subscribe to the new Johnny Ramone Army YouTube Channel for more videos to come.
Visit the photo gallery for more coverage from the 6th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute courtesy of Getty Images.
Next year’s event will be here before you know it, so don’t miss out...
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Click Here to read the press release from the event. |
LINDA RAMONE