Customer Reviews

On The Road With The Ramones

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For all the years that The Ramones weaved their strange tales of Commandos, Pin Heads, Vegetables, and students of the Rock and Roll High School, there were very few constants in their lives. One of them was Monte A Melnick. He became the band's road warrior first class and managed the band through their lives. When reading his history of the band, told in both first person and a gathering of quotes and comments from other notables over time, you discover that the band that sang "We're A Happy Family" was anything but.

In fact, along with the telling it like it really was documentary, "End Of The Century," "On The Road With The Ramones" shines an often uncomplimentary light on the principles. Reading through quote after recount of Johnny's almost sadistic militarist disciplines, Joey's obsessive/compulsive disorder (he once distressed himself in a European airport that he absolutely had to return to New York and touch a door he'd missed) and as Dee Dee's addictive personality become increasingly unstable, you marvel that The Ramones carved out a 22 year career that yielded only marginal success.

Yet that is what Melnick lays out in this book. You watch as the three core band members take the job of being the Ramones and affect all they come into contact with. All who do, come out changed. Band members splinter off, sometimes only nominally damaged (Tommy) or severely (Ritchie Ramone cut himself off so completely his royalties lay uncollected for three years). There was no way a tornado of rock like these men could strike you and not throw you.

What ultimately mattered to everyone involved was the music. You can gather through the book that, even at their most acrimonious, Johnny and Joey were blood brothers at the level of rock and roll as savior to what would have otherwise been anonymous lives. In the case of Joey or Dee Dee, you may even wonder what other life they would have had if not as musicians. It makes "On The Road With The Ramones" as much a confirmation of these legends of Punk Rock as it does a destroyer of their mythology. Absolutely essential.

Monte's book, "On The Road With The Ramones" tells it like it is and was.

Frank Meyer knows his punk rock.

This book is a MUST HAVE for any Ramones fan, and offers insight not only into rock 'n' roll and punk rock, but into the concept of bands themselves.

Monte is honest, sincere, and an all around nice guy. As much as I'd like to say this is my FAVORITE Ramones book, with all the infighting that goes on among these guys (and still does to this day), it's best I don't.

The pictures in here are priceless and I think Monte's pal, Shira, deserves lots of credit for helping him and Frank out with what is one of the best rock books ever written.

Buy this right away. No matter if you are a Ramones fan, or just heard of them. This book truely talks about the heart of rock n' roll. And sometimes that ain't pretty. But it sure is interesting.

-GT
June 2004

What a fascinating read! Monte Melnick, the indefatigable road warrior who was at once dad, babysitter, peacekeeper, chauffeur, and tour manager extraordinaire for the entire ride, lets us into his memory bank and shares the mindblowing experience with us. The story is told by Monte and all those who were there, and reads like "Please Kill Me", with several voices sharing anecdotes.
The Ramones' story is unique, harrowing, thrilling, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant. This book shows us the long, hard road they traveled and how tough it really was for so long. They set the standard that everyone else is still trying to measure up to, more than a quarter century on. They were the first and will always be the best. This book shows us the whys and hows of their genius. Thanks, Monte!

This was such a fun read. I have been a diehard Ramones fan for almost 20 years, so much of the subject matter was not surprising to me. Although there are quite a few grammatical errors, the book is still well written. One thing that I appreciated was that Melnick includes interviews from Vera Ramone (Dee Dee's first wife). After reading Dee Dee's books, one would think that he was never married before Barbara (his wife until he met his untimely demise). Vera was married to Dee Dee for over eleven years, and it is wonderful and touching to read her insights about Dee Dee. The book also includes humorous anecdotes that will make you laugh out loud as you read ahout this crew of misfits who managed over 2,000 shows in their career. It was fascinating to learn about the many tasks a tour manager must undertake. Melnick was a true friend to the Ramones, and often underrated. If it weren't for his professionalism, I doubt that the band would be where they are today. Monte is truly the fifth Ramone.

This is the third "story behind the Ramones" book I've read. The first was published in the UK in the early 80s, and the second was published in 1993. This is not only more complete (for obvious reasons,) it's also by far the most in-depth and unflinchingly honest. Brutally honest.

I became a Ramones fan in 1983, when Subterranean Jungle was new. I saw the videos for Time Has Come Today and Psycho Therapy and immediately loved the songs. In the blissful ignorance of my youth, I had no idea that they were considered a punk band. I thought "punk" meant you played REALLY FAST, screamed unintelligible lyrics, and had a dyed green mohawk or a shaved head. The Ramones kept to a mid-tempo, I could understand all of the lyrics, and they had long hair. I thought they were just a rock band. A very strange and unique rock band, but a rock band nonetheless. I soon discovered that they weren't really brothers, but I assumed they were good friends. Over the years I'd heard various rumors about animosities between band members, but I never really took them seriously. Now that I've read this, I know better. After the first few years, they couldn't stand one another. Most of them never spoke to each other, at least not casually/socially. Some of them had severe mental problems. They were some of the most unhappy people I've ever read about. But through it all, Monte Melnick kept the machine going. God bless you, Mr. Melnick.

The one most disappointing thing about this book is that I have lost some respect for Johnny. I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but... Johnny was one of my biggest heroes. I literally learned to play the guitar by aping him. I still respect him as a musician. There's so much music that wouldn't exist without him; not just the punk rock genre itself, but everything that followed. His influence is still felt today, whether it's modern psuedo punk like Green Day or nu metal or whatever. Any time you hear grinding chainsaw power chords, that's Johnny. Sadly, this book reveals that Johnny the human being didn't quite live up to Johnny the savant guitarist.

I've been listening to the Ramones and reading about them since 1976!! This ... this is absolutely the best book written about them. Tour manager Monte was with the Ramones since almost day one, and writes from a perspective 'at ground zero'! The text is compiled of hundreds of hours of interviews with all the key players and associates in the Ramones story, and makes a fascinating read. I couldn't put this book down! Priceless anecdotes and quotations, and worth it alone for the insights into Joey's struggles with his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
The photos are abundant and great. This is compulsory reading for any Ramones fan. I can't say enough good things about this book !

I'll keep this quick. This book is very nicely done and has the benefit of Mr. Melnicks archivism. It is not sensational, it is true, and it is written by a guy who was there end to end. If you only want to get one Ramones book this is the one.

An important chronicle of one of the most important bands in rock history.

I just finished this book and it's fantastic. It's probably the best Ramones book out there. No errors like "Ramones: An american band" and "Ramones: The complete twisted history". I love the way the book is told by interviews. I think all books about bands should be like that. This book is filled with tons of pictures. You could learn a whole lot of the Ramones from this book. This book even talks about Joey and Dee Dee's death. It didn't talk about Johnny's becuase he was still alive when this book was released. Through their triumps and lumps this book tells it all. Since this book was written by Monte A. Melnick(Ramones road manager) and Frank Meyer, the facts must be true. The only thing about this book that I didn't like was that they interviewed everybody except for Richie. That's really the only thing I didn't like. The rest was supurb. Strap your seat belt and hold on tight becuase "On the Road with the Ramones" is gonna be quite a ride.

This is a MUST-HAVE book for all Ramones fans. It's an inside look from the people who were actually there witnessing and experiencing all the extreme highs and lows one of rock's greatest bands. It's such a fascinating read, I had a hard time putting it down, and I think you will too. Buy it, read it, and then revisit their albums. You'll never look at the Ramones in the same light.

"On the Road With The Ramones"- how can you say no? This was written/compiled by mainly Monte A. Melnick, with a 2nd co-author. He was The Ramones tour manager/road manager for almost their whole career, so he got the close-up of all the action, fun, drugs, relationship, and everything else Ramones. So, he knew what all went on.

As I mentioned in another Ramones book review, this is the best Ramones biography book you can buy. Most are either (classified by me) "Media Related"- deals with things around before, after, and while The Ramones were going; also deals with videos, record sales, and etc. about The Ramones. "Band Related"- deals with pre-Ramones times within the band member's lives, times in the band while it was starting and finishing (and everything in between), and times within the post-Ramones band members lives (like what the guys did after they retired). Or, a book might be (the best type of Ramones book) "Mixed/Everything Related"- like I said, these are the best types of books about The Ramones. They [usually] include influences, pre-Ramones experiences, record sales, weird/unsual experiences on the road or at a show, people they influenced, stories behind songs, little or unknown facts, and everything else true Ramones fans should know. "On the Road With The Ramones" is a "Mixed Related" book, cause it contains all [and more] of everything listed above.

To get down the the story of the book- it revolves around time that Monte witnessed, or experienced while working with The Ramones. It does include an almost never mentioned chapter on how Monte got to know The Ramones (first chapter); I won't tell, but it's like the Prologue of the book. Monte compilated this book from interviews by Ramones friends, [some] fans, family of The Ramones, people from The Ramones family [band and roadies alike], and manuy other people. The interviews from different people really gives you a good amount of perspectives on what people/The Band were like, how they acted, etc. Key moments explained: the inception/leaving of- Tommy, Marky (and his re-inception), Richie, Clem Burke/Elvis, Dee Dee, and CJ; why the friendship between Joey and Johnny deteriorated so quickly (most fans probably already know why), Marky's drinking troubles, which ultimately led to him missing a show in [my home town] Virginia Beach, the [somewhat] "Mystery" of Richie and his uncalled-for leaving, the passings of Dee Dee and Joey (compiled before Johnny's passing), the "Sickness" [cruel word that some people use for Joey's ways] that Joey had, and many other key times.

I'm sure this book will unlock as least one fact or two [or more] for any Ramones' fan; one thing I didn't know was about Joey's ways. So, if you can, I recommend buying this book. It's good for any old Ramones' fan who wants to brush up on his knowledge of The Band, or for a newcomer to The Ramones' fan legacy that wants to learn about their [soon-to-be] favorite band.

Thanks for reading, "Gabba Gabba Hey!", and "Have A Nice Day",

Mikey.