TVD Radar: Richie Ramone: I Know Better Now, My Life Before, During, and After the Ramones in stores 12/11

VIA PRESS RELEASEIn 1982, the Ramones were in a gutter-bound spiral. Following a run of inconsistent albums and deep in the throes of internal tensions, the legendary quartet was about to crash and burn. Then came Richie Ramone—the 26-year-old from Jersey who instantly revitalized the pioneering outfit with his powerful, precise, and blindingly fast beats.

We’ve heard Joey’s story and Dee Dee’s, Johnny’s, Marky’s, and even Monte Melnick’s story, the band’s intrepid road manager. The mysterious Richie Ramone has been the missing link—until now. In I Know Better Now: My Life Before, During, and After the Ramones (Backbeat Books Hardcover; December 11, 2018 $29.99) Richie shares a deeply personal account of his life with one of the most influential punk rock bands of the 1980s.

When the Ramones discovered him, his name was Richard Reinhardt. They snapped him up to be their new drummer. Overnight, Richie went from the obscurity of the underground club scene to becoming a “brother” in the most famous punk-rock band of all time. Joey Ramone, himself, credited Richie for saving the band. Richie composed classic cuts like the menacing anthem “Somebody Put Something in My Drink” and was the only Ramones percussionist to sing lead vocals for the group. With the Ramones, he performed over five hundred shows at venues all around the world and recorded three massive studio albums before abruptly quitting the band and going deep underground.

“During the time I was in the Ramones, Joey and I were really close,” says Richie. “On and offstage, we were inseparable pretty much the whole time. We drank together, got high together, worked on songs together, went bowling together, and laughed together. Joey was a great singer, but he was also a great guy with a really big heart, and we were really good friends. I really miss that guy. A lot.”

In I Know Better Now, Richie Ramone shares lively stories from his early years growing up in Passaic, New Jersey, revealing his mischievous nature. He describes how he became a member of the Ramones and then takes readers backstage during the Ramones’ many gigs and tours. It’s all here—the drinking, the sex, the pranks, the family squabbles, the milk and cookie runs, the band members’ many idiosyncrasies. Lastly, we learn why he walked away from it all and how he survived.

“Joey’s not around anymore, which is really sad. Neither are the other three original Ramones, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy,” says Richie. “But I’m a Ramone, too, and I’m still here.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS | Richie Ramone is the fastest, most powerful drummer who ever played with the legendary punk rock band, the Ramones. He joined the Ramones in 1983 and performed around the world with the band, writing several critically acclaimed and fan-favorite songs for the albums Too Tough to Die, Animal Boy, and Halfway to Sanity. In addition to being the only Ramones drummer to compose material for the band, he is also the only one of their drummers to ever sing lead vocals for the group (Halfway to Sanity’s “Can’t Say Anything Nice” and the unreleased “Elevator Operator”). Today, Richie tours the world and records with his own band, which has released two critically acclaimed albums thus far. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

Peter Aaron is the author of If You Like the Ramones and The Band FAQ, the music editor of Chronogram magazine, the front man of influential New York band the Chrome Cranks, and a participant in other musical projects. His writing has appeared in the Village Voice, the Boston Herald, and other publications, and online at AllMusic and All About Jazz. He lives in the Hudson Valley.

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