Creating the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash Poster
All The Stuff that went into making it!
Without a doubt, the thing I am asked to draw the most is the Ramones (especially Joey). I’ve drawn a few record covers for Da Brudders (especially the infamous “inside sleeve” for Rocket to Russia and a magazine cover and a few other JRBB posters etc.) so I get it. The images I created for the Ramones for the inside sleeve of Rocket to Russia have been reproduced on countless t-shirts. To be honest? Although this was a “work-for-hire” deal, it would have been nice if the Ramones, Inc. sent me a few dollars for everything I did for the band. Mickey Leigh is the only person involved with the Ramones who gave a shit, and tried to fix things. That other person who runs the Ramones? Crickets.
On another level is the passion that Ramones fans have for the band. Since I was one of the first people to notice their greatness and proclaimed them as the first true punk rock band, I am so happy that punk rock became a big thing. Of course Arturo Vega was there first, followed by Lisa Robinson, Danny Fields and many others, they helped to create the Ramones (as you probably know). So I feel a kinship with Ramones fans. I still love their music and all the memories of seeing the band for the first time falling ins love with their music and all. And for me, getting to know them on a personal level. It’s beyond sad that they are all gone for so long. But that’s why we remember Joey every year on his birthday. It was his dying wish.
When Mickey Leigh, who has produced every Birthday Bash since the first one in 2001, asked me if I would draw the image for this year’s event, I couldn’t say no. It’s an honor to represent the man and the band almost 50 years since I first saw them at CBGB in 1975. And I figured this would be a good time to describe what goes into developing something like this for the JRBB event. Because I have a simple drawing style, most people assume I quickly scribble stuff that becomes a finished drawing, but these things go through a lot of changes before the final image is agreed on.
It all begins with an idea. Talking it over with Mickey, we came up with a simple concept: Joey posing with a “BIG 25” to highlight the unique aspect of this year’s JRBB. To me (and to most of us who work on this thing) it’s crazy that we’ve been at it for so long! You know, the band toured for 22 years. So the JRBB is becoming an institution at this point. Anyway, I drew a few sketches for the “Big 25” (mentioned in a previous post). Mickey and I talked it over a few days ago and agreed that the final design captures Joey’s slouch: his attitude and the way he’d likely introduce the 25th Anniversary. It’s a celebration!
I was planning to make an epic “25” for the image: make it 3-D and dominant. But as we developed the idea, things changed. Anyhow, the above image was just a rough doodle that I used to create a few sketches to submit to the JRBB team for a group decision:
We ran the three different images by several people and the consensus was that the image of Joey with his arm kind of saluting the 25th anniversary would work best. But this was just the beginning! I sent the three ideas to Mickey and company back in late March. Based on the feedback we received, we moved on to the finished drawing.
Once we decided on the final image, I created a finished drawing of Joey Ramone that I thought would work. You know, something with the cross-hatching on the leather jacket and everything. So I created some images for the final poster design:
We were coming close to the final image design, but someone (I forget who) thought that Joey should be placed on top of the “Big 25”, so I moved him a bit and started working on the coloring:
Mickey Leigh thought something was missing. In my opinion, he had a great idea that improved the poster design: Add a heart. Show the love and all. (Hey, most of us old punk rockers are just alienated hippies! So love, especially for Joey, is the best thing to add to the image, right?) So I started on some new designs: Joey on top of the “Big 25” with the image of a heart. They weren’t working at first:
Well, we were getting close. But no cigar! So I kept going:
Okay, I am running out of space so I have to stop now. I’ll do a “Part Two” very soon. I could fill up several newsletters with alternate images I created for the JRBB poster thing. Don’t ask me why this became such a huge project, I am just trying to make good things happen for the JRBB.
I am sorry I haven’t been able to keep up with my weekly schedule for newsletters, but April and May are always very busy months, and lately my life is going crazy with stuff. So I will try to make up for it with more content once the PUNK Magazine/Dark Matter Coffee event takes place.
Yes, we will be introducing the first new, official PUNK Magazine product in a long time at Adios Amigos on May 1st at their location at First Street on the Bowery.
It will be a huge, crazy party as well! It’s also the opening of an art exhibition that features many of Debra “Raffles” Trizzini’s photos, who has co-hosted the JRBB from the beginning, and some of my original artwork. It will be a wild party, there will be taco artists, a “card reader” and a lot of stuff happening. So if you can, stop by Adios Amigos, the latest coffee bar that Dark Matter Coffee has opened. They are a Chicago-based coffee company who buy their stuff directly from growers in central America. And they are devoted to the music we love. Which is why I decided it was OK to work with them.
Hope to see you there!