Creating the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash Poster: Part Two
Too much information? (I hope not!)
The final image was agreed on. Yeah, it would need some fine-tuning, but we nailed the main image. (To be honest, I had a lot of problems getting it done because I have been struggling with the latest PhotoShop version: It seems to have added a lot of “improvements” that make things more difficult than ever before! Does anyone else out there have this problem?)
By the way, I added the JRBB logo after copying and pasting the JRBB logo from the 2018 poster that Rufus Dayglo and I worked on:
Somehow, Rufus can draw my PUNK lettering style better than I can! He is truly one of the most talented illustrators I’ve had the honor to work with. You can check out his amazing work at his Website:
Rufus Dayglo LINK: http://www.rufusdayglo.com/
I think maybe he should draw next year’s poster (if he can)? What do you think? He is one of the biggest punk rock fans (and creators) I have ever encountered. He’s created a lot of punk-related comic strips and illustrations that I both envy and enjoy. He was even a roommate of Mark P., the editor of Sniffin’ Glue, the PUNK Magazine of the English punk rock movement. So check out his Website if you want to see some amazing artwork!
Back to the JRBB 2025 poster: It was time to add words to the poster now. I lettered the headliners and Tribute Band members around April 13, as the JRBB crew was nailing down the musicians who agreed to appear this year.
Okay, here are my thoughts on the line-up: Yeah, we are all a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get a Big Name for the event, and maybe host the event at a bigger space. (Believe me, we tried, but most of the acts we know and love from back in the day make big bucks nowadays!) But you know what? I think that this will happen next year, when people dig that the 50th Anniversary of PUNK Magazine and the Ramones first album deserves to get more attention. And this is starting to happen. Next year should be amazing. So “Watch Out! PUNK Is Coming Back!”
I feel like the headliners this year are like “The Best Of the JRBB.” They are all fan favorites, and dedicated to the whole JRBB experience:
STEVE CONTE: He absolutely killed it at last year’s event. I have rarely seen such a positive crowd reaction from a JRBB audience so of course he’s the right guy to headline the event in 2025. The original Joey Ramone Birthday Bash events were always aimed at promoting new talent and bands that deserve more attention. Steve Conte deserves more attention from everyone: He’s definitely keeping punk rock ‘n’ roll alive and kicking.
JIRO: I did a newsletter recently about how I like “JaPunk” better than west coast pop-punk or hardcore. These bands are more entertaining than your average punk rock band. Jiro is a cool guy! Miss Debra and I always enjoy hanging out with him after the show and seeing him on the bill is like: BANZAI!
LABRETTA SUEDE AND THE MOTEL SIX: I lobbied the JRBB team to get this band on the bill, so I am very happy that they will be making their debut at the JRBB. Debra “Raffles” Trizzini insisted that they should appear on the Tompkins Square Park event that PUNK Magazine produced last September, and they were so F’N good. I want to see them again and again. Great fucking band. I think they will be worth the price of admission! Labretta is the best. So if you’re planning to attend the JRBB this year? Do not miss them! Don’t be late!
deerfrance: She was the first employee at PUNK Magazine! She was hired in January 1976 as our first-ever receptionist/secretary. In my opinion you don’tt get more punk rock than that. Especially since she has lived a life in punk rock ‘n’ roll: She worked the door at CBGB, sang back-up for John Cale, started her own band (Floor Kiss: what a name! And hired Danny Hellman to draw her posters!), plus she worked with me at High Times magazine, and so much more. She’s going to be the “wild card” this year, much like David Peel and other performers didn’t necessarily deliver pure punk rock at past shows. But she has the original attitude of 1970s punk rock. I love her and hope you do as well.
THE RYMANS: I have to admit that I don’t know much about the band, but since they’re opening the show, and lately the first band on the bill turns out to be among the best, of course I’m looking forward to checking them out.
THE RATTLERS: Saving the best for last: I have to admit that I have always been a fan of Mickey Leigh’s band The Rattlers. (I am hoping they will perform “On The Beach”, my favorite song by them, which should be the theme music for Mutant Monster Beach Party if we could ever make a movie of it).
Okay, we had the headliners in place. Next? The Joey Tribute part of the show, always a fan favorite since you never know who might show up. This part of the poster is tricky: There are some “Very Special Guest Stars” who can’t be mentioned yet. We aren’t sure if they can perform on May 19 or not. So the “More To Be Announced” thing is for real. You never want to over-promise stuff like this, however. Only musicians who have signed on the the event get listed on the bill:
I love this bill. I helped get Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello on the bill (thanks to Tatyana from Ukraine, who was a central figure in the Ukraine punk rock scene in the 1990s, lives in the USA now and has attended many JRBBs before).
It’s also of interest to have Eugene opening the line-up because he appears on an upcoming Ramones tribute album that will be released soon:
LINK to the new Ramones Tribute album:
I am really looking forward to the tribute album. Like, I can’t wait to hear what Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Galactic Zoo Odyssey) did with GWAR! And Thurston Moore with Napalm Death? Voivod with JG Thirlwell? Too cool.
There have been so many Ramones Tribute albums, and I have to admit that my favorite has to be the Bossa Nova album. To me, they capture the lyrical content of the Ramones songs while also adding a whole new element to them:
Rachel Bolan: I’m glad that we have a Skid Row guy on the bill. Sebastian Bach (the singer) used to hang out at the High Times office back in the day, when I was the publisher. A lot of the 1980s/90s metal bands were influenced by the Ramones and punk rock. I’m not a “punk snob,” I love (some of) these bands.
Andy Shernoff: Where to begin? The Dictators were the inspiration to start PUNK Magazine! Andy was the creative genius behind their music. So great to see him on the bill.
So cool that Peter Zaremba is on the bill. Peter and I were in the same 1972 “Foundation Class” at the School of Visual Arts back in 1972. Yeah, like why do you think they are named “The Fleshtones” anyhoo? (Embarrassing admission: Peter, Chris Stein and I all had the longest hair of anyone at SVA back then.)
Nice to see Miriam Linna (the first Cramps’ drummer) as well as Tish & Snooky on board as well. Do most people know they were in the original Blondie band? Tish and Snooky deserve some kind of notice for performing at more JRBB events than anyone! Anyhow they are totally awesome, I am glad they are on the 25th Anniversary Show line-up.
Luis Accorsi of Toxic Tito, like Labretta Suede, performed at the rainy day/PUNK Magazine Tompkins Square Park event, and got a the best crowd reaction. This guy knows how to deliver punk rock. He performed at CBGB back in the 1980s and was a favorite of Hilly Kristal’s, and you rarely get that kind of kudos.
Wes Crawford and Arno Hecht have appeared at many of the JRBB events, so they’re always welcome: Great musicians who can help carry the load of making the tribute section sound special. It’s not easy for all of these musicians to come together and create a special performance: They rehearse a few times and do sound checks before the event. Maybe next time someone can do a post about what it’s like to pull it all together?
More “Big Names” might be added to the bill, some might not be announced and be a surprise. So buy your tickets to the JRBB now, before they sell out!
LINK: joeyramone.com
I had to add even more names to the bill as things developed. One event at the JRBB is something I am very much looking forward to: The interviews with Matt Lolya and Mitch “Bubbles” Keller:
“Bubbles” is the “Secret Weapon” who makes the Joey Ramone event come together every year: The stage manager/tech guy who makes sure that the very tight schedule is adhered to by all performers. He kicks the ass that needs to be kicked. It’s wonderful that he will be onstage to tell his tour stories: Especially since he often wore that smelly “Pinhead” mask at so many Ramones shows! You gotta love the guy: He’s dedicated, fun and interesting. are with Matt Lolya! Good stories ahead!
The next stage of developing the JRBB 2025 poster image was the color selection. There were debates about whether we should use a yellow or a blue background. And I wondered if using a bigger color palette for the poster would look OK.
I often need feedback from people about whether an image (for commercial use) looks OK or not. So, here we go:
What do you think? Really, I’d like to know. We spent a lot of time on this. I think it looks too busy and am glad they chose the final design, but you know what? You never know about these things.
Below: this was another failed attempt: to highlight the Tribute part of the show. But when I try to design something, I try everything. You never know when an idea or an image will work or not. :
This was an attempt to highlight the “Tribute” event over everything else. (But I was also having those PhotoShop problems!) In the end, once all the words came in and I had a night or two to fix everything? I think it came out OK.
Just so you know? As a finishing touch to the poster, I added Arturo Vega’s “Eagle” image to Joey’s belt:
I cropped the “Eagle” image from the back cover of the first Ramones album as a tribute to Arturo Vega’s contributions to the band. I was always impressed that the Ramones had their own “Art Director.” Arturo had to be represented. It’s a small detail that appears on Joey Ramone’s belt for the poster image, but I’m glad that I included him. He needs to be represented more for his contributions to the Ramones and Punk Art. It’s a big reason Miss Debra and I will be hosting a special Arturo Vega tribute at Adios Amigos/Dark Matter Coffee on May 31st.
A job like this requires a lot of hard disk space! Here’s screenshot of a few of the files I created for the poster design:
That’s a small part of all the images used for the poster design. And it is a typical representative of what I do to create a polished image for any client. As you might notice from the screenshot, I often save and re-save images, something I have done since the early 1980s (when computers would unexpectedly crash and work would be lost.) So I save everything in stages as I work on them. You never know when you need to go back to an older version of something that could work better when you revise it.
In the old days (before computers) I would have just drawn the poster and used rubber cement, white-out and other tools to make corrections. Hand-lettering words would have been pasted on a board. Sadly, in the new digital age, I use PhotoShop to fix everything. And I hate it. I prefer the good old days. But it is what it is.
So when you see an image I have created, well, now you can understand part of the process. And this is why I often turn down commissions: Most people can’t afford to pay me for this much time and effort. And just so you know, I wasn’t paid a large fee for my work on this, just a token amount, since it is in support of Mickey Leigh: One of the Good Guys from back in the day. To me? The highlight of every Joey Ramone Birthday Bash is when he takes the stage. And you know what? I think most people who attend the event feel the same way. Mickey was Joey’s brother! You don’t get any closer to someone when you’re related by blood. And you have to hand it to the guy for hosting the event for 25 years!
So buy a poster or t-shirt if you can and support the Joey Ramone Lymphoma Foundation’s work if you can’t attend in person. We already raised over $100,000 since 2001, and we want to hit $200,000!
Dark Matter/Adios Amigos Coffee
If you‘ve read this far, you might already know that Miss Debra “Raffles” Trizzini and I are staging an exhibition at this cool coffee bar located at First Street and the Bowery, just below the original CBGB location: Dark Matter Coffee:
https://www.darkmattercoffee.com/
We put together a small art exhibition and there will be a pre-party at Dark Matter’s new location at East First and the Bowery. It’s a punk rock coffee place, if you’re attending the Birthday Bash we hope you can stop by.
Miss Debra and I put together an exhibition at the Metropolis vintage clothing store for last year’s JRBB, which wasn’t well-attended (although we did get some Big Names there and held some amazing live events, from film screenings to interactive art jam sessions to the “Wall of Weirdness,” an amazing spectacle that will never be seen again!). This year I think the Dark Matter Coffee event, which takes place throughout the month of May (Joey Ramone Birthday Month!) will do better, since the coffee shop is only one block away from Joey Ramone Place. But we still love Metropolis, which will be represented in this show Big Time!
LINK to Metropolis Vintage: https://metropolisvintageonline.net/metropolis-vintage-apparel-nyc
Stop by Adios Amigos and Metropolis if you can during the month of May: Should be fun!
Gorilla Parts
In other news, I want to plug Steve Grillo’s new book Gorilla Parts. Steve was the emcee for our Rainy Day event at Tompkins Square Park event and has worked with me on several other projects. He has a lot of great stories! He was Howard Stern’s most famous intern so he saw a lot, and his book is a “tell-all” aimed at Howard Stern fans as well as people interested in mainstream culture.
I was a huge Howard Stern fan in the 1980s, but he lost me as he became politically-correct and boring in the 1990s and afterwards. And Grillo was there to see it all happen.
Check out Steve’s book:
LINK to:
Wow, thanks so much for your kind comment. Yeah, I am still around. One of the dinosaurs who hasn't gone extinct yet.
Thanks for the info. I have no choice but to download Adobe products since it's on auto-pilot. Think Hal the computer from 2001: A Space Oddity.
If I could do it, I would be using the programs from the early 2000s. I hate learning new things. I am way too old for that!