The Wall of Weirdness, Miss Debra and the Live Art Happening!
At the Metropolis vintage clothing store, 12 noon to 7:00 every day
Yep! I’m talking about the Metropolis Joey Ramone/PUNK Magazine/Miss Debra “art exhibition” at the Metropolis Vintage clothing store again. The plan is to close it on Saturday, June 29th with an all day and night party! So stay tuned for details. Meanwhile, we’re still displaying some cool photos and odd artwork.
The “Vault” in the store’s downstairs basement (where they sell their most sought-after t-shirts) displays several framed photos by Godlis, Tom Hearn and Miss Debra, as well as two never-before-seen art prints by John Holmstrom featuring illustrations of two Road To Ruin songs (“Something To Do” and “Bad Brains”). Everything in this room is for sale, with proceeds going to the Lymphoma Foundation. I did them for a private collector years ago and am exhibiting them now and making them available for the first time. (There’s going to be more info about these soon, meanwhile check out the “Sell Sheet” info below if you’re interested in buying them.)
There’s also a poster about Blackfire, the Native American punk rock band that Joey Ramone championed. An exclusive video, produced and created by Aysha Quinn and Andi Bierlein, the video contains exclusive photos and videos of Joey’s visit to the Navajo reservation. It’s a fascinating look at what Joey was doing post-Ramones, Andi (who did most of the work I have been told) is a talented new creator. The video will be screened again on June 29th at Metropolis, so stay tuned for details! It’s not to be missed.
There’s an entire wall of Miss Debra’s photos from part Joey Ramone Birthday Bashes and other events featuring a lot of punk rock icons: Iggy Pop, Arturo Vega (the “Fifth Ramone”), Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Debbie Harry (on stage singing “Happy Birthday” to Joey!), Cheetah Chrome (Dead Boys), The Toilet Boys and others. All framed photos and illustrations are on sale at very low prices so if you’d like a copy of the “Sell Sheet,” send an email to: event@punkmagazine.com
Okay, here’s where it gets weird… If you look closely at Miss Debra’s wall of framed photos, you’ll see there’s a door behind it: This is The Wall Of Weirdness! This part of the basement is a wreck! We like it that way, I pasted a bunch of PUNK and STOP! magazine images (including some illustrated by Joey Ramone). There’s a lot of other stuff I did with the Ramones (like the Rhino Records Weird Tales of the Ramones comic book), as well as odds and ends I found on the internet, a tip of the hat to the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash and a tribute to Arturo Vega, the fifth Ramone.
The STOP! magazine pages include an interview we did with The Rattlers, Mickey Leigh’s 1980s band, and a three-page column Joey wrote and illustrated (when he was stuck in the hospital with a foot problem). It’s interesting to see what Joey was interested in back in 1983, when his favorite bands were The Rattlers and Shrapnel!
Finally, there’s a large wall where cartoonists and illustrators hang out on Thursday nights and draw on big pieces of paper together. If you’d like to attend and/or contribute, email me at: event@punkmagazine.com
Bring food or drink if you can to contribute to the party, so a good time can be had by all. That’s all for this week’s newsletter. I’ll have more news when it happens—this is going to be a very busy summer!
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