John in Johnny Ramone article in Italian edition of Vogue
…just on a picture though, but why not mention this cause once again?
This is an article from the January 2009 issue of Italian edition of Vogue, which was originally posted on Johnny Ramone Army website; but I translated it to English for visitors of Invisible Movement. It was written by Jo Champa. The photo supplied with the article is actually from the January 2005 revealing of the Johnny Ramone statue, and if you’re looking for the photos from the last year’s event, held on 01st August, head over to this entry and also, don’t forget to listen or read the interview Joe Escalente of now-internet-only Indie 103.1 Radio.
Picnic at the cemetery. A perfectly-styled memorial for Johnny Ramone, the guitarist of the historical group. That’s how the most-expected rock event of the year was born, visited by famous friends and fans for life.
Each year, my friend Linda Ramone, the widow of the group’s guitarist, Johnny, curates an event at the Hollywood forever cemetary. There, amongst others, lie Rudolfo Valentino, Jayne Mansfield, Tyrone Power, Cecil B. DeMille and Douglas Fairbanks. Close to the statue of her husband, there are stands for the evening, selling T-shirts, as well as beer and other beverages, in a way that would make someone think it’s actually a party. Also, Linda is giving autographs, together with the fan articles related to other Ramones (Marky, C.J. and Tommy) and the friends who attend the event every year.
At the end, when the sun sets, on an enormous canvas next to the mausoleum, there was a showing of the film about the famous punk rock band; while a bunch of fans were sitting on the lawn, as if they were only having a large picnic with their friends. There are the members of all possible sub-genres of punk and rock, young and old ones, mothers with children, couples and singles. The most moving, yet the most enthusiastic part was when Linda and the friends who used to know Johnny were conversating directly with fans, and there was a radio broadcast as well; so the cemetery was really transformed into a little version of Woodstock – all of it thanks to Linda, the queen of the evening.
And this was not just an event for the sake of an event. in fact, all of the guests had to make a donation for the prostate cancer research programme, as Johnny himself died from prostate cancer four years ago. The charity is in the hands of the doctor David Agus, from the Cedars-Sinai hospital of Los Angeles.
