Marky Ramone

“The hardest thing to do is to create your own style. And I don't think styles are 'created' - they just come to you. They just develop into what you are. It seeps into it. When you start thinking, 'I want to have my own style,' it's not happening. It's gotta come through experience.”

“I listened to Buddy Rich a lot, and also to guys like Clive Bunker, the original drummer from Jethro Tull. All these guys had a jazz influence, and they didn't want to be called rock drummers. They'd get offended. It's funny.”

“They're for the rich and not the little guy. In my opinion, the conservatives are just about money.”

“Richie Reinhardt, who was only in the band four years, deserted the group. You don't do that when a band has a tour set up. If you want to negotiate, there are ways to do it maturely. They had 17 shows set up. They called Clem Burke up from Blondie. But he's not right for The Ramones; he's great in Blondie.”

“My parents took me to the first March on Washington, the first big march for civil rights, in '63. So I was raised in a family where it doesn't matter what color you are or what religion you are as long as you're a good person.”

“I like to see what's on TV before I go to sleep.”

“When I was in high school, I liked hard rock.”

“Stephen King is a big Ramones fan... He's a great guy, very tall, very intense-looking.”

“You know, unfortunately, when a band signs a contract, you're a commodity.”

“I was happy to be asked twice to be in one of the greatest bands in the world.”

“I do radio shows. I just do what everybody else does - I work on my cars - that's my hobby. And I like to go out to clubs at night and see what's going on and, you know, hanging out in New York City.”

“I learned to pace myself, even back then when I was young. It's like being an athlete; you need to rehearse and exercise and be in good shape.”

“You can't fight progress.”

“When we did 'Rock 'N' Roll High School,' that put us almost into the mainstream.”

“The Ramones appealed to youth with their energy and lyrical content, and that's why it evolves the longevity of the group.”

“We always stuck to our guns and we didn't wander off to other genres.”

“My favorite song on the Road to Ruin demo was 'I Wanna Be Sedated.' It was catchy and huge even in stripped-down form on a cheap cassette tape. It was pop but without sacrificing hardness.”

“Ramones' songs are too good not to be played.”

“In the end, what really matters is the music.”

“My father wanted the high school diploma on the wall, so I got that and then started hanging out in New York in the punk scene.”