Christopher Joseph Ward (born October 8, 1965), better known as C. J. Ramone, is an American musician best known for working as the bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the
punk rock group the
Ramones from 1989 to 1996. He is one of the four surviving members of the Ramones, along with three of their drummers,
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
,
Richie Ramone
Richard Reinhardt (born August 11, 1957) is an American drummer best known by his stage name Richie Ramone, and for being the drummer for the punk band the Ramones from February 1983 until August 1987. As of 2022, he is one of the four surviv ...
, and
Elvis Ramone.
Background
Christopher Joseph Ward was born in
Queens, New York City
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, but lived in
Deer Park, New York
Deer Park is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon, in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 27,745 at the 2010 census.
History
Deer Park is located in the pine barrens in t ...
for most of his early life. He attended
Ss. Cyril and Methodius School and graduated from
Deer Park High School in 1983.
Prior to joining the Ramones, Ward served in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
.
He was a fan of the Ramones, particularly of
Dee Dee Ramone
Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he wa ...
, before joining the band, and later played with him in a band called
the Ramainz
The Ramainz were an American tribute band to the Ramones. Its members included Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone, Dee Dee's wife Barbara Zampini, and C. J. Ramone. They were known as The Remains until 1999 but had to change the spelling due to anothe ...
, which was formed by Dee Dee Ramone,
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
and Dee Dee's wife, Barbara Zampini.
He also played in Guitar Pete's Axe Attack,
Los Gusanos, Bad Chopper. Ward released the album ''Reconquista'' on June 29, 2012,
and his album ''Last Chance to Dance'' was released in November (United States) and December (Europe) 2014.
''American Beauty'' was released on March 17, 2017, in the United States. ''The Holy Spell'' was released in 2019.
Ramones
upRamone performing in 1991
Ward replaced original band member
Dee Dee Ramone
Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he wa ...
, though Dee Dee continued to write songs for the band. Ward went to the audition with the sole purpose of jamming with the Ramones; he was not "nervous or intimidated" as he had no intention of getting the job but much to his surprise, he did. After being
discharged
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
from the Marines and learning 40 Ramones songs in five weeks, Ward played his first live show with the band on September 30, 1989. Adjusting to the Ramones' play style was one of the biggest challenges he had, as Ward was originally a finger-playing bassist as opposed to Dee Dee's signature
downpicking
Downpicking, sometimes referred to as down-stroke picking, is a technique used by musicians on plucked string instruments in which the player moves the plectrum, or pick in a downward motion, relative to the position of the instrument, against o ...
technique. He eventually learned to adapt by lowering his bass down to his kneecap and wearing sweatbands.
Ward sang many well-known Ramones songs and gave the band a younger image. In the documentary ''
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones'' it is stated that when Ward joined the Ramones he was seen as a breath of fresh air into the band.
Johnny Ramone says he knew immediately when Ward auditioned to replace Dee Dee that he was right, commenting that he "had the right look". When the Ramones were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame original Ramones drummer,
Tommy Ramone, credited Ward with "keeping the band young".
Ward was the youngest member of the Ramones when he joined, by nine years. He also shared a birthday, October 8, with bandmate Johnny Ramone. While Ward's first live show with the Ramones was on September 30, 1989, in
Leicester, England, his official debut with the band was actually three weeks earlier on September 4 during the
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in ...
that aired on
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW ...
in New York. Ward played with the band until they disbanded on August 6, 1996.
Equipment
Ward used
Ampeg SVT
The Ampeg SVT is a bass guitar amplifier designed by Bill Hughes and Roger Cox for Ampeg and introduced in 1969. The SVT is a stand-alone amplifier or "head" as opposed to a "combo" unit comprising amp and speaker(s) in one cabinet, and was capab ...
amplifiers for most of his career, having inherited several amps from Dee Dee Ramone. However, he has since switched to
Fender Bassman
The Fender Bassman is a bass amplifier series introduced by Fender during 1952. Initially intended to amplify bass guitars, the 5B6 Bassman was used by musicians for other instrument amplification, including the electric guitar, harmonica, and pe ...
amps, stating that the Ampeg amps had "substantial historical value" and he wished to preserve them.
Prior to joining the Ramones, Ward played an early '70s
Fender Jazz Bass and always played with his fingers (he actually explained in a 2015 interview with
Fender that on his way to first meet the band, he had to stop at a music store and buy
picks in order to play like Dee Dee did before him). When he joined the Ramones, they gave him a black Mexican
Fender Precision Bass, with a white
pickguard
A pickguard (also known more correctly as scratchplate) is a piece of plastic or other (often laminated) material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to pro ...
and a maple neck and that was his main bass for the first gigs with the Ramones. He also had two cream Fender Precision basses, one with a white pickguard and another with a black. (These basses can be seen on various backstage photos.) He then bought a white American Fender Precision with a white pickguard (later switched to a black to make it look more like Dee Dee's bass guitars). Then he finally got a vintage 1979 Fender Precision, like the basses that Dee Dee used to play. He would use that bass mainly the rest of his time with the Ramones.
While with the Ramones, Ward had a custom-made Mosrite Bass made for him by
Semie Moseley
Semie Moseley (June 13, 1935 – August 7, 1992) was an American luthier and the founder of guitar manufacturer Mosrite.Mosrite.us website http://www.mosrite.us/en/about.php
Biography
Moseley was born in Durant, Oklahoma, in 1935. His fam ...
, white with a tortoise shell pickguard. He used it while with Bad Chopper and has since sold this bass. He then used a Mosrite bass that he designed with Mr. Yuasa of the Filmore Company, the Mosrite copyright owner in Japan. It was white with a black pickguard. This bass was stolen when Ward toured Japan in February 2010.
Currently, Ward plays Fender Dee Dee Ramone signature model Precision Basses.
Other bands
Before the Ramones, Ward played in a heavy metal band called Guitar Pete's Axe Attack, where he appeared on two albums. In 1992, while still with the Ramones, he started a hard rock band named
Los Gusanos. They released a few singles before releasing their only album in 1997, which was worked on by Ramones producer
Daniel Rey
Daniel Rey (born Daniel Rabinowitz) is an American musician, record producer and songwriter from New York City, best known for his work with the punk rock band Ramones.
As a teenager Rey played in punk band Shrapnel, which also featured Dave Wyn ...
. After the Ramones' retirement Ward played a few shows with
the Ramainz
The Ramainz were an American tribute band to the Ramones. Its members included Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone, Dee Dee's wife Barbara Zampini, and C. J. Ramone. They were known as The Remains until 1999 but had to change the spelling due to anothe ...
, a Ramones tribute band formed by
Dee Dee Ramone
Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he wa ...
,
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
and Dee Dee's wife Barbara Zampini. In 1998, Los Gusanos broke up, leading to Ward's next band the Warm Jets, which released one single before changing their name due to another band with the same name. As
Bad Chopper, they released a single and in 2007, a self-titled album. The band broke up in summer 2009. From 2009 to 2019, he toured just as CJ Ramone with rotating members on guitar and drums. He released four albums and a single as CJ Ramone. Since 2018, he has filled in on bass at live shows for
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just Me First or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, Fat Mike, Joey Cape, and Dave Raun. C ...
.
Personal life
Ward was married to
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
's niece, Chessa, with whom he has two children, Liam (born in November 1997) and Elias (born in September 2000). He is now married to lawyer Denise Barton with whom he has one daughter, Mia Dove (born in October 2009).
Band members
Current members
*CJ Ramone – bass, lead vocals
(July 2009 – present)
*
Dan Root – guitar, backing vocals
(September 2012 – present)
*
Pete Sosa – drums
(December 2014 – present)
*
Josh Blackway – guitar, backing vocals
(October 2015 – present)
*
Nate Sander – guitar, backing vocals
(November 2015 – present)
*
Chris Eller – drums
(October 2015 – present)
Past members
*
Steve Soto – guitar, backing vocals
(July 2012 – 2018; died 2018)
*
Daniel Rey
Daniel Rey (born Daniel Rabinowitz) is an American musician, record producer and songwriter from New York City, best known for his work with the punk rock band Ramones.
As a teenager Rey played in punk band Shrapnel, which also featured Dave Wyn ...
– guitar, vocals
(July 2009 – September 2011)
*
Steve Dawson
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
– guitar, backing vocals
(October 2011 – February 2012)
*
Jonny Wickersham
Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham (born May 26, 196 is an American musician who is currently a guitarist for the California punk rock band Social Distortion. He joined Social Distortion after the death of founding member and longtime friend Dennis Danel ...
– guitar, backing vocals
(July 2013 – October 2013)
*
Ian Fowles
Ian Fowles is an American musician, author, and actor, best known as the current guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of EagleBones Falconhawk (originally Eagle "Bones" Fa ...
- guitar, backing vocals
(June 2015, July 2016)
*
Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along wit ...
– drums
(July 2009 – February 2010)
*
Michael Stamberg – drums
(March 2010 – July 2013)
*
David Hidalgo Jr. – drums, backing vocals
(February 2013 – October 2013)
*
Michael Wildwood – drums, backing vocals
(November 2013 – September 2014)
*
Joe Rizzo – drums
(January 2013, November 2014 – May 2015)
*
Richard Falomir
Richard Timothy "Ricky" Falomir is an American musician and composer, perhaps best recognized as the current drummer for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Ricky Fitness.
Biograp ...
- drums, backing vocals
(June 2015)
Guest appearances
*
Brian Costanza – guitar
(July 2009)
*
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...
– guitar
(February 2010)
*
Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, init ...
– guitar, vocals
(July 2012)
*
Jiro Okabe – guitar
(November 2012)
*
Ben Wah – guitar
(November 2012)
*
Chorin – drums
(November 2012)
*
Bruce Edwards – guitar
(January 2013)
*
Todd Youth
Todd Schofield (May 15, 1971 – October 27, 2018), known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig.
Biography
Schofield was born and raised in Passaic County, New Jersey, and ...
– guitar
(November 2013)
*
Walt Stack – guitar, backing vocals
(January 2014, July 2014, March 2015, May 2015)
*
John Frochaux – drums
(September 2015)
*
Michale Graves
Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...
- vocals
(October 8, 2017)
Discography
With Guitar Pete's Axe Attack
* ''Dead Soldier's Revenge'' (1985)
* ''Nightmare'' (1986)
With the Ramones
Studio Albums
* ''
Mondo Bizarro
''Mondo Bizarro'' (a misspelled version of "Mondo Bizzarro," meaning "Weird World" in Italian) is the twelfth studio album by American punk rock band Ramones, released on September 1, 1992 by Radioactive Records. It is the first studio album to ...
'' (1992)
* ''
Acid Eaters'' (1993)
* ''
¡Adios Amigos!'' (1995)
Live Albums
* ''
Loco Live'' (1991)
* ''
Greatest Hits Live'' (1996)
* ''
We're Outta Here!
''We're Outta Here!'' is the fourth live album by the American punk band the Ramones. It was released on November 18, 1997, through Eagle Rock Records.
Background
The album was recorded for Billboard Live at The Palace in Los Angeles, Californ ...
'' (1997)
With Los Gusanos
* "Quick to Cut"
7-inch
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...
(1993)
* Youth Gone Mad split 7-inch (1994)
* ''I'd Love to Save the World'' EP (1994)
* ''Los Gusanos'' (1998)
With Bad Chopper
* ''The Warm Jets'' 7-inch (as The Warm Jets) (2000)
* "Real Bad Time" 7-inch (2003)
* ''Bad Chopper'' (2007)
Solo
* ''Reconquista'' (2012)
* "Understand Me?" 7-inch (2014)
* ''Last Chance to Dance'' (2013-2014)
* ''American Beauty'' (2017)
* ''The Holy Spell'' (2019)
Other appearances
* Guest vocals on "Love Sucks" on
The Independents' album ''In for the Kill'' (1995)
* Bass on "The Bowery Electric" on the Bowery Electric Crews single (2002)
* Guest vocals on "Punishment Fits the Crime" with Bien Desocupados on ''Todos somos Ramones'' (2005)
* "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" on collection album "Mosrite Rebirth" (2012)
* Guest vocals on "The Way I Let You Down" and "Won't Let Go" on
Mondo Generator
Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator) is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri.
History
Formation and ''Cocaine Rodeo'' (1997–2002)
Nick Oliveri (under the moniker ''Rex Everything'') f ...
album ''
Hell Comes to Your Heart'' (2012)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramone, C. J.
1965 births
Living people
C. J.
American punk rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
People from Queens, New York
United States Marines
People from Deer Park, New York
Guitarists from New York City
American male guitarists
22 Jacks members
20th-century American guitarists