March was typically horrific, endless and full of bad weather. But it had its bright spots, one of which was watching my friend Nachie’s band, New York City-based Skelter, perform at a resort in the Catskills. Usually Skelter plays a mix of original material and covers, but for this show it played 10 Ramones songs back to back, nothing else.
The show, which featured great tunes such as “The KKK Took My Baby Away” and “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” clocked in at just under a half hour, although it felt like five minutes. It was really fun, even exhilarating, but I experienced a weird pang of sadness as I watched Skelter, and realized this would be the closest I’d ever come to seeing the real Ramones, as the band’s three founding members — Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone — are all dead. This got me thinking about all the great bands I’d like to see live, but can’t, because too many core members have died. I even came up with a list:
1. Nirvana
2. The Beatles
3. Morphine
4. The Doors
5. The Ramones
Maybe the Beatles belong at the top, but I feel like putting Nirvana there is some sort of generational requirement. Morphine probably doesn’t belong on this list, either, but they’re one of my favorite bands, and I encourage people to check them out — their recordings, at least. Their instrumentation was unusual, usually a two-string bass guitar played with a slide, a baritone saxophone and percussion, and they played a bluesy, jazzy rock filtered through a growling, hipster sensibility. (If you’re interested, I’d start with the 1993 album “Cure for Pain.”) When vocalist Mark Sandman died of a heart attack in 1999, I was heartbroken: I clipped out the news story and tacked it to my desk. “I’ll never be able to see Morphine in concert,” I whined to a friend, then checked myself. A man had just died; it seemed like a callous thing to say. My friend suggested that callousness was OK. After all, I wasn’t actually acquainted with Mark Sandman; I only knew him through his music. A new Morphine CD was always something to look forward to. Of course, Mark Sandman lives on, just as Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain do, in my CD collection and, occasionally, on the radio. Whenever I hear Morphine, I miss Mark Sandman. I actually feel a sense of loss.
Anyway. Feel free to send me your list of top dead bands.
As for the Ramones: You could do worse than rent the definitive Ramones documentary, “End of the Century.” It’s pretty good, though it runs about 150 minutes, so it helps to be interested in the subject matter. Of course, there’s always the 1979 cult classic “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” in which an evil principal bans rock music from the halls of Vince Lombardi High School. The students, led by an irrepressible Ramones fan played by P.J. Soles, rebel; eventually the Ramones come to their aid.
