CJ Ramone
Reconquista!!

It's true that the cover doesn't make the vinyl, but many times you can understand what to expect from a record just by the cover.

Just to say, in my record collection, there are some albums with such horrifying covers that I've never even had the courage to take out the vinyl, and I'm sure they are awful and stink.

Then there are those covers that are neither beautiful nor ugly, but they are meaningful, they tell you a story without unnecessary detours, like the cover of «Reconquista!!» by CJ Ramone.

There's CJ in comic book format – and you could write a treatise on the relationship between the Ramones and comics – coming out from the flames of hell, wearing the inevitable jacket symbolizing brotherhood, holding the bass by the neck with his left hand, and in his right, a worn-out flag featuring the eagle grasping the olive branch and baseball bat, where the unavoidable battle cry «Hey Ho, Let’s Go!» stands out.

It was 2012, Joey, Dee Dee, and Johnny were already gone, and two years later, Tommy would leave too. You can say what you want about this brotherhood story being as senseless as the music played by the Ramones, but I don't think there's any other band in the world for whom the sense of “communion” with the fans is more profoundly felt; and it's anything but pandering to have songs in the repertoire like «It’s Gonna Be Alright» and «Touring», not to mention that «Don’t Worry About Me» which closes Joey's artistic and human saga.

So, for those who didn't experience the Ramones – waking up in the morning, on the way to school and work, in free time, the night before falling asleep – it's impossible to understand the sense of disbelief and then the dismay that followed their disappearance; already in 1996, it was difficult to get used to the idea that there would no longer be new songs to memorize, hum, and whistle, no more concerts around the world, and maybe they would come by my area and I could have been there, under the stage; imagine when we had to accept that Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy were truly no more.

But we had to reciprocate 22 years of passion, keep that spirit alive.

Initially, it wasn't easy to get into the mindset that there wouldn't be a future; the past, however thrilling, should always give way to the present and the future, because the Ramones were not the Sex Pistols and we never got excited about the cry of «No Future» as much as we got excited shouting «Hey Ho, Let’s Go»; come on, let's move, let's go; and if we have to go, let's move forward, not backward.

When we found «Reconquista!!» in our hands, it was like hearing that battle cry again, «Hey Ho, Let’s Go», it was as if Joey was there doing four hops, right arm extended forward and fist clenched, left hand gripping the microphone stand. A very strong emotion, also because it was unexpected.

CJ, however, understood everything, because he was one of us, someone who went crazy for the Ramones' music even before he found himself playing bass with the Ramones for seven years. He lived that sense of disorientation twice, as Christopher Joseph and as CJ. He wandered for a long time without much success - Los Gusanos and Bad Choppers - until he could no longer stand it and decided it was time to re-engrave that name R.A.M.O.N.E on the cover of a new record, with twelve new songs inside to memorize, hum, and whistle. Three were enough for us.

«What We Gonna Do Now». New York is a pain in the ass since they replaced CBGB's with a supermarket. 42nd street was madness, teeming with junkies and prostitutes, and if the police had the law to impose, the streets had theirs too. I understand the world has changed, they want to convince you that nothing lasts forever and crap like that ...

«Three Angels». Johnny always said that life is hard, and you have to be harder than life. Joey always said to take small bites of life, a little bit every day. Dee Dee always said he wanted to be a good guy, but we all loved him because he always showed his bad side.

«Low On Ammo». I don't know how to stay alive, I only have the survival instinct left. That's why I'm asking you to give me a hand, because Johnny, Joey, and Dee Dee are our history, and we have to keep the spirit alive.

We were waiting for nothing else.