Al Gomes Big Noise Interviews : The Police

Big Noise Archive:
The Police’s Andy Summers 1979 interview

by Al Gomes
The Providence Anchor
First published in September 1979

The following is one of the first interviews that The Police granted during their very first American tour. It was conducted on the evening of September 30, 1979 when the band appeared at Walsh Hall at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI.

The Providence Anchor: How did the name of the band come about?

Andy Summers: Stewart (Copeland) thought of the name. There are no political connotations to it. It’s just a very strong name. If anything, it has an irony for being the name of a rock group. It’s a name people say once and never forget. It’s a name of association. It’s not that we’re for or against the police, or that we’re fascists.

The Providence Anchor: You’ve been quoted recently that you’re trying to move beyond the punk scene.

Andy Summers: We don’t sound like a punk band, obviously. We started out in the punk scene, but our music is more sophisticated than that. The harmonies, the rhythms we use. The songs Sting writes.

The Providence Anchor: And the reggae influence.

Andy Summers: We do a lot of reggae. Actually, a lot of punk bands have started to do a lot of reggae. We did it fairly early on in our career. We just don’t sound punk. Overall, there’s this real heavy punk sound out there with real thrashing chords, and we just don’t sound like that.

The Providence Anchor: How did reggae find it’s way into The Police’s sound?

Andy Summers: Well, we live in London. There’s a big West Indie community there. Reggae’s very popular there. Bob Marley’s quite popular, you know. And so we’ve all been listening to it for awhile. Then it started creeping into our rehearsals. We just started jamming reggae without even discussing it. And when Sting wrote ‘Roxanne,’ it was the first song we ever really treated as having a reggae feel. And even then, we really didn’t think it was reggae. What we did was take the elements from reggae, the basic elements, and used to them to our own end. Because, I felt what we do is not really reggae, it’s a blending of rock and reggae. We’re one of the first groups ever doing that, really.

The Providence Anchor: Do you still find the punk movement exciting even though you’re moving toward a more sophisticated style of music?

Andy Summers: It’s very exciting. The scene in London is exciting. It’s not really heavy punk there like it was two or three years ago like it is everywhere else around the world. It’s sort of broadened out. The initial thrust has gone on and it’s changed into a second generation of New Wave bands, as it were. It’s very interesting. There’s a lot of new clubs and a lot of new bands in London. Big scene.

The Providence Anchor: Does your new album, ‘Reggatta De Blanc,’ go in a new direction?

Andy Summers: Well, you could say we’ve dove further into our ‘Police style.’ The new album is more sophisticated than the last one (‘Outlandos D’Amour’). I think at this point we can mold ourselves into anything we want to become. There’s stuff on this new record where we go out on the limb that’s quite different from the first album. Generally, we’re very pleased with it. It’s a better album, I think. And we’ve got the #1 single in England at the moment (‘Message In A Bottle’) from the new album.

The Providence Anchor: How have the US audiences been reacting to the live shows?

Andy Summers: They’ve been hysterical. They just freak out. It’s incredible. And we’re drawing in all different types of fans, something no other punk-oriented band has ever done.

The Providence Anchor: How long have you, Stewart and Sting known each other?

Andy Summers: Two and a half years. It’s been two years that The Police have been together.

The Providence Anchor: Is this the most excited you’ve ever been making music?

Andy Summers: Oh, it’s fantastic. It’s the most fun band I’ve been in so far.

The Providence Anchor: Before the debut album (‘Outlandos D’Amour’) was released, against the wishes of your American label, A&M, you came over to do a short promotional tour. How did that come about?

Andy Summers: Yeah, that was a year ago (October 1978). We had no record out or anything. People were importing the ‘Roxanne’ single. And WBCN in Boston had it in heavy rotation as an import. So that was where most of our action was. We were signed to A&M worldwide, but we hadn’t been issued in America, so the label people here didn’t know about us. They just knew we were signed to their label in England. We just came over, and they held up their hands in horror that we were coming over with nothing to promote, and what the hell were we doing here. We started getting some small club gigs. We played Boston and New York, and that was great. We got great reviews and amazing reactions from audiences. Then the record company came to see us. They really dug us. That’s how they came to release ‘Roxanne,’ and very quickly it started taking off. We released ‘Outlandos D’Amour’ in January (1979) and it charted very well.

The Providence Anchor: A&M changed the cover of the album from the English version. What was the reason for that?

Andy Summers: The English version has the same three faces of us, but it’s slightly different. The English back cover’s sort of this punky collage. The American company thought it was too punky. If the American radio stations saw this album sleeve, they wouldn’t play the music. American stations are very paranoid about playing New Wave music. But, the scene has changed. We’re one of the first New Wave bands to be played heavily. And the scene started changing after that.

The Providence Anchor: Do you hold the same opinion as other New Wave artists like Elvis Costello and The Clash do on the state of American radio and on American rock music in general?

Andy Summers: We don’t hate it, but feel much the same way. American airwaves have been dominated by, sort of, pop-rock bands for so long, for the last ten years or so. Bands like Kiss and Fleetwood Mac. And anything that really goes out on a limb or strike up some new direction is not commercially reliable as all those really pop-ready bands. I think the thing that’s changing a bit more in the last year is that some of the radio stations are a lot less paranoid, because ‘Roxanne’ was a big hit and it was by a so-called New Wave band. Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson are big too, so things have changed a bit.

The Providence Anchor: Now that you’ve broken through, what are the immediate plans for The Police?

Andy Summers: Well, basically, we’re at the stage where we’re going to keep working non-stop for some time to come. We’re not at a point to rest right now. This tour goes to the end of December. Right after that, we’re flying to Paris because we’re appearing on TV. We then have January off to do some writing. February we’re playing Japan, Australia and New Zealand. We’re going to try to do India and Egypt and Istanbul, Athens, Hong Kong, all these places, and make it a world tour. And we’re making a movie as well.

The Providence Anchor: A documentary?

Andy Summers: We’re discussing it at the moment. we have some pretty wild ideas, actually. We’re going to try to tie in the world tour with it. But…we want it to be a fictional thing, rather than just a straight documentary about a band.

The Providence Anchor: Are you happy with the way the band’s success is building or do you sometimes want it to happen all at once?

Andy Summers: No, I think it’s very healthy to gain your audience step by step by making good records, and going out there working. It’s much more real, you know. Suddenly overnight sensations, well…it doesn’t always happen that way. Especially in America. You have to really slug your guts out from touring. America is so big. In England, we made it there in six short months. But here’s what happened…once ‘Roxanne’ was a hit here in the states, then it bounced back to England and suddenly we took off. We were successful here before we were in England. That’s the power of America. And now in England, we’re #1 there this week. It’s incredible. It’s like Beatlemania in London for us right now. But we’re incredibly grateful for how America has treated us.

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Al Gomes Big Noise Joey Ramone Interview : Ramones Get Back the Spirit

Big Noise Archive:
Ramones’ Joey Ramone 1984 interview

Note: Al Gomes was one of the first journalists that Joey Ramone ever granted an interview to. At that time, during the early stages of The Ramones’ career from 1976-1980, nearly all interviews with The Ramones were conducted and controlled by Tommy and Johnny Ramone (as evidenced in the Grammy-nominated documentary, ‘End of the Century.’) The following took place in March 1984 when the band appeared at The Main Event in Providence, RI. It was the fourth time that Joey sat and talked with Al.

Ramones Get Back the Spirit
by Al Gomes
The Providence Local
First published in April 1984

What can you say about The Ramones that hasn’t been written already? The band has had one of the most colorful histories in all of rock ‘n’ roll history – Lord, they single-handedly saved rock ‘n’ roll from possible oblivion in 1976.

But even with the lengendary status the band has gained, they’ve never been able to grasp a large enough share of an audience to collect even a gold album or single. While other bands would have given up (The Ramones are celebrating their tenth year together), they continue to stick with it, knowing that their audience still continues to grow with a new generation discovering them through MTV and TV’s repeated showings of ‘Rock and Roll High School.’

If there is a message to The Ramones’ music, it’s that the simplest things in life are what matter most, and if you believe in the power of rock ‘n’ roll, you will never age and will always feel a sense of immortality. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and new drummer Richie Ramone truly believe in the power of rock ‘n’ roll – that it is indeed 20th Century youth’s new church – where truth reigns. And no one gets to the core of the truth like The Ramones and their music.

Since the last time the boys performed in Providence, RI, they’ve had their share of newsworthy stories: Johnny received a concussion trying to pry his girlfriend from an irate passerby, the band’s possible severing of their long ties with Sire Records, and the addition of new drummer Richie Ramone.

‘Pleasant Dreams,’ their last album, didn’t do as well as expected. But the band is hopeful that with acts like Talking Heads and The Clash showing new-found success, the Ramones’ crack at riding high on the charts can’t be far off either.

Joey Ramone and I sat down after their recent show in his hotel room in Providence. This is the fourth time in three years that we’ve talked, and his self-confidence remains as steadfast as when I first met him. There are sure signs of anger and frustration, but they seemed to be channeled (as always) right back into their stage show, which is as fresh and exciting as ever.

Joey Ramone and Al Gomes backstage 1984

The Ramones are hungry. They ain’t quitting until they’ve chewed the musical landscape to bits.

The Local: You’ve been up to a lot in the last year.

Joey Ramone: We’ve taken turns being in the hospital. Now we’re all healed and mended our injuries.

The Local: What happened to you?

Joey Ramone: A bit of indigestion. I alternated with John.

The Local: How’s he doing now?

Joey Ramone: He’s alright.

The Local: What exactly happened?

Joey Ramone: Just a little domestic problem. (Smiling) He got into a fight and got hurt. He wasn’t in the hospital very long. But, he got a fractured skull.

The Local: MTV reported that you were close to losing your recording contract.

Joey Ramone: No, we just resigned with a new company, Warner Brothers. Did MTV make it sound negative?

The Local: No, more like sympathetic.

Joey Ramone: (Laughing) We don’t need sympathy from MTV. We don’t need their charity. We didn’t lose our contract, MTV – it was over. We signed for a certain number of albums and it was finished. We always did well for Sire. We’re a prestigious act. Matter of fact, we were the original Sire rock act. Before us, they had the Climax Blues Band, they were into reissues – you know – greatest hits packages, and stuff like that – ‘The Best of Del Shannon.’ They never really had anything unique. We were the first New York band to get signed in years after the whole deal went bad with the New York Dolls – who were sort of looked down upon because they didn’t sell a billion albums. Then Patti Smith got signed, but she really wasn’t doing rock. She was doing poetry and performance art. Sire Records and other companies watched our success for a long time and watched our growth. We went with Sire Records because they liked us for what we were doing. We didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle. So many conglomerate record companies don’t know anything about their artists whatsoever. We didn’t want that. A lot of major companies came down to check us out, but nobody really understood us. And after we got signed to Sire, they watched our progress for a year, and then everybody in the world got signed.

The Local: It’s interesting that you moved to Warner Brothers, the parent company of Sire.

Joey Ramone: In our position, we’ve always done well, but we just haven’t had that hit yet that put us over the top. We always break even. The fact that we’ve never lost anyone’s money, and the fact that we are a prestigious act – I mean, we started the whole thing. We’re responsible for even the synthesizer bullshit, which is a revolution of what we started in ’76.

The Local: What do you think of the current state of music in 1984 – Duran Duran and such?

Joey Ramone: It’s bullshit. It’s crap. It’s not rock. It’s elevator music. It’s Muzak.

The Local: Do you think we’re at a point like we were in the ’70s when Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles were homogenizing rock?

Joey Ramone: It seems that way, doesn’t it? Though things are actually a little more optimistic in 1984 with the presence of MTV. For better or worse, MTV sort of bridges the whole country together almost like the BBC does in England. It’s opened up everything so wide that it’s possible for everyone to have different ideas. It just seems that some people are favored over others, which I don’t understand. I don’t know if it’s payola or what. It’s just bullshit to me still. But things are definitely better. But…this synthesizer bullshit. All of these fucking groups come flooding out of London. Everybody makes it. It’s crap.

The Local: Do you share a lot of creative input in your videos?

Joey Ramone: Some of them we’ve brought to the director. Like ‘Psychotherapy,’ which was banned all over America. And the world, I guess. It wasn’t shown in London and Europe either. They said it was offensive. It was on MTV for awhile, but it was chopped up. USA’s ‘Night Flight’ showed it in its entirety. They did a special called ‘Sex and Violence in Rock Videos.’ There’s nothing violent about the video. It’s highly artistic, I think. It’s a piece of art.

The Local: I think there’s a lot more violent videos. What about the Rolling Stones’ ‘Undercover of the Night?’ That is a truly violent, offensive video.

Joey Ramone: Yeah, it is. (Pauses) I don’t understand how our video doesn’t get played. It’s all contradiction and bullshit. It’s censorship and crap. The fact that we’re not as big as Michael Jackson, or some shit like that. Even MTV wouldn’t play him initially because he was black, and now they’ll play him. It’s politics and bullshit.

The Local: Many people have labeled MTV racist. Since you’re an artist that appears with frequency on MTV, do you feel the network’s racist in their programming choices.

Joey Ramone: I still think it’s a great service, all and all. I think it’s the best thing to happen to rock and roll, even though it’s not really a rock ‘n’ roll music channel. On one hand, they’ll play Kansas, then the Stones, then Prince, then someone else. But when it comes right down to being a great radio station, I’d say it’s the best radio station in America because of the extremes – from Rodney Dangerfield videos and Ramones to Public Image and Motorhead. For better or worse, they do play some good stuff.

The Local: What happened to your last drummer Marky? Why was he replaced?

Joey Ramone: He was over. He had this bad thirst he couldn’t quite thirst.

The Local: How is Richie the new drummer working out?

Joey Ramone: Oh, he’s great. I think he saved the band as far as I’m concerned. He’s the greatest thing to happen to the Ramones. He put the spirit back in the band.

The Local: Will he be taking the surname Ramone? He’s been mentioned in the press as Richie Beau.

Joey Ramone: The way I would look at it, I think the band’s really the three of us – myself, John and Dee Dee – and after these constant drummer changes,…you know. I think he’s a real Ramone.

The Local: Any other new plans?

Joey Ramone: I’ll be doing a solo album of my own this year. I’m writing for a magazine. John Holmes has got a new punk magazine called Start. It’s sort of a cultural magazine, but it’s a little different. It’s not a rock magazine. It’s sort of a multi-media type magazine. The first issue comes out in January and it’ll be international. And the Ramones have a newsletter now. It’s available at the moment. It’s got behind the scenes info, interviews, tour dates, bios, and all kinds of stuff. It’s really good. It’s put together by fans who really care, who really want to see us make it. And it’s free. It’s not really a fan club. It’s real honest. The thing is that the way it’s starting up now, they’re putting up their own money to put it out. It’s not funded by the band, though I feel at some point it should be compensated for. They just feel so strongly that they really wanted to do something. They didn’t see anybody else doing it. The band doesn’t have a fan club, and so they wanted to do it. It feels amazing, ’cause they work at day jobs, and the money they earn, they’re using it to print it up and fill the demand. I haven’t met them yet. I just speak to them all the time on the telephone. It’s monthly and it’s called Headbanger. It’s good.

The Local: Are there any definite plans for the next album you can talk about?

Joey Ramone: It’s going to be different. It’s real exciting. It’s called ‘Too Tough to Die.’ Not like any Ramones album. It’ll be the best Ramones album yet. It’s going to be totally diverse. It’s going to have some hardcore, some traditional Ramones, a touch of metal, Jerry Lee Lewis-type songs.

The Local: Who is producing your next record?

Joey Ramone: Our original drummer Tommy Erdelyi and one of our original producers Ed Stasium. You know – put the old spirit back in. Not that we lost it, but it’s sort of a reunion. Also, ’84 makes it ten years, so it’ll be like a real reunion.

The Local: It’s great to see that you haven’t lost hope of having that one big radio hit.

Joey Ramone: Well, I think we’re the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. I mean, it’s very frustrating at times. We’re the only band that kept the guts, and kept the excitement, and kept the belief, you know. We never side-tracked. We never went the way of the Clash, and never wanted to get into the discotheques that bad. It’s bullshit. Even now, with Mick Jones gone from The Clash, I don’t know what the fuck they’re going to do anyway. As far as I’m concerned, he was the band.

The Local: Are you still doing the bulk of writing in the band?

Joey Ramone: Well, no – it seems to be broken up now. I always have written mainly by myself. Although I’d like to write someday with Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. I’m a huge fan and I feel he’s still got it in him. He wrote all those great songs before. He just needs someone to pull it out of him. On our new album, it’s just going to be about split on the writing. Even John’s writing with Dee Dee. Richie’s writing. He’s written some great things lately. I guess we’ve got about 12 songs now, and we’ll decide what’s best and that’s what will be on the next record. We start in February ’84 and hopefully it’ll be out by that spring.

The Local: You should personally write more ballads. They’ve always sounded so honest. They’re not syrupy ballads, but they always leave a heart-wrenching impression. ‘I Want You Around’ (from ‘Rock and Roll High School’) is just so open and honest and a beautiful song. And ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’ is amazing.

Joey Ramone: I don’t personally like sappy, wimpy bullshit from other artists. I like things from the gut. I write and it just comes out. I don’t say, ‘I’ll try to write about this.’ I mean… (smiles) you just know when it’s right.

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