R.I.P. Arturo Vega, artistic director for The Ramones
June 9th, 2013 | By admin
Photo credit: Jenny Lens
resto, mi querido y viejo amigo. Rest, my dear old friend. He was there, almost from the very beginning, in 1974, creating unique images for the band with a precise understanding of their concept. Giving them everything he had to give, including lodging in his home. He was the first person to join me in helping the Ramones get on the road, when they couldn’t afford to pay anyone.. We loaded, and unloaded their equipment together- then I worked the stage, and he worked the stage-lights. We crunched ourselves into crevices in the van between guitar and road cases, trying to catch some sleep on those long rides. If we were lucky we got to share a bed. That was in the beginning. I left, and he went on to do so much for that band. NO ONE in that organization took better care of my brother– and he continued to do so, until the end. I’m devestated at his loss.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/06/r-i-p-arturo-vega-artistic-director-for-the-ramones=/
Musician/author Mickey Leigh was born in 1954 and raised in the Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills, New York City. His career as a guitarist/vocalist/songwriter began in the 5th grade at the age of 10 when he formed his first band, The Overdose Of Sound. He was 12 when he recorded his first studio record with his second band, Purple Majesty (with his older brother Jeff acting as producer), and began playing shows in clubs in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. By the age of 14, Mickey was playing in a band and recording with 21 year old musicians John Cummings, and Tommy Erdelyi. (John, Tommy, neighbor Doug Colvin, and Mickey’s remarkably talented older brother Jeff, were later to become Johnny, Tommy, and Joey Ramone, after forming the world famous Ramones)...