The Tim “Napalm” Stegall Substack Interview: Ramones tour manager Monte A. Melnick (Part Three)
The man who kept Joey/Johnny/Dee Dee/Tommy/Marky/CJ’s train running on time elaborates on how the “Johnny Appleseeds of punk” made most of their money from merch.
Photoshop of Ramones tour manager Monte A. Melnick (center) with every Ramone: (l-r) Clem “Elvis Ramone” Burke, Richie, Dee Dee, Tommy, Monte, Marky, Joey, Johnny and CJ. (Pic courtesy Monte A. Melnick)
It’s Saturday Night as I write this. No, I ain’t got a fever. I just have a fistful of Ritz crackers and natural peanut butter, the new Fake Names disc streaming, and my ChromeBook for company.
Been a hectic week, keeping up my normal workload, plus beginning work on this new book that I’m still not allowed to openly discuss. It took a physical toll. This is the first day I’ve not been wracked with aches and extreme mental fatigue, which told me I am still dealing with some post-COVID complications – the lethargy, the lessened mental sharpness. I find myself in conversation struggling to find my words these days. It’s not fun.
Something had to give. It was unfortunately the ‘Stack.
All I could manage to finish was Monte A. Melnick Part 2. Which did not please me. I committed to three ‘Stack posts per week as part of my normal workload, plus 5 pages per day on the book. The pages are getting done. But nothing else – ‘Stackwise – is, and I am a wreck.
I am trying to break up the workday: Alternating writing a book page, then putting it aside to complete one of my other daily tasks. I am hoping this staves off the fatigue and burn out.
Meantime, may I thank you, my loyal subscribers, for your support? It’s true the paying subscribers most directly keep my work here going, subsidizing the free stuff, the exclusive stuff behind the paywall, and keeping the wolves at bay. It’s very much appreciated. But all subscribers are important, including those choosing the free option. I understand not everyone can find room in their budgets for it. But I am glad you’re here.
Nevertheless, I did try to see how many would upgrade to paying status to read what Monte had to say last week. I got plenty more free subscribers instead, and one paying customer dropping her sub!
Blink blink It’s enough to make me wonder if it’s my writing or the Ramones that you hate?
On second thought, don’t answer that! But if you can afford to upgrade to five dollars per month (less on an annual sub), maybe bring a brown bag lunch to work one day a month to get all this quality writing and cultural analysis from a punk perspective? It would be great. Soon paid subscribers can read Captain Sensible talking about The Damned’s new Darkadelic album and the real reason he could not tour the U.S. last year, plus The Clash’s Paul Simonon discussing his new duo, Galen and Paul. They will also get to read chapters from my first novel, Every Father Kills His Son. Think about it.
But enough of my pleading. I get it – as Fat Mike put it when interviewed in a recent episode of the BrooklynVegan podcast concerning the Punk Rock Museum he recently opened in Las Vegas: “Generally, if you ask people for money, they don’t want to give it to you.” It’s high time I shut up, except when asking Monte A. Melnick questions. When we last left off, the Ramones’ career-long tour manager was explaining how JohnnyJoeyDeeDeeTommyMarkyRichieCJ made most of their money from the merchandising operation lighting director/graphic designer Arturo Vega set up, seeing as how Ramones record sales weren’t exactly the best.
Joey (l) and Dee Dee Ramone (r) flank the late Arturo Vega (c), the man who designed the Ramones’ shield as well as much of their iconography. He was their lighting director, and set up the merchandising operation that built their fortune. For more info, click here.
MONTE: And they weren’t making a huge amount of money with their (live gig) fees. They were okay, some of them. But the bulk of the money they made over the years because they weren’t selling a lot of albums was from merchandise, especially t-shirts. Arturo Vega was the main man behind that. He really got into that, and then eventually got a percentage of that. Boy, I really wish I stuck my finger in that! [laughs]