NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The annual Joey Ramone Birthday bash is set to take place on Tuesday, May 19th at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. As a part of the the 9th annual bash, fans will be have a chance to preview an advance release of rough mixes of never-before-heard solo recordings by Joey Ramone. Various producers, including long-time Ramones producer Ed Stasium, are currently preparing tracks for a full album worth of material, slated for posthumous release at the end of the year.
Headliners at this year's event will be Fishbone and Supersuckers and the event will conclude with with The Friends Of Joey featuring Richie Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jean Beauvoir, Ivan Julian, George Tabb, Al Maddy and Mickey Leigh. Also appearing are Death and Rough Francis (both bands were the subject of a feature story in the New York Times on March 12), Uncle Monk (featuring Tommy Ramone), Bebe Buell, and Tom Clark & The High Action Boys. As the audience enters the venue they will once again be greeted by musician Tracy Thornton, playing Ramones songs on the steel drum and, in what has become a Birthday Bash tradition, Sean O'Sullivan's Punk Pipers will round out the night on the bagpipes. The fete will be emceed by Matt Pinfield and Peter Aschner.
Joey Ramone passed away in 2001 after a seven-year battle with lymphoma. Ramone had a history of promoting developing artists in New York's music scene at his "Joey Ramone Presents" events. Since his passing, , his brother and their mother Charlotte Lesher carried on the tradition "by featuring bands that make great music and getting together some of Joey’s friends to celebrate him on what would otherwise be a sad, somber day," Leigh explained. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
