Happy Birthday, Joey Ramone!

As many of you know, I'm a huge Ramones fan.  If you didn't know, this should be a dead giveaway: my freakin' air name is Ramone!  Ramone isn't my real name, do you think my Jewish mother would have given me such a silly name.  I got the name because I'm a huge Ramones fan.  My friend Tom calls me a  "rabid Ramones fan," which is pretty damn accurate.  As much as I love the Ramones, it's Joey who I connect with the most.  Joey was a tortured individual who bared his soul every time he sang.  Take a song like "Poison Heart."  If you listen really closely, you can see inside the man's soul.  Joey used to close all of his shows by thanking the audience and saying, "adios amigos."  Sound familiar?

On April 15, 2001, Joey lost his battle with cancer.  I will never be able to see Joey perform, and on rainy nights after I've had a few to drink, I get really depressed.

In 2012, Joey's second posthumous solo album, "Ya Know" came out and Ya Know what, it's freaking awesome.  Joey Ramone releases better albums dead than most artists do alive.

Today is Joey's birthday and I'd like to raise my glass and wish the king of punk rock a happy birthday.