RAMONES LOUD?

[Tim Mayock]

I got to see the RAMONES maybe 6 times in the 80's. These were shows that were unlike anything else.

The shows began with a smoky dark stage, a wall of amps, a drumset a single mike and stand. Their image really was bad ass. They were Fast, quick between songs and not really long. My favorite part was the absence of wanking guitar solos.

 

NOT PAINFULLY LOUD. It was this wall of thick sound that didn't leave you with ringing ears or maybe not for very long. Somebody really knew what they were doing in this way.

 

I ran sound at this time for a punk, skitz-rock band called Billy and the Buttons. They were a talented group of sort of misfits. They went against the grain of the overdone blues or metal you could see in local clubs.

 

They played small rooms where i could never make the same thing happen. my system evolved to have the horsepower to compete but i could not bring myself to. It seemed like it would require mixing above a reasonable loud.

 

I saw John Lydon PIL once and that was really loud. The mix hurt peoples ears. It was the most extreme volume i experienced. To me it really distracted from the show.

 

I think local musical performances in general, are too loud, have too many notes and are too long. There is value in considering these parts of your show. Practice your rests!

Thoughts?

[kurfu]

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Yep... Careful with the mid and upper mid-range freqs - that's where it hurts. Think of the sound of a circular saw cutting in to a 2x4 - that's the range to go easy on if you want loud, but not painful.

[JM350]

I went to Ramones shows many times back in the day. The volume was way beyond anything that could be called reasonable but I know what you are saying about the sound.

 

Considering what the SPL level must have been we should all be deaf now but the high frequencies were pretty well under control. You really felt the sound because the levels were so amazingly high but there wasn't the kind of fatigue that should have been associated with that kind of quantity of sound. It did however have my ears ringing a few times and I remember once the ringing did continue into the next day. I started wearing plugs after that.

[blue2blue]

Don't underestimate the almost body-wide fatigue that can be produced by hammering low frequencies. In extreme circumstances, very low, very loud sounds can actually damage one's internal organs.

 

I saw PIL in LA their first major tour and, while the big problem was folks who apparently thought they were going to be seeing the Pistols (one of whom was seated next to me but somehow managed to survive the evening anyway, due in large part to my preternatural forbearance), I do recall the sound being brutal. (Seems like it was the Olympic auditorium, where the sound was always brutal.)

 

 

I can tell you that, in LA, the first and second wave punk bands (basically the ones that popped up between '75 and 79) had tinky little sound systems and the venues were a mixed bag. Everything was distorted, for sure, but mostly because everyone was pushing their tinky gear as far as it could go. It was not uncommon to see bands using guitar amps (and even a home stereo once) as PAs. These were, by and large, artists, bohos, and outsiders, and most of them bailed before -- or because -- punk started getting popular and turning into a set of cliche, cookie-cutter costumes, attitudes, and poses. I remember the day in the 80s I was wandering bemused through some suburban mall and realized there were chain stores devoted to selling off the rack punk regalia. Of course, by that time, punk rock shows were big money affairs and, by and large, professionally run. [All those coke and ecstasy profits had to go somewhere.]

[Tim Mayock]

I guess the Ramones were pretty loud, but somehow it did not bother me. Around that time I went to see The Blasters, Dave Edmunds, NRBQ and Los Lobos. All still really loud shows. I thought it would have been un-cool to wear earplugs back then, or that I would be missing something. I think I would have liked those shows more if I had. I still forget to bring earplugs to some shows and regret it.

I wonder how much loud, {censored}ty sound has affected the death of bands in bars.

The band I play in uses the Bose line array system today. I just love it for what it is and for what we do.

I ask people about our sound, but don

[alcohol]

I never liked the Ramones, thought they were boring, although, "I Want to be Sedated" gets a nod of appreciation. I like guitar solos and I don't think any one person's likes or dislikes needs to determine what's good or bad.

[Tim Mayock]

Thanks for responding Joe, I am starting another thread about that.

[Instrospection]

The Ramones were great--they did what they did very well. I didn't quite get what they were doing for a long time....I thought that they were a joke, and they always seemed to be there on the fringe, because as a kid, I was aware of the Ramones' name. Love 'em now....wish that I could have seen them live. I think that I probably didn't really dig 'em because by the time that i'd heard them by about 1989 or so, Dee Dee was onto his rap project, and the band wasn't really relevant anymore in their sound or influence....'82/'83, in hindsight, seemed to be the end of the band from a spiritual standpoint, and certainly "End Of The Century" rubbed Johnny in all kinds of wrong ways.

[Jimbroni]

Well the Ramones were a joke. You either get it or you don't.

 

For me Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin are my favs.

 

As far as sound goes, they were LOUD and fun as hell live. However, I suspect the reason perhaps you don't get the ice pick in forehead thing is due to the content of the music. No screachy solos, no screachy vocals, Pretty straight drum beats with no major stadium rock cymbal crashes.

[Kerouac]

R.A.M.O.N.E.S RAMONES!