The other day, I'm sitting at home watching The Ramones documentary, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones and it brought back some of my own memories involving two members of the Ramones and this week's Sneak of the Week, The Nike Air Flight 91. Pure high-top hotness, the Air Flight 91 was most notably worn by Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls, I believe it was his signature shoe. However, it reminds me, more specifically, of the time when Dee Dee Ramone told me he made a rap record...

I first met Dee Dee in the office of his management company Overland. I would see him in Washington Square Park all the time, I wouldn't say we were friends but he recognized me and we always said hello. When Dee Dee quit The Ramones he decided that he was gonna go in another direction musically. He changed his name to D.D. King, started wearing bootleg Gucci shirts and shit. Somehow someone gave him the money to make a record.The first time he told me he was making a rap record I thought he was kiddin. He was like, "You're gonna really dig it!" I thought he was trying to speak "black" to me but if you knew Dee Dee, even a little bit, you knew he wasn't being offensive he was just trying to be friendly. "Yeah man, I got Debbie(Harry) to sing the hook on my single German Kid". He told me. When I finally realized he was being serious I was really confused, I knew why Debbie Harry would do it but I couldn't figure out why anyone would put money into it.

In New York at the time there was this station 92.7 WDRE (the new wave station) and every week they had a featured song called the Shriek of the Week which just meant it was the most requested. Wanting to get the song played on the radio, Dee Dee asked me, and these two Polish girls I went to school with, to come to his apartment and continuously call the radio station until he won. I had always thought he lived in the city but he was actually living in Bayside Queens. In light of all the racial attacks on black dudes walking alone in primarily Italian areas at the time, there was no fucking way I was going out to Bayside, especially with two white girls.The girls did end up going out there though, and called and called and called. I called a few times from home but probably not as much as they did and even though the song was terrible it did manage to win the Shriek of the Week.

I think he sold maybe about 2.5 to 3 records. I didn't see him for a while after that, but one day in the lobby of his manager's building I ran into him. He thanked me and seemed sort of normal but upon my return, from a nearby Blimpies, all I could hear in the office was him screaming "WHERE'S MY FUCKIN MONEY GARY?!? I WANT MY FUCKIN MONEY!!" over and over again until security came and literally dragged him out of the building kicking and screaming. I felt so bad for him. I didnt seem after that until one day in the park I spotted him 10 feet away from me walking with a cane looking fucking terrible. I figured he was back on the dope. I started to walk up to him but didn't figuring he would rant and rave about how The Ramones fucked him out of money and I didn't want to hear it. That was the last time I saw him and the shoes were brand new.

My other Ramones related memory was the time I went to see Gwar with Joey Ramone at The Ritz (not the one that is now Webster Hall but the one that used to be Studio 54). It was my first time ever seeing Gwar. We were in the balcony VIP section far away from the pit and no one wanted to go down by the stage which I couldn't quite figure out. If you've never seen Gwar then you are seriously fucking up. There's a character called The Sexecutioner for Christ's sake. They put Jerry Springer in a fucking meat grinder and shot blood all over the crowd, then the sexecutioner gets ass raped by Oderus Urungus and he shoots a like 50 foot stream of fake semen everywhere. It was amazing. Joey says to me "what are you doing up here? you hafta see it from down there to really get the experience." I figured he was right but I felt like he was trying to trick me. So I went down into the pit and went apeshit, the bloodbath ensued and by the time all was said and done I was soaked in fake blood. Everything was cool until after the show when the lights came on and I was fucking PURPLE. Joey saw me and starting laughing hysterically. I think there was some green on mein places too.

I had a two hour ride back to Rockaway Queens covered in purple shit on the A train. It was totally humiliating. Motherfuckers pointing and laughing at me, cracking jokes and shit. As for the Nike Air Flight 91, well lets just say they were ruined. Joey and Dee Dee were awesome dudes. Joey never made you feel like you were with an icon, he was just a dude from Queens in rose colored glasses.

The Air Flight/Pippen is being re-released in the same color I originally had them along with the white/red and the black/white.

Considered them shits copped.