THE NEW ROCHELLES: Ramonescore A Go Go

by Jim Testa

The New Rochelles are the lastest in a long line of Ramonescore bands that take the spirit and catchy riffs of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy and make something fun and new from the same basic ingredients. We checked in with Ronnie, Ricky, and Rookie Rochelle after thoroughly enjoying their debut CD, It's New.

Q: So where are you guys from, and what’s with the name The New Rochelles?

Ronnie Rochelle: We’re from outer space. Most of our abductions and probings come from the town New Rochelle.

Ricky Rochelle: See Ronnie Rochelle's answer.

Rookie Rochelle: I am from here. Where that is, I don’t know. We are not the old Rochelles.

Q: Do you remember what you were doing the first time you heard the Ramones? Describe the experience.

Ronnie Rochelle: I don’t remember, probably eating pizza or playing with matches.

Ricky Rochelle: I was sitting in my Dad's car the first time I heard the Ramones. He turned me on to them. The experience are Jimi Hendrix's band.

Rookie Rochelle: Pinhead was playing while I was being born.

Q: You seem very fond of colorful expressions like wingnut, skunkape, stinkeye, and so on. What do you call each other when you're mad or someone farts in the van?

Ronnie Rochelle: My recent favorite expressions are: half a retard, orangutan, hipster scum.

Ricky Rochelle: "Angry farting guy."

Rookie Rochelle: Ricky is the angry farting guy. His farts smell like puke.

Q: If the Ramones were in a fistfight with the Misfits, who would win, and why?

Ronnie Rochelle: The Ramones, because half of them would be zombies.

Ricky Rochelle: The Ramones would win because the Misfits don't even know who is in their band anymore.

Rookie Rochelle: I think Danzig would knock Marky’s whig right off his head, but Richie, Tommy, CJ, Elvis and Gil Ramone would all come to his rescue.

Q: Carbona or glue?

Ronnie Rochelle: Ronnie Rochelle does not endorse sniffing any drugs.

Ricky Rochelle: Carbona not glue.

Rookie Rochelle: I prefer paint and roach spray.

Q: Name five things you'd buy if you got signed to Epic Records like the Dictators

Ronnie Rochelle: What’s Epic Records? And who are The Dictators? But if you’re asking what I’d buy with a lot of money, I’d buy pizza and cheap beer and a few packs of baseball cards.

Ricky Rochelle: Pizza, beer, studio time, season tickets to the NY Jets, and a wild night to party with our friends.

Rookie Rochelle: 1. Pizza 2. Pizza 3. Pizza 4. Pizza 5. Pizza

Q: What does the number 27 really represent?

Ronnie Rochelle: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Ricky Rochelle: The world may never know.

Rookie Rochelle: The amount of fish that Ronnie Rochelle caught last night?

Q: A serious question: Do you think pop punk has lost some of the energy it had a few years ago, or is the genre still viable? And do you mind big commercial bands like Blink 182 or New Found Glory being called "pop punk," or should that name be reserved for underground bands?

Ronnie Rochelle: Pop punk as a genre has really taken a lot of bands, and a lot of band’s styles under its wing. Personally, I don’t think its a terrible thing. Maybe some percker canary that has never heard of ramonescore will get to hear it for the first time.

Ricky Rochelle: Pop punk hasn't lost it's energy. It's lost its mainstream popularity though. It's viable only in the right environment. There's no reason the term "pop punk" should be reserved for underground bands.

Rookie Rochelle: Its just music to me. Call it what you will.

For more, visit thenewrochelles.com