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Jun. 13, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SOUNDING OFF: Las Vegans keep Ramones' spirit alive

David Divine didn't know whether to be frightened or thrilled. The Ramones will do that to a kid.

"I think I was about 7 when I saw the 'Road to Ruin' album cover in Hit Parader, and it was just kind of weird and scary and it made me want to hear it," the singer recalls of the Ramones' fourth LP. "Then I did, and I had all that stuff stuck in my tape player for years." The guy sitting next to him in the bright red work shirt with the leopard print collar can relate.

"I remember I had a Ramones cassette tape in school. I'd sneak and listen to 'I Wanna Be Sedated' while I was in class," guitarist Kurt Frohlich chuckles, drinking beer and poking at a Buick-sized cobb salad at the Peppermill.

With their denim and leather dress code and curt, catchy tunes, the Ramones' appeal was that they made everyone feel like they could be in a band -- be it a heavily tattooed kid from Cleveland, where Divine hails from, or a long-haired rocker from Alberta, Canada, like Frohlich.

Divine and Frohlich may have taken different routes to Vegas, but they share a common end: keeping the music of the Ramones alive.

Together with bassist Devin Harkell, a big dude with slicked-back hair and the sleeves rolled up on a vintage Iggy Pop T-shirt, the three serve as drummer Marky Ramone's backing band, playing Ramones classics the world over.

Divine first met Marky when the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Divine played an impromptu show of Ramones hits with Marky at the Rock Hall, and he's been Marky's frontman ever since.

"I was scared to death the first few times I did it," Divine says of tackling the Ramones catalog live. "It's basically conveying the energy instead of trying to stand there and imitate -- that would just be silly."

Divine moved to Vegas last summer, where he met up with Frohlich and Harkell, who had relocated from Vancouver with their band the Underground Rebels in the late '90s.

"We starved there, man," Frohlich sighs of his former stomping grounds.

"I remember our drummer would get up in the morning and go to the church where they gave away food, because we couldn't even afford to buy groceries," Harkell says.

"You can be a musician here and you can survive," Frohlich adds. In addition to the Underground Rebels, Frohlich and Harkell make the rounds in Brit rock cover band the Limey Bar Stewards and Kiss tribute act Black Diamond.

Divine would sometimes join the Rebels onstage for Ramones songs, and two months ago, when Marky needed a new backing band, Divine enlisted Frohlich and Harkell. They're set to make their Vegas debut at the Celebrity on June 29, and will head out for a short tour after that, playing European festivals later this summer.

"It's really special," Frohlich says, his grin shining like the Peppermill's mirrored ceiling. "To get to play with Marky Ramone, how many people get to say that?"

Jason Bracelin's "Sounding Off" column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at 383-0476 or e-mail him at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com.