Tag Archives: Autograph

Johnny Ramone’s Mosrite Guitar Goes Up for Auction

Johnny Ramones Guitar
Pictured: Johnny Ramone’s Personally-Owned and Stage-Used 1965 Mosrite Ventures V1 Guitar

Johnny Ramone’s Mosrite Guitar will be featured at a live auction event by Boston, MA based RR Auction this month. The personally-owned and used red 1965 Mosrite Ventures V1 guitar is signed on the body in black felt tip, “Best always, Johnny Ramone, 5/22/90.”

The six-string guitar features several modifications Ramone made to make the guitar fit his sound and style, the most significant being the replacement of the tremolo system with a stop bar tailpiece and installation of a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup, as well as a tortoiseshell pickguard. Included in the sale, is the original hardshell case.

This is a rare instrument in its own right, and the only red guitar or Ventures Model 1 that Ramone owned; it was in his possession for at least seven years, from circa 1982–83 until he sold it in 1990; the first photographic evidence of Ramone playing the guitar comes from a show at the Eagle’s Hippodrome in Seattle on May 5, 1983. Johnny most often used this guitar for TV appearances and it can be seen up-close during a 1988 performance on MTV.

In 1990, Ramone sold this guitar to friend and former Ramones band driver Gene Frawley, signing and dating it on the occasion. A subsequent owner later personally confirmed the ownership details with Ramone, who acknowledged that he owned and used the guitar throughout the 1980s before selling it to Frawley.

“This is one of just nine Mosrite guitars owned by Ramone known to exist — an exceedingly rare and historically important piece of music history,” says Bobby Livingston, Exec VP at RR Auction.

Johnny Ramone was a founding member of the seminal punk band that broke onto the New York music scene in 1974. Johnny was known for his fast, high-energy guitar playing. His style almost exclusively consisted of rapid down strokes and bar chord shapes. This unique playing style and buzz saw-like sound of Johnny’s guitar parts was highly influential on many early punk rock guitarists and keeps him listed on numerous top lists of the greatest guitar players. Johnny Ramone died in his Los Angeles home on September 15, 2004 at the age of 55 after a five-year battle with prostate cancer.

The Johnny Ramone guitar will be part of a special live auction event, featuring nearly 150 items, that will take place on January 22nd, 2015 at RR Auction’s Boston Gallery, but Online Bidding begins January 15th, More details can be found online at RR Auction Dot Com.

Pink Thing of The Day: Neal Smith Vintage Premier Drum Ad!

Neal Smith Pink Premier Ad
Image Courtesy of Neal Smith

Currently Up for Auction on eBay: This vintage (circa 1973) Premier Drum Ad ran in all of the popular music magazines during the global Billion Dollar Babies tour featuring the original band called Alice Cooper. This Ad is signed personally by R&R Hall Of Fame inductee, drummer Neal Smith and is surely a very rare piece of Seventies Glam Rock History. The Auction runs through Monday December 9th, 2013.

Michael Riedel’s Powerpoint at David Zwirner Gallery

Michael Riedel Powerpoint
All Photos by Gail

In my own words, I would describe German artist Michael Riedel’s Powerpoint as repetitive, minimalist geometric designs on large canvases, mounted on wallpaper mimicking the same design. As far as how he came up with these specific images, however, and what it all “means,” I admit I couldn’t really get my head around it. Here’s an explanation from the show’s press release:

“Since the late 1990s, Michael Riedel has advanced his own model of a self-sustaining artistic production, continuously using reproductions as a means to “reintroduce the system of art into the art system.”

Continue reading Michael Riedel’s Powerpoint at David Zwirner Gallery

It’s a Contest: Win a Signed Copy of Neal Smith’s New CD, Killsmith 2!


Win This CD Signed By Neal Smith of Alice Cooper!

After the great success of our first-ever Zombie Magnet give away last month, we are having another contest with an even better prize! This time we are giving away a signed copy of KillSmith Two, the new solo project from R&R Hall Of Fame inductee, drummer Neal Smith of Alice Cooper fame. All you have to do is become a New Fan of the Worley Gig on FaceBook by visiting This Link or scrolling down and clicking “Like” on the FaceBook Fan Page Widget located along the right hand margin of the Blog’s Home Page (Please note: just clicking “Like” on this post will not enter you into the contest). It’s so easy! The KillSmith Two contest will run until Midnight of Black Friday, November 25th and the winner will be announced two weeks from today! So, good luck, get clicking, and win!

Kiss Sign Fan’s Prosthetic Leg!


Image Source

On This Date, August 8th in 1996: Kiss was performing at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on their reunion tour when a fan threw a prosthetic leg onstage. The band signed the limb and handed it back to the fan. Rock & Roll!