Play Bass Like a Ramone

Bassist CJ Ramone, who played with the Ramones from 1989 to 1996, at first suffered some physical challenges when it came to trying to play live with the legendary punk band.

“It was definitely something completely outside what I had done before,”he recalled. “I was always a finger player. I always felt most comfortable playing with my fingers, but once I was in the process of learning all their songs--I knew, of course, after being a fan for years that they only did downpicking. So when I picked up the bass and started to do all of that downpicking, it was immediately clear to me that I did not have the stamina to be able to do it.”

After abusing his forearm and turning his hand into a self-proclaimed “bloody stump,” CJ knew he had to figure something out in order to get himself to the required level.

Watch the video to find out some of the tricks he unearthed over time to master playing bass with the Ramones.