Marky Ramone: Conservatives had no place at Ramones shows

I wish President Obama would listen to punk rock music. It might give him more of an aura of an ass-kicker. I called up Marky Ramone and asked the punk deity if he feels the same way.

“Definitely,” Ramone said. “I don’t think he should have caved into a lot of things. Like other presidents before him, he should have used the veto pen more.”

You can ask Ramone — one of the last living Ramones — your own questions about punk and politics if you go meet him at Barnes & Noble, 2192 N. Rainbow Blvd., starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Ramone will be there autographing copies of his autobiography, “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone.”

In his memoirs, Ramone talks about his own rehab, Dee Dee Ramone’s drug-taking, and Johnny Ramone’s right-wing politics.

I told Ramone I thought it was funny he equates one band member’s drug habits to another band member’s Republicanism.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Ramone said. “(Johnny Ramone) was Mr. Ronald Reagan. And he thanks George Bush at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What did George Bush have to do with our career, you know what I mean? That was his last stab at the liberal music way of life in this business.”

Then I said: To be a punk rocker, you don’t have to belong to a certain political party — but to be a conservative seems to be very weird.

Ramone: Exactly. I would say 99 percent of conservatives who would have come to our show and saw us, they wouldn’t have liked us at all.

Elfman: The main ethos of punk rock is “Anti-Authority” or “Question Everything.” And that doesn’t jibe with any current or past administration, really.

Ramone: Yep. At this point, we just have a two-party system, and in my opinion, it’s all the same. … I was very happy Obama won. He seems to want to do good things, but he gets stifled by the Republicans.

Elfman: I always thought Mario Cuomo had some punk rock in him.

Ramone: He was cool. He was good. If his son runs for president, as opposed to Hillary (Clinton), I would vote for him. They’re very similar, the father and the son.

Elfman: Speaking of politics, I saw Fox News’ headline about your book, that Sting was a “jerk.”

Ramone: Oh yeah, he was. He comes over to America. We wanted to make them (The Police, Sting’s band) feel comfortable in our country, so we went to the dressing room, and he criticized all our military gear, the stuff we wore on our coats. He goes, “Where’d you get those, at Woolworth?” With his class-English way of speaking. We said, “(Expletive) you, a———.” The guy was just looking for some kind of trouble. And, uh, (expletive) him.

Elfman: These two-minute or three-minute songs you do, that should be the template every band should be doing, because every pop song is twice as long as it should be.

Ramone: Yeah, you’ve gotta have a hook, you gotta have cool verses, cool lyrical content, a really cool bridge, and then you end it after two minutes and 10 seconds. … The Ramones appealed to youth with their energy and lyrical content, and that’s why it evolves the longevity of the group.

‘DOUG ELFMAN SHOW’

You can listen to the new episode of my “Doug Elfman Show” by searching for it on iTunes and Android apps, like Podcast Addict.

This week, Dayvid Figler (lawyer, writer, former judge) tells a touching story about his late father; discusses the state of writing in Vegas; and then he makes a pitch for propositions to be placed on the 2016 ballot to make Nevada a better place to live, including misdemeanors for wayward police.

A NEW UNDERWEAR RACE IN LV

If you have been dreaming of running around the streets in your underwear, “Cupid’s Undie Run” is coming to Las Vegas.

On Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), extroverts in undies will run a scantily dressed little course (one mile), with the starting point being downtown’s Commonwealth bar.

This is, like most things these days, a charity event. It benefits the Children’s Tumor Foundation, helping those with neurofibromatosis.

Race tickets cost $35-$50 For more information, check cupidsundierun.com. Whatever you do, please don’t post photos of yourself in your underwear on Twitter and tag me (@VegasAnonymous) in an effort to get me to retweet you. Please no. I’m serious. (@VegasAnonymous).

CELEBS LOVE VEGAS CES MONEY

Celebrities are cashing unknown large sums of money to rent their names to tech companies during events in Las Vegas for the International CES.

Who is representing whom at booths and presentations during the TV, tablet, phone, hardware, software and auto extravaganza?

Nick Cannon: “Entertainment Matters at CES,” a CES program. He also DJs Tuesday at 1 Oak nightclub in The Mirage.

50 Cent: SMS Audio.

Will.i.am: Beats by Dre party Thursday at Light nightclub in Mandalay Bay.

“Biggest Loser” trainer Dolvett Quince: Brookstone.

DJ Tiesto: Audiofly.

Snowboarder Xavier de Le Rue: Hexo+ camera, which he co-founded.

“Battlestar Galactica’s” Tricia Helfer: Elektrobit Automotive.

NBA ballers Clyde Drexler, Calvin Murphy and Adonal Foyle: ZTE Corp.

Physicist/futurist Dr. Michio Kahu: Toyota.

Speaking at various events: Ryan Seacrest, Dr. Phil, Neil Young, “Project Runway’s” Nick Verreos, skateboarders Josh Kalis and Maders Apse, and Jon Hein of Howard Stern’s “Wrap-up Show.”

What do you think they’re all banking? And if you hear of any private parties, let me know at @VegasAnonymous.

Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.