Down the street from a pumpkin patch in the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz is the rehearsal space for The Wild Ones, Santa Cruz’s all-girl lo-fi rockers. Young, tattooed and awesome, the girls are huddled outside smoking, cracking a tall libation, and excited about their upcoming Halloween show at The Crepe Place, where they will be dressed as and play songs by The Ramones. “The Wild Ones love old garage rock like The Sonics, old surf rock and old all-girl groups,” says Rachael, the band’s drummer-turned-guitarist, who will be channeling Johnny Ramone on Oct. 31.
“[It’s] the easiest costume ever,” she says. “Ripped jeans, sneakers, white shirt, lots of hair and a leather jacket.” Like their CBGB doppelgangers, The Wild Ones are known only by their first names; Hilary (Dee Dee Ramone) plays bass, Belle (Joey Ramone) rocks the guitar, and Marisa (Marky Ramone/Richie Ramone) mans the drums. Last year, Belle and Rachael celebrated All Hallows’ Eve dressed as space babes a la Barbarella, but this time around, they’re going punk, with a capital “P.” Bummer City, The Groggs and Phantom Pains will also adopt alter-egos for the Crepe Place show, morphing into Television, The Kinks, and The Cramps, respectively. Part way through the show, Rachael and Marisa will team up with Bummer City to help bring Television to life. Dressing up for shows is half the fun for The Wild Ones. “We would love to be sponsored by Haribo gummy candy—we would wear Haribo shirts for a lifetime supply,” Hilary says. “We would love to drive a gummy bus, and they should make Wild Ones gummies—although, they would all be sour.” Until then, The Wild Ones will just have to put all their energy into their new album, which they just finished recording. Keep an ear out for it, and a new all-girl garage band vinyl release compilation featuring a few of their songs.
INFO: 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6694.

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“ON THE ROAD WITH THE RAMONES”.
Throughout the remarkable twenty-two-year career of the Ramones the seminal punk rock band, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers and Recording Academy Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Monte A. Melnick saw it all. He was the band’s tour manager from their 1974 CBGB debut to their final show in 1996. Now, in this NEW UPDATED EDITION he tells his story. Full of insider perspectives and exclusive interviews and packed with over 250 personal color photos and images; this is a must-have for all fans of the Ramones.