Formed in 1986 by acerbic front man Ben Weasel, Screeching Weasel immediately set out to provoke. In their early days the band was known as much for Weasel’s on-stage diatribes and battles with audience members as their music, but with the release of 1991’s My Brain Hurts they helped to usher in the pop-punk explosion, and have remained at the forefront of the genre ever since. In a career punctuated by internal friction and break-ups, to say nothing of their run-ins with promoters, label owners, other musicians and the press, Screeching Weasel has inspired countless bands with their infectious, hook-laden songs; Blink-182 and the All-American Rejects cite Screeching Weasel as an influence and Green Day’s Mike Dirnt (who played on the band’s 1994 How To Make Enemies And Irritate People) sports a Weasel head tattoo on his arm.

Ben Weasel, the only remaining original member and the only constant amidst dozens of lineup changes, sums up the band’s notoriety by noting “You can’t worry about making friends or alienating people. You’ve got to be your own man no matter who it upsets. That’s the only way to make music of any lasting value.” More than a quarter of a century on, the band continues to court controversy while seemingly effortlessly cranking out new pop-punk gems. “My goal,” says Weasel, “was always to put the crowd in a position where they didn’t know whether to boo us or start dancing.” Screeching Weasel continues to win over fans both old and new with each new release; none of their 11 studio albums have ever been out of print and their latest release, the 7-song EP Carnival Of Schadenfreude, finds the band as cantankerous and tuneful as ever. The newest lineup of Screeching Weasel is on the road and working on new songs, and will be for years to come if Weasel has his way. “Screeching Weasel is never breaking up again,” he says. “The band dies when I do.”

New songs out now on iTunes and Spotify

CJ RAMONE-BASS-VOCALS
STEVE SOTO-GUITAR-VOCALS
DAN ROOT-GUITAR-VOCALS
PETE SOSA-DRUMS

CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH WARD, BETTER KNOWN AS “CJ RAMONE,” IS AN AMERICAN MUSICIAN BEST KNOWN AS THE BASSIST FOR THE PUNK ROCK GROUP THE RAMONES FROM 1989 TO 1996.
HIS HOMETOWN IS DEER PARK, NEW YORK. HE REPLACED ORIGINAL BAND-MEMBER DEE DEE RAMONE, THOUGH DEE DEE CONTINUED TO WRITE SONGS FOR THE GROUP. CJ SANG MANY WELL-KNOWN RAMONES SONGS.

PRIOR TO JONING THE BAND, CJ WAS A MARINE AND A RAMONES FAN. HE WAS SEEN AS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR INTO THE BAND. JOHNNY RAMONE CLAIMED HE KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHEN CJ AUDITIONED TO REPLACE DEE DEE THAT HE WAS RIGHT; COMMENTING THAT CJ “HAD THE RIGHT LOOK.” WHEN THE RAMONES WERE INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, ORIGINAL RAMONES DRUMMER TOMMY RAMONE CREDITED CJ WITH “KEEPING THE BAND YOUNG.” CJ RAMONE WAS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER WHEN HE JOINED BY 9 YEARS. CJ’S FIRST SHOW WITH THE RAMONES WAS ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1989, IN LEICESTER, ENGLAND, AND HE PLAYED WITH THE BAND UNTIL THEY RETIRED ON AUGUST 6, 1996.

AFTER THE RAMONES, HE PLAYED IN A BAND CALLED THE REMAINS, OR THE REMAINZ, WHICH WAS FORMED BY DEE DEE RAMONE, MARKY RAMONE, AND DEE DEE’S WIFE, BARBARA ZAMPINI (BARBARA RAMONE). HE ALSO PLAYED WITH HIS OWN BANDS LOS GUSANOS AND BAD CHOPPER. HE NOW TOURS ON HIS OWN AS CJ RAMONE WITH HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM – RECONQUISTA.

CJ LIVES WITH HIS WIFE AND THREE KIDS. CJ IS ACTIVE WITH THE AUTISM COMMUNITY BECAUSE HIS SON HAS AUTISM. HE ALSO VOLUNTEERS HIS TIME AS A GUEST TEACHER AT THE SCHOOL OF ROCK IN FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK.