VIDEO: C.J. Ramone Brings Punk to Sachem North

Those at  got to experience a piece of punk rock history.  About 300 kids and parents came out to see C.J. Ramone, best known as bassist for legendary punk rock group The Ramones from 1989 to 1996, perform a benefit concert for the  and Boy Scout Troop 9 featuring the music of The Ramones. 

Ramone was joined by guitarist Daniel Rey and drummer Michael Stamberg from the Long Island band, Eggplant Queens.

Christopher Joseph Ward, 45, better known as C.J. Ramone, was born in Queens, but raised in Deer Park.  He replaced original band member Dee Dee Ramone, and sang many well-known Ramones classics.  Ramone is credited with infusing the aging punk act with a much needed dose of youthful vigor.

The ex-Marine, was a Ramones fan before joining the band.  He later played with his idol Dee Dee Ramone in a band called The Remainz.

When The Ramones were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, original Ramones drummer, Tommy Ramone, credited C.J. Ramone with "keeping the band young."

Today, Ramone lives on Long Island with his wife Denise and his three children, and often speaks on the subject of autism because his son Liam has the condition.

The concert at Sachem North came on the heels of Ramone doing a five show stint in Northern Italy, and he will be heading to Canada to perform in a couple of weeks.  This summer, he will embark on a five week U.S. tour, and will be putting out a CD later in the year.  According to Ramone he will be "keeping The Ramones thing alive" for some time to come.

Liam, 13, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 9, where Ramone is an assistant troop master.

Tom Pekar, chairman of the Robotics Team Booster Club, and scout master of Boy Scout Troop 9 said, "We have a very high adventure troop.  We whitewater raft, and climb mountains.  It attracts adrenaline junkies."

The troop has boys from 10 to 17-years-old.  Pekar has three sons in the troop.  His oldest son, Thomas, is on the Robotics Team as well.

"Half the money [from the concert] goes to the Robotics Team to help keep it funded, so we can continue to compete and win, and the other half goes to the boy scouts ... It costs a lot of money to go propelling down a cliff side," said Pekar.

Last year the Sachem Robotics Team won the Long Island Regional Robotics Competition at Hofstra University.

Thomas Pekar, Jr. said of the fundraiser, "It brings the community together.  Because of the budget cut with Sachem, it helps with the Robotics Team, and the scout troop.  It goes a long way.  We have sports, but how many times do you hear about a concert in schools?  I think it's great.  I also think it makes Sachem more recognizable."

For some this was a chance to relive their youth, or make up for lost time.

"I'm very excited.  I never got to see The Ramones when I was a kid, so it's the next best thing," said Robotics Team advisor, Bruce Howe.

Others used the opportunity to pass the punk torch on to the younger generation.

Linda Kronenbitter brought her daughter Kristine, 14, to the show, sporting the tee shirt her mother wore to a Ramones concert at Southampton College in 1983.

Jared Braun, 13, will always remember the performance as his very first rock concert.

Chris Treco, a senior at  is a member of Troop 9, and got a chance to sing with Ramone at a Christmas party, which meant the world to him since he's a huge proponent of the whole punk ethos.

"It's a lot of do it yourself stuff, which I like," said Treco.

Nick Chambers, a Class of '10 Sachem East alum said, "Punk is like be yourself ... [The Ramones] They're the godfathers of punk."

Boy Scout Troop 9 member Adam Enzinger, a Student at Sachem North, knows Ramone not just as a rock icon, but as a person.

"He's a great mentor ... He's helped me advance in the troop.  He's helped me grow as an individual.  It's really a unique experience," said Enzinger.

The concert started with a bang on the anthemic "Blitzkrieg Bop", then immediately segued into the lesser known "Judy Is A Punk."  Ramone's boundless energy was contagious as he broke into "Beat On The Brat."

Daniel Rey sang on "Pet Sematary", a song The Ramones wrote in the '80s for the Stephen King movie of the same name.

The catchy "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" even inspired several moms to get up and dance.

Other songs performed included "My Back Pages", the Bob Dylan tune featured on The Ramones album Acid Eaters, the sweet "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Glad To See You Go", which epitomized the unapologetic swagger synonymous with punk rock.

Of course, no Ramones retrospective would be complete without the crowd favorite, "I Wanna Be Sedated", which Ramone dedicated "to all the moms."

The last song was "Pinhead", which includes the iconic, "Gabba Gabba hey" chant.

For the encore, Ramone and the band performed "Do You Wanna Dance?" —it turns out the audience did!  Kids rushed up to the foot of the stage to dance, headbang and do a bit of mellow moshing. 

To which Ramone remarked, "We could have been doing this the whole time."

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