🎁The FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE Big Birthday Bash Bonanza is LIVE!🎂

It's my birth month, but YOU get the goodies!👉Upgrade your subscription and/or make a purchase from the FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE Gift Shoppe, and you'll get some goodies in the mail...POSTAGE-FREE!

We started humbly in early August 2021! I found Substack after looking for a place to tell the stories of my life in radio, the retail record biz, and growing up in a family with an actor brother, a booking agent Mom, and a radio sales exec Dad who had 20,000 jazz LPs and 78s!

In the 4 1/2 years since we opened shop, I’ve been blessed to have gathered nearly 2,000 fellow music lovers/subscribers of the free, comped, and Paid variety, and I’m so honored to have you all FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, enjoying and supporting my love of writing about “the biz”!

Other ways to support my work, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE!

I was almost a St. Paddy’s Day baby, but managed to hold out ‘til March 18 to make my dramatic entrance! That means that come the 18th, I’ll turn 71, and we’ll all be celebrating! Here’s how:

• Upgrade your FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE subscription, and I’ll send you, postage-free (anywhere on the planet….this one!), FIVE (5) FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE official biz cards….4 for you to give out to friends, fam and/or colleagues, and ONE autographed by me (in silver paint pen!) for you to keep as my personal thanks for supporting me and my efforts, FR&B!

Plus, being a Paid Subscriber brings you access to over 500 Paywalled articles, including many Paywalled popular Audio Autopsy’s, Yacht Pop Anchors, and Inside Tracks! Over 90% of all Tune Tags are Paywalled, and you’ll want to make sure you can access past episodes anytime!

Plus, being a Paid Subscriber will gain you access to our FR&B Chat Room, to participate in “Tune Tag Interactive” every Tuesday, where you can message fellow Paid Subscribers, many of whom are past and current record industry pros, including singer/songwriters, major-label recording artists, producers, and musicians!

This card (below) was our first of 3 variations! The photo was taken, in 1977, by good friend, the late Larry Lent, a professional photographer (for Pace Concerts) from my hometown of Houston! This was backstage at Liberty Hall in downtown Houston after The Ramones’ show. I had just started at my first commercial station, Houston’s prog-rocker, KLOL-FM101.

The 5 cards you’ll receive will be our most recent variation with the same photo, but added text more fully describing FR&B! Plus, the reverse side features QR codes for FR&B, as well as for the FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE and Tune Tag Gift Shoppe!

The Man Who Took the Pic!👇

L-R: Dee Dee Ramone, “Brad Ramone,” Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Liberty Hall, Houston, 1977📸Larry Lent

I just found this yesterday (Sat 2/28). I’ve never seen it before! That’s Larry Lent with Janis, late ‘60s, backstage. This was from a FB post from another of-the-time Houston good friend, Rick Barrett, longtime world-renowned Led Zeppelin expert and autograph and ephemera dealer. It was through Rick that I sold my original Warner Bros promo of the Sex Pistols LP (autographed by Sid) for $500. The story of the Pistols’ 1978 San Antonio show and my meeting with Sid and Johnny can be found here! As for Larry, he was a Bellaire High School student in this pic. I was a little younger than Larry, so by the time I got to Bellaire, he had graduated and got his photog gig with Pace Concerts, hence his easy backstage access! If you made it to the bottom of this caption, you deserve to know this: I’ve got a couple of “juicy” back-in-the-day personal stories about Larry (and a couple of big name rockers sans clothing!) no one’s ever heard, and they can’t be printed (and, I’ve seen one photo for proof)! Upgrade your subscription, and DM me with Larry’s name, or just mention you want to hear my stories about him, and I’ll spill the tea!😲I’m easy…apparently!

• Upgrade from free (or comped) to monthly (only $5 per month), free to annual (just $35/year), or upgrade from free to Archivist/Researcher (a favorable investment of $85 for lifetime access!).

• You may also upgrade your Paid Subscription from Monthly to Annual, or from Annual to Archivist/Researcher, and I’ll still send you the 5 “Brad Ramone” biz cards, with one autographed by me in silver paint pen!

• BONUS! If you’re already a valued monthly, annual, or Founding Paid or comped Subscriber, and you’d like your biz card handful (4 cards for your friends, with one for you, hand-signed by me!), just DM or e-mail me, and give your mailing address (anywhere on the planet!!), and I’ll send ‘em along, FREE!

Here’s another way to get the goodies!

If you choose not to upgrade your subscription, you can still get the handful of Ramones FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE biz cards (the hand-signed one for you, and 4 for your friends)! Just purchase one or more items from the FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE and Tune Tag Gift Shoppe! Choose from 17 fun, decorative, and practical items! Plus👇

😲All through March, all 17 items will be 10% off their regular price!🔥

Thank you, all FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE Subscribers! You’re greatly appreciated!💪😁👍