In 1989, Dee Dee Ramone wrote "I don't wanna be buried in a pet sematary," so it's a little bit of cosmic comedy that his gravesite is currently a hang spot for a gaggle of punk ducks.
Los Angeles artists Coyote Shivers and Pleasant Gehman have turned the Ramones bassist and songwriter's grave into a feeding spot for a bunch of local wildlife, including five domesticated black ducks that the couple have named Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, Tommy and Sheena (of "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" fame).
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shivers explains that he and Gehman started feeding the animals — now including peacocks, squirrels, cats, pelicans and geese — at the start of the pandemic, and eventually trained the now-large flock of ducks to come to the grave by playing "Duckskrieg Bop," which is a remake of "Blitzkrieg Bop" made up of duck quacks. Okay!
"And sure enough, it worked like the ice cream truck song in the summertime," Shivers told Rolling Stone. "By last spring, we started noticing the new mother ducks were bringing their days-old ducklings and teaching them, 'When you hear this song, march up the hill to here,' and we realized it was becoming generational to them. It just keeps growing, and little by little same with spectators."
"We consider it part urban wildlife charity, part performance art installation, and part living tribute to the king Dee Dee Ramone," he continued. "Everyone loves the Ramones Ducks. They bring nothing but smiles. Young kids and old punks really love it."
Shivers also says that the whole project has the approval of Ramones' widow Barbara Zampini, whom he describes as a fan of the ducks. Zampini also printed a limited edition T-shirt for the ducks, the proceeds of which go to feeding the animals.
Shivers and Gehman post regular updates of the gravesite/animal snack stop on their Instagram account, where they also collect donations for food.
Dee Dee Ramone — real name Douglas Colvin — died in 2002 at age 49.
Check out an Instagram post featuring "Duckskrieg Bop" below.
Los Angeles artists Coyote Shivers and Pleasant Gehman have turned the Ramones bassist and songwriter's grave into a feeding spot for a bunch of local wildlife, including five domesticated black ducks that the couple have named Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, Tommy and Sheena (of "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" fame).
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shivers explains that he and Gehman started feeding the animals — now including peacocks, squirrels, cats, pelicans and geese — at the start of the pandemic, and eventually trained the now-large flock of ducks to come to the grave by playing "Duckskrieg Bop," which is a remake of "Blitzkrieg Bop" made up of duck quacks. Okay!
"And sure enough, it worked like the ice cream truck song in the summertime," Shivers told Rolling Stone. "By last spring, we started noticing the new mother ducks were bringing their days-old ducklings and teaching them, 'When you hear this song, march up the hill to here,' and we realized it was becoming generational to them. It just keeps growing, and little by little same with spectators."
"We consider it part urban wildlife charity, part performance art installation, and part living tribute to the king Dee Dee Ramone," he continued. "Everyone loves the Ramones Ducks. They bring nothing but smiles. Young kids and old punks really love it."
Shivers also says that the whole project has the approval of Ramones' widow Barbara Zampini, whom he describes as a fan of the ducks. Zampini also printed a limited edition T-shirt for the ducks, the proceeds of which go to feeding the animals.
Shivers and Gehman post regular updates of the gravesite/animal snack stop on their Instagram account, where they also collect donations for food.
Dee Dee Ramone — real name Douglas Colvin — died in 2002 at age 49.
Check out an Instagram post featuring "Duckskrieg Bop" below.
