Cassie Ramone

Cassie Ramone
Cassie Ramone performing with Vivian Girls at KGB, 2011
Cassie Ramone performing with Vivian Girls at KGB, 2011
Background information
Birth nameMonica Cassia Grzymkowski
Born (1986-03-17) March 17, 1986 (age 37)
New Jersey, United States
GenresIndie rock, lo-fi
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active2007–present
LabelsLoglady

Cassie Grzymkowski[1][2] (born March 17, 1986), better known by her stage name Cassie Ramone, is an American musician and artist. Ramone rose to prominence as the guitarist and vocalist of indie rock band Vivian Girls, who broke up in 2014, and later reformed in 2019. She also formed the band project The Babies with Kevin Morby (of Woods). During The Babies' hiatus, Ramone embarked on a solo career, releasing her debut album The Time Has Come in August 2014.

Biography

Born and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Ramone attended Ridgewood High School, where she met her later bandmate Katy Goodman.[3][4][5] In 2004, she moved to Brooklyn and began studying at Pratt Institute.

Ramone formed the band Bossy along with Jamie Ewing and Justin Sullivan, that lasted until 2007. The same year, she co-found the indie rock band Vivian Girls with Goodman and Frankie Rose. They released three albums, Vivian Girls (2008), Everything Goes Wrong (2009) and Share the Joy (2011), before breaking up in 2014. In 2019, the band reformed and released their fourth album, Memory.[6] After meeting Kevin Morby of Woods, they started a side project called The Babies who released albums in 2011 and 2012.

In 2014, Ramone embarked a solo career and released her debut album The Time Has Come, featuring Ariel Pink on bass.[7] In early 2015, she formed Melt, who only conceived a demo. She also formed another band with Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls and OJ from XRay Eyeballs called OCDPP. They debuted as a live act in 2015 and released an EP called 7" Long Player in 2020.[8][9]

Ramone released a Christmas album titled Christmas in Reno on December 11, 2015.[10]

Art

Apart from music, Ramone is an artist who designed the cover art for most of the Vivian Girls and The Babies' discography, and La Sera's La Sera (2011).[11] She also does drawings, paintings, sculptures and collages that uploads in her Flickr account.[12]

Influences

Ramone cites Neil Young, The Wipers, Burt Bacharach, The Shangri-las, Rush, The Bananas, The Ramones, Johnny Horton, The Carpenters, Dead Moon and Elliott Smith among her favorite artists.[13][14]

Discography

Solo artist

Studio albums

Title Album details
The Time Has Come
Christmas In Reno

Split singles

Year Single Other artist
2010 "The Beets/Cassie Ramone"[15] The Beets
2013 "Less Artists More Condos Series #5"[16] Hunx
"I'm a Freak/Only You"[17] Xray Eyeballs

Album appearances

Year Song Artist Album
2010 "Are Your Parents Still Together?"[18] Gospel Music Duettes
2014 "Hanging On"[19] Various Artists Love Anyway!!! Even If... Fuck Off!!! (The Hi-Lo Tunez Plan: 20th Step)

with Bossy

  • The Best of Bossy (2009)

with Vivian Girls

with The Babies

References

  1. ^ "Cassie Grzymkowski". The Talk House. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "HANGIN ON". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Cassie Ramone Waves Goodbye to Vivian Girls". Myspace. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "When I'm Gone: Why Vivian Girls Mattered". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  5. ^ McCall, Tris. "Ridgewood rocks: A slew of hot indie bands have roots in Bergen town", Inside Jersey, August 12, 2013. Accessed October 17, 2018. "Guitarist and singer Cassie Ramone, a Ridgewood High School graduate who fronts the popular Vivian Girls, says that her parents moved to the Bergen County suburb to take advantage of the schools."
  6. ^ Exposito, Suzy (July 23, 2019). "The Vivian Girls Come Out Swinging". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Hear a Melancholy New Song from Cassie Ramone, Formerly of Vivian Girls". Vogue. July 30, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  8. ^ "OCDPP = Cassie Ramone, Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls & OJ of Xray Eyeballs: live debut on Thur + date w/ Chain & the Gang". Brooklyn Vegan. April 8, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  9. ^ "OCDPP 7-inch LP (2020)". Punk News. January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "Cassie Ramone – Christmas In Reno (PRE-ORDER)". Burger Records. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  11. ^ "Cassie Ramone". Flickr. July 24, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  12. ^ "Cassie Ramone". Paper Magazine. November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  13. ^ "Interview With Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls". MTVu. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "RATTLING IT OUT: AN INTERVIEW WITH CASSIE RAMONE". Frontier Psychiatrist. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  15. ^ "Beets, The / Cassie Ramone – The Beets / Cassie Ramone". Discogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  16. ^ "Hunx / Cassie Ramone – Less Artists More Condos Series #5". Discogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  17. ^ "Cassie Ramone / Xray Eyeballs – Cassie Ramone / Xray Eyeballs". Discogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  18. ^ "Gospel Music – Duettes". Discogs. November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "Various – Love Anyway!!! Even If... Fuck Off!!! (The Hi-Lo Tunez Plan: 20th Step)". Discogs. September 27, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

External links