Four Chords and a Gun: Big Bang Theory’s John Ross Bowie Writes New Play on the Ramones and Phil Spector [Exclusive Interview]

By Cat Taylor on June 24, 2016

Writer, actor, comedian and musician, John Ross Bowie

The Ramones are easily one of the most important rock bands of the 20th century. I’ve been a proud fan since I discovered them and have been involved in a couple of podcasts about them for Spun Counterguy’s recurring Brophisticate podcasts. So, it was a pleasant surprise when Brophisticate received an offer to interview John Ross Bowie, the writer of a theatrical production based on the Ramones recording of their classic album “End of the Century” with legendary and infamous producer, Phil Spector. The story is a classic that involves Spector’s insane perfection, and just plain insanity, as he had notorious verbal fights with the band and even pulled a gun on them in the studio. By the way, if the name John Ross Bowie sounds familiar to you, then you probably watch “Big Bang Theory.” Here’s my interview with him about “Four Chords and a Gun”, the live theatrical presentation opening in Los Angeles’s Bootleg Theater on July 7, 2016.

Cat Taylor: Since it’s not the most obvious medium that comes to mind, tell us the background behind what made you decide to write the story of the Ramones recording “End of the Century” as a live theatrical production and how the idea actually came to reality.

John Ross Bowie: I liked the idea of trapping an audience in the room with Phil Spector and this dysfunctional family, and I felt like theater was the best way to get that across. I also don’t like a lot of musical biographical films they can feel really rushed and contrived, and they try to do too much. So I thought a play would be the best way to address those concerns and tell this crazy story. I was excited to see actors rehearse their ways into these roles, too, and that’s been fascinating.

They many looks (and wigs) of record producer, Phil Spector

CT: I noticed you got this off the ground by crowdfunding through Indie-go-go. While you may not want to divulge all the details, I’m curious to know how much it costs to do this as a live theatrical production. Did the crowdfunding through Indie-go-go alone raise enough money or did you have to get additional funds from other sources in order to make this happen?

JRB: It costs around 30 grand to do it properly as in, we pay the actors a little, we pay the designers a little, and we get GOOD WIGS for the Ramones. The Indie-go-go got us to about 60%, we filled in the rest with money from private investors. It’s hard crowdfunding theater, as really only a select few are gonna get to, you know, SEE the show.

So many delicious quotes have come from the dark comedy, Heathers, including, “Why are you being such a Mega-Bitch?” “Because I can be.”

CT: I read that you wrote a book about the underlying themes and such of the movie “Heathers.” Why did you decide that of all the movies ever made,
“Heathers” would make the best subject for a book?

JRB: My buddy, Sean Howe, was editing a series of books on films that don’t always get written about the others in the series were “Death Wish,” and “Lethal Weapon,” and other movies that don’t make any ‘serious’ critics Top 100 Cinematic Masterpieces list. I love “Heathers.” I saw it at a crucial juncture of my high school career, and I have since been directed by Michael Lehmann, who directed the film in the first place. So, I figured I could write a pretty well-researched and personal book about it.

CT: Since you already had success getting a book published, did you ever consider writing the story of “End of the Century” as a novel? What pulled you away from that medium for “Four Chords and a Gun?”

JRB: There are some GREAT books about the Ramones, and about that era in music one highlight that I always recommend to people is, of course, “Please Kill Me”, by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. I wanted to see the story dramatized, though, and I love writing plays more than writing prose.

CT: I second you on “Please Kill Me” being a great book about the early punk scene. I think what did it for me was writing the whole book as a series of quotes from the people who were actually there with no interpretation or narrative additions, but I digress. Anyway, the basic story of the “End of the Century” recording sessions is pretty legendary among Ramones fans but, like all legends, only the people who were there really know everything that happened. Being held at gunpoint by Phil Spector and forced to listen to take after take of “Baby, I Love You” alone is a pretty crazy event but it seems like it would be hard to stretch out to a full length play. So, did you do a lot of research or talk to anyone, such as Marky Ramone, to get background for your story, or did you take a lot of artistic liberties and add a lot of your imagination to legend?

JRB: The answer is yes to both, actually. I did a ton of research, but found so many conflicting anecdotes, that I sort of just crafted my own version. There’s a lot of conjecture in there, and at one point I even have Marky warn us that a lot of the show is “bullshit”, just to cover my bets.

CT: During the research you did for the story, did you discover any facts previously unknown by most people that will be revealed for the first time to the people attending “Four Chords and a Gun”’s opening night?

JRB: I don’t wanna give away too much, but I was fascinated by the fact that Phil Spector kept a cooler of Manischewitz next to him during the sessions. I extrapolated a lot from the tidbit. I became really fascinated with the fact that Phil and Joey bonded so much during the sessions, and that they were both Jewish, albeit pretty secular. That relationship is sort of the through line of the piece.

CT: Even though “Four Chords and a Gun” is being staged at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, there are plenty of Ramones fans all over the world who would love to see this play. With that in mind, are there any plans for the production to tour?

JRB: I’d love to see it play in New York. It’s hard to tour a play, especially one like this a cozy, intimate affair with kind of a niche audience. We’re not “Phantom,” but if LA goes well, I could see it being mounted elsewhere. South America loves the Ramones, they would fill soccer stadiums down there. My dream is to have it translated into another language. How cool would that be?

The cast of Four Chords and a Gun look remarkably similar to the punk heroes they’re meant to portray.

CT: Like just about everyone who discovered the Ramones at a young age, you played in a punk band for a while. I’m of course referring to your band, Egghead. Do you have any amusing stories about your time in that band, or maybe some background about how the Ramones influenced your musical efforts?

JRB: Oh God, where to start? When I was younger, I discovered that trick with the first Ramones record you turn down one channel and you can isolate Dee Dee’s bass, turn down the other and you can isolate Johnny’s guitar. I learned how to play bass doing that. I’d see Joey walking around the West Village all the time and he was always very polite. You could stop and talk to him and he’d be very gracious. He always seemed surprised that people loved him so much.

CT: You are easily much better known as an actor than as a writer or musician. Your IMDB page is pretty extensive but the role that stands out most to me is your part in “What the Bleep Do We Know?” The premise of that movie is pretty unique and I understand that it stirred up a lot of controversy for editing interviews with respected scientists in ways that many of them felt misrepresented. I know the movie is done in a documentary style, but it is a fictional story, isn’t it? Assuming I’m not missing something here, why do you think it’s so controversial given that it’s a work of fiction. I mean, “This is Spinal Tap” was done in documentary style too but everyone accepted that as fiction.

JRB: Ooof. Now we’re heading down a rabbit hole. “What the Bleep…” remains the most controversial thing I’ve ever been involved with. There are people who HATE that movie and people who really adore it and will stop me on the street to talk about it. It’s huge in the recovery community. I’ll say this if you bill yourself as a ‘hybrid-documentary’, which the film does, there is a certain standard of veracity expected, but I’ll also say this: It’s “What the Bleep Do We Know?,” not “This is What
We Bleeping Know.” If this sounds like I’m dodging the question, it’s because I am 100% dodging the question.

Actor, John Ross Bowie (far right), in a funny scene from the Big Bang Theory

CT: Well played! You could be a politician! Okay then, moving on. Even though it has nothing to do with the subject of “Four Chords and a Gun”, I’m sure a lot of people will be disappointed if I don’t ask you something about your role on “Big Bang Theory”. So, would you tell us something about being an actor on that show that will leave anyone reading this interview laughing or surprised? Extra points if you can tie the anecdote in with something about “Four Chords and a Gun”, the Ramones, or Phil Spector.

JRB: Watch me do this (deep breath, stretches): The Ramones specifically and punk rock in general taught me that less is more, and a performance should be stripped down to its essentials. That served me as a punk bassist, sure, but it serves me as an actor, too. Keep it simple. What needs to be there for the character, and then the scene, to work? For Kripke on “Big Bang,” he needs to have a ton of confidence, the delusion that he’s handy with the ladies and the speech impediment. Everything else comes from that place.

The Ramones End of the Century album

CT: Last question: Is there anything else that I should have asked you about that I didn’t?

JRB: People always ask me what my favorite Ramones song is as if it’s possible to pick a single favorite song from that catalog but right now it’s a tie between “This Ain’t Havana” off “End of the Century” and their cover of “Indian Giver” cut from the “Subterranean Jungle” sessions, I wanna say.

CT: Thank you for taking the time to do this. My apologies for not being about to work out the technology for an audio interview. All of my equipment and technology skills were obtained around the same time that “End of the Century” was being recorded.

“Four Chords and a Gun”, is a live, theatrical presentation opening in Los Angeles’s Bootleg Theater next month on July 7, 2016. Get your tickets here.