“I was born in ‘76 in Marine Park. Fillmore Avenue. And then, uh, when I was a kid we had a cabana in Breezy Point. So you know, as I got older, we moved upstate for a little while, and then I came back to the city in the mid-‘90s. And then, um, I wanted to live on the beach! I was aware of Breezy Point as a kid. We had a cabana. And then, you know, I lived in Astoria, Kew Gardens, and then this thing presented itself: Arverne by the Sea. And I won some money in Vegas. That was my down payment.” I laughed in disbelief. Some people do win big.
I met with Tom Lawlor one afternoon at Tap That, where his band, the Rambones, play a few times a year, and also where Tom and his wife had their rehearsal dinner. He’s been living in Rockaway for 18 years. “I’m not a local yet. 20 years, I will be. That’s what–they called me Tommy New Guy when I moved here… I’ll [still] hear it once in a while. I used to hang out at Blackwater. Remember Blackwater? It’s the storefront church right over here: House on the Rock, like two blocks that way,” he pointed east. “So I came out here. I loved it. And then, you know, I’m still here. My wife moved in in 2013. And then it was the natural progression. I love the ocean; I love the beach. I love the Ramones, obviously. People say, ‘Did you move here because of that?’ I’m like, ‘No,’ but you know it’s part of the reason. I would have moved to Forest Hills if that was the case. They’re from Forest Hills. They hated the beach. The only one that liked the beach was Dee Dee Ramone; he wrote that song. The other ones hated the beach. Dee Dee Ramone wrote that song, and he’s the only one that hung out on the beach.
“I started playing guitar when I was 13. So that would be ‘89. And you know, I never really excelled. I played punk rock and ska mostly,” he said. Lawlor has been playing in the Ramones cover band, Rambones, since 2022. Previously he was in a band called Tri-State Conspiracy. “It was like a swing-ska punk hybrid band; from 2000 to 2013. We broke up but we actually did two reunion shows last week. One in Brooklyn, one in Rose Den…So we did that. And then, yeah, I didn’t play from 2013 until 2022. I would do, you know, open mic at Connolly’s, right? I would do that sometimes. The guy who runs it, he’s a nice guy. I get to know some of the people there. It’s a good thing. A lot of people show up on a Tuesday. People play. The bar’s happy. They make money. The Rambones is, uh, it’s fun though. It’s like, they [the Ramones] were one of my favorite bands since I was a kid, so, you know, when Adam approached me about it, he’s like, he gave me 20 songs like, “Do you know [how to play] any of these?” I’m like, “I know 18 of them; I just have to learn two. And…we were off to the races from there.” The band, consisting of Adam Cardone (bass/vocals), Bryan Doremus (drums) and Tom (guitar) sees “no signs of slowing.”
While his passion is clearly for music, Lawlor has had a lengthy career with the FDNY. “I’m a fireman on, uh, Crossbay Boulevard. Yeah, I started in Hell’s Kitchen. I did most of my career there…I just hit 23 years; I’m retiring soon. It’s like a year and a half. A year and a half, and I’m done…You help people for a living. It’s a good-paying job,” he said. “You know, you’ll never be rich, but you’ll be comfortable.” He’s looking forward to golfing in his retirement. “I would like to do that [golf], drink beer, ride my bike. I don’t have any real plans.”
About Rockaway, Lawlor loves, “the people, the interesting personalities. The ocean. I could just ride my bike up and down the boards. Or I could take the Q22 anywhere, to any bar, restaurant, whatever. I call it the Rockaway trolley.” I asked him what he’s seen change in his nearly two decades here. “When I first moved here. I moved here in ‘07–which wasn’t that long ago, but 18 years ago–there was nothing on the boardwalk over here. There was like…Rippers was like this gate where they sold you a hamburger and like a pair of sunglasses. That was it. Beach 97th was basically the same thing. I do miss the Tap and Grill…I have nothing against the DFDs. Some people hate that. They’re here, they’re spending money, they’re making it interesting. So you know, just pick up your garbage; that’s all I have to say. And then uh, people get upset about that. I’m like, listen, they’re here, they’re keeping places open. Everybody’s welcome. Like the Ramones–bring me your weirdos, your outcasts. We’re all under the same roof. The music is what everybody relates to.”
Music, especially the Ramones, takes a central role in Lawlor’s life. “The Ramones. The Ramones bring a lot of people together. I got into them when I was a kid; they’ve been my favorite since. Twelve years old, I got into them, and I’m 50 now; I turned 50 last week, and they’re still my favorite band…Keep the Ramones spirit and legacy alive. Because it’s music for kids who got picked on when they were younger, and they latch onto that. When I was going through something tough, my parents, my friends, and the Ramones were always there. So that’s the way I feel about it. And I relate to all their songs, their topics. When you’re an angry, arrogant teenager, that’s what I was looking to do. They’ve always been there for me; they’ve never let me down.”
When I ask something that challenges him, Lawlor chooses to answer in terms of music. “Getting that sonic sound of the Ramones by playing all the downbeat, like,” he mimed a downstroke on an air guitar, “if you go up and down, like, it doesn’t sound like it. Green Day: when the Ramones got inducted [to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame], Green Day played a few of their songs, and like, they’re cheating. They’re playing up and down and up. It doesn’t sound the same as all down pitches.”
A final thought? “I mean support local music, that’s all I can say–” he named a few local bands and artists: “Depresión Tropical, they’re a local surf punk band. Yeah, they’re good. Wine with Sue, John Burke, he’s a great dude…Butterbrain! How did I not think of them? They’re like my best friends; they’re a local ska band, they play with the Rambones a lot. My buddy Aaron, he’s the bass player; he lives on 97th street. He was in Murphy’s Law for a while, these guys,” he points to the logo on his hat, “They’re a punk band from Queens. And he was in another band called White Trash in the ‘90s…yeah, check out Butterbrain. Butterbrain is probably my favorite local band. They are. I’ll say it. They are my favorite local band.”
