NEW YORK — Few family reunions are complete without at least one

argument, and the Ramones family of musicians is no exception.

During an unusually amicable gathering of the New York punk pioneers Tuesday

evening to celebrate their new career-retrospective box set released that day, Dee Dee

Ramone erupted in a sudden fit of rage.

The bassist, who was apparently angry that he had been shuttled to the signing on the

New York subway system at rush hour, stalked away from the signing table. Out of the

other Ramones' earshot, Dee Dee, who had originally left the group for an ill-fated

hip-hop career, called his former colleagues "motherf---ers."

But as with much family bickering, the outburst was soon forgotten. Former tour manager

Monte Melnick offered some comforting words and Dee Dee sat back down.

Despite the well-known interpersonal tensions that helped break up the legendary act in

1996, the ex-bandmates managed to remain on more or less civil terms over the

two-and-a-half-hour signing session that drew more than 1,000 fans and friends.

"It's like a family reunion — all the generations of the Ramones," said bassist C.J.

Ramone, who joined the Ramones after Dee Dee quit in 1989.

The band's original lineup — frontman Joey Ramone (born Jeff Hyman), guitarist

Johnny Ramone (born John Cummings), Dee Dee (born Douglas Colvin) and drummer

Tommy Ramone (born Thomas Erdelyi) — was on hand, as were later members

Marky Ramone (born Marc Bell), who joined after Tommy quit in 1978, and C.J. (born

Christopher Ward). All six were there to sign copies of the new Rhino Records set

Hey! Ho! Let's Go!: The Ramones Anthology.

The collection contains rare photos, comments by the band and extensive liner notes by

Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke. The anthology begins with selections

from the band's 1976 self-titled debut and ends with songs from the final studio album,

1995's Adios Amigos.

"To me, this is like the definitive Ramones package," Joey said earlier this month. "You

have the recordings — then, there's a great booklet. ... The whole legacy's in there."

Formed in the Queens, N.Y., neighborhood of Forest Hills in 1974, the Ramones, who

are often referred to as the first true punk band, rose to worldwide stardom on a

then-pioneering mix of pop smarts, punk attitude and mind-numbingly repetitive lyrics.

Joey has been promoting the box set on a small-scale media blitz over the past few days,

appearing on Howard Stern's radio show and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Melnick, 49, who served as the Ramones' tour manager for 22 years, found himself

working again for the now-defunct band that evening, albeit in a somewhat different

capacity.

"Monte, I need a new Sharpie," denim-clad Johnny said as he sat with his fellow

Ramones at the Virgin Megastore in Manhattan's Union Square.

The worshipful fans at the signing, who began lining up at 10:30 a.m. for the 7 p.m.

event, said they were happy to see their punk heroes together again, whatever the

circumstances.

"I have a shrine to them in my house and I was doing spells and chants over it to get

them back together," said Willow Tanaka, 44, who described herself as a

punk-rocker-turned-Connecticut-housewife. "I was a very angry person, and it had no

place to go until the Ramones."

Andy Beetham, 18, also from Connecticut, said he could think of only one thing to say

when he met the band: "Can I come home and live with you?"

As Ramones classics from the box set, such as "I Wanna Be Sedated"

(RealAudio excerpt),

"Rockaway Beach" (RealAudio excerpt),

"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (RealAudio excerpt) and

"Blitzkrieg Bop" (RealAudio excerpt) played over the

store's sound system, the former bandmates greeted such fanaticism with relatively good

cheer. They signed sneakers, leather jackets, guitars, photos, posters, T-shirts, a New

York City map and at least one copy of the Bible.

In addition to fans, they also greeted old friends, including Jesse Malin, former lead

singer of D Generation. But unlike Malin, who simply dropped by to say hello, at least

one notable fan actually waited in line to meet the band.

Bobby Schayer, drummer for punk veterans Bad Religion, said he waited a full two hours

in the queue. "Hey, I wasn't gonna take cuts," he said.

Schayer said that the Ramones were deeply important to him. "They made it possible for

me to have a career," he explained.

Schayer was standing next to Johnny Ramone, who grumbled that he didn't like to hear

people ask questions such as "What do the Ramones mean to you?" in front of him.

But what do the Ramones mean to Johnny? "They're my life," the famously bellicose

guitarist said softly.

(Senior Writer Gil Kaufman contributed to this report.)