Arturo Vega, creative designer for the Ramones, dies at 65

Punk icon Arturo Vega passed away this morning at age 65, as the San Francisco Bay Guardian reports.

Vega had served as the “artistic director, guardian and very close friend” for the Ramones, creating their iconic presidential logo, album art and stage designs for decades. During the band's formative years, he even housed bassist Dee Dee and singer Joey Ramone in his Bowery loft apartment. A true “fifth member,” Vega claimed to have been at all but two of their 2,263 concerts.

A thirty-year retrospective interview with Vega about working with the Ramones may be seen below.