Posted on Tue, Jul. 27, 2004
Ex-Replacement's gig is for the kids
BY MOLLY PRIESMEYER
Special to the Pioneer Press
When Tommy Stinson was a mere middle-schooler, he was performing in rowdy bars and on college campuses as the bassist in the Minneapolis band the Replacements. Now a proud parent of a middle-schooler himself, Stinson is returning to his home turf for his record-release show for "Village Gorilla Head." The show doubles as a benefit for all-ages club Twin Cities Underground in South Minneapolis, which gives young bands the opportunity to play for a group of peers instead of bored drunks.
"My daughter and ex-wife and I went to the Twin Cities Underground and saw my daughter's friend play a while back," Stinson says. "We all just had such a hoot. It wasn't like a little underage place that was all geeked out. It was just normal kids that were having a good time, and they all had their vibe on."
Don't expect the show to sound anything like the Replacements or Stinson's previous bands ? Perfect and Bash and Pop. Stinson says this record of self-penned material was created without trying to please anyone but himself.
"It's me not trying to be something I'm not," he says. "Not that I was trying to be something I wasn't when I was in Perfect, but Perfect was a band of guys trying to get out there and do it, try to compete with what was going on."
The album, written mostly over the past five years, covers themes from relationship hardships to professional hardships. "It's more introspective and honest than I've been," he says. "As self-indulgent and over-the-top as it might be at times for someone who is a Replacements fan, it was the record I felt like I wanted to make."
Speaking of overindulgent and professional hardships, what's the deal with Stinson's other band, Guns 'N Roses and its oft-delayed album, "Chinese Democracy?"
"That record has taken so long because it's a collaboration of eight people, and a few before I even got in the room," he says. "It's a great process. It just takes longer."
Despite all the fuss, delays, legal battles and press beatings, Stinson has only good things to say about GNR lead singer Axl Rose. "When it comes to working with him, he's a collaborator, and that makes it interesting. He's easier to work with than (Replacements frontman) Paul Westerberg. And I'm not saying that to be an a?hole, either."
It sounds like the idea for a Minneapolis-only show featuring Westerberg, Stinson and Chris Mars is as likely as "Chinese Democracy" coming out before 2008. "I don't know," Stinson says of a one-time reunion. "I doubt it would happen. And I say that because I can't see Chris Mars doing it. Of all of us and our nonsense, I think he's the guy who would most likely not do it. It would have to be a really good reason to do it. And I haven't found one yet."
Molly Priesmeyer is a Twin Cities freelance writer.
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I think that part about CD in 2008 was added by the interviewer. It's really talking about a Replacements reunioun. I doubt Tommy said anything like that or the that the interviewer even mentioned it. In fact, my guess is that either the guy didn't ask about when it was going to be released or Tommy didn't give a satisfactory answer (other then possibly "soon"
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Sometimes journalists suck
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