Tommy Stinson - US tour, Jan - Apr 2005 info & reviews [updated March 4]

[NickNasty]

Anyone going to the Cambridge, MA show on Sun, PM me! Maybe we can meet up....

YG:Photos should be allowed unless your ticket prohibits them specifically.

[GypsySoul]

New York Post, Friday, January 28, 2005

SATURDAY PLUS:? In 1979, Tommy Stinson was only 13 when he joined his older brother Bob in the band that would become the monumental Minneapolis act the Replacements.

Stinson's only 38 now and he's been busy since the band's 1991 demise.? He was featured on a remix of Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins" and is part of the latest version of Axl Rose's Guns N' Roses.

And last year he released his latest garage-rockin' solo disc, "Village Gorilla Head."? He'll perform songs from the record, and older tracks, tomorrow (Jan 29th) at the Mercury Lounge, where he'll appear with a full band, and Thursday (Feb 3rd) at Southpaw, where he'll perform as a duo with guitarist Dave Phillips.? Brooklyn's Anders Parker, who adds a fuzzy lo-fi edge to his roots-up tunes, opens the Southpaw show.
New York Daily News
Kid rocker grows up in solo bow
By ISAAC GUZMAN
Friday, January 28th, 2005

If there were a stock market for calamity, Tommy Stinson would be a rich man.
At 13, he joined the Replacements, the notoriously dissolute band whose shambling concerts in the early '80s frequently devolved into sloppy rave-ups. The group's wild reputation was only bolstered by the early death of Tommy's brother Bob, the outfit's founding guitarist.

When the Replacements called it quits in 1991, Stinson formed his own bands, Bash & Pop and Perfect. Those acts followed in the Replacements' careening footsteps and, in the case of Perfect, never even managed to get a full album released while the group was still together.

To top it all off, in 1998 Stinson joined the latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses, which might have been a triumphant and profitable move if leader Axl Rose's notorious perfectionism hadn't delayed the release of "Chinese Democracy" for most of a decade (and his mercurial disposition hadn't scuttled 2002's North American tour just a handful of shows into the trek).

Through all the madness, Stinson, who plays tomorrow at the Mercury Lounge and Thursday at Southpaw, has managed to grow up. And on his first solo album, "Village Gorilla Head," he demonstrates a newfound level of polish that betrays little of the upheaval in his past.

In addition to some Stones-y rockers, there are atmospheric tunes that recall late-'90s trip hop and even a few that might pass for ballads. Stinson made the album during yet another GNR hiatus, when ex-Perfect guitarist Dave Phillips had time off from his own gig in Frank Black's band.

"I finally had the time and I had the money to do it on my own," he says. "I wanted to kind of be experimental and I got a chance to do that."

Stinson says it was Rose who gave him the chutzpah to try something new. While Rose has now developed the aura of a madman, Stinson says his restless vision inspired him.

"I have a lot of admiration for what Axl does and how he does it," Stinson says. "And to have the [guts] to do this record the way I did, which is all over the map, I got that from him."

But Stinson also acknowledges that the madness surrounding Axl came with its own set of pressures. And taking time for his own project was liberating - even if he's now more than ready to rejoin GNR, which he claims is on the verge of finally finishing "Chinese Democracy."

"It was good to get out and tour," he says. "But now I want to get back to it because I'm getting sick of myself. I have ADD, dude."

Gypsy note:? There's a pic in the Daily News of Tommy with Axl & Brain performing (I think) at the Rio3 show.

Edited to add the pic
Photo Credit:? Paulo Whitaker

[Scabbie]

What's ADD? 

[GypsySoul]

What's ADD??

Attention Deficit Disorder - People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have trouble controlling their behavior. They often have trouble finishing tasks, planning ahead, or just sitting still for more than a few minutes.


I think Tommy was just joking about having ADD.  Or maybe this is another one of those metaphor things.
I believe what he means is that just sitting around not really doing anything makes you feel like you're gonna go crazy if you don't do something productive soon.

[Scabbie]

What's ADD??

They often have trouble finishing tasks, planning ahead

Sounds like Axl!

[Booker Floyd]

Tommys a very cool motherfucker, and Im glad to see him in GNR (though frustrated that Ive yet to really see/hear his contributions).  Ive said before that I view him as the closest thing to a "Slash replacement," in terms of status.

Just listened to Village Gorilla Head for the first time in many months, and liked it better than I had before.  Some great songs on there. 

[younggunner]

I just got back from Tommy show here in NJ. It kicked major fukin ass. Met up with Bi Polar again. Had a great time talkin with him and wathcing tommy. He went on at 1030 and ended around 12ish. The guy is beyond cool. I dont really remember the set but he played a handful of songs from VGH and Perfect. VGH songs sound great live.

Tommy is such a kickass performer. He great with the guitar too. and his pipes are great too. He worked the crowd great with jokes n stuff. Really cool guy....

The highlight of the show was when Tommy came off stage midway thorugh his set and went to the bar area and played!. It was so cool. He said ok now its time for a cover song. So then he said, "sorry no gnr covers, but I will play an old gnr cover, I played this song before the old band played it"{in a joking manner}....he proceed to play..."You Cant Put Your Arms Around A Memory"...it was so awesome. Bi Polar even got to sing with him on the chorus part. he also got the whole crowd to sing along. Really cool moment.

So after the show he was busy taking down his equipment so me and Bi Polar waited in the back till he was done. We kept talking to him as he would go back n forth. I didnt ask him much because he was real busy and I just didt wanna bother him with gnr questions. I basically just told him that i loved his album, saw them at msg. I also told him that it was real cool of him to talk gnr at his shows arounf the country n stuff. I was like im sure it gets old and he was like na dude its all cool and I dont mind. So that was good. That was basically it. Sorry every1 :{... he was too busy with his stuff and other fans so I couldnt really dig in with questions

There were 2 downpoints for me though. 1 he didnt play motivation :{

and the 2nd is I didnt get to take a pic with him. Me and Bi polar were waiting for him and my camera was being really gay and wasnt working. So then i got it to work and BP got to take a pic with him...funny pic btw...hopefully he can post it for u guys to see..and then it was my turn and it wouldnt work and then Tommy had to go...so i lost out...lol o well...

other than that Tommys show was great and hes a real down to earth guy. Im glad hes the General and represents well...peace

[BP]

}....he proceed to play..."You Cant Put Your Arms Around A Memory"...it was so awesome. Bi Polar even got to sing with him on the chorus part. he also got the whole crowd to sing along. Really cool moment.

  we were harmonizing over a stiff drink. that was fun, I needed that!

-BP

[DemocracyRose]

I know you guys wont harass Tommy with annoying GNR questions....

But how about asking him, about the publishing deal... Has it anything to do with the release of C.D???

Keep up the good work...

[NickNasty]

Was at the Cambridge show last night (1/30). A brief recap:

Tommy went on at about 10:30...and  was in a pretty high spirit throughout, joked with the crowd alot(after smelling someones' dope he said "smells good....if you're into that sort of thing....I like to build a rapport with the audience"). Him and Dave seem to be enjoying themselves, and doing things very light and loose. First half of the set was primarily VGH/Perfect stuff, he played every track off VGH except 'Couldn't Wait,' 'OK', Bite Your Tongue' and the title track. Highlights were "Motivation' (how they pulled it off with two people, i'll never know) and "Light of Day".

Off the new Perfect record, we had '7 Days a Week' and 'Turn it Up' (My personal fave).

He played B&P stuff too, but I wasn't familiar with it.

Halfway through, he did his bar-minstrel thing, traversing thru the crowd to both bars while singing (I'm not sure, but the lyrics seemed improvised). Let me tell you...he has an INCREDIBLE FUCKING VOICE! It carries far even without the mic! After the show, I got to meet him at the merch table and he signed my VGH CD...I didnt talk with him long b/c there was a huge line of people waiting to get stuff signed...just told him I loved the show and the record, and that I hadn't stopped listening to it since I got it last June...he was very appreciative. He mentioned how much he loved Boston but couldnt stick around because people had him 'doing things he didn't really want to do" which I assume means press.

Overall, a spectacular show from a spectacular performer...the only negative was this deranged asshole who was basically stalking Tommy the whole night, and tried to sneak backstage during Dave and Tommy's brief intermission....security got to him, but was pretty lax and didnt even boot him from the building....after all that's happened with Dimebag and so on, shouldnt we know better?

So, if you live in a city close to any of Tommy's remaining gigs, GO! You'll have more fun than you'd ever think possible! As for me, I hope I see him in his bass-player role again soon

[mr self destruct]

the only negative was this deranged asshole who was basically stalking Tommy the whole night, and tried to sneak backstage during Dave and Tommy's brief intermission....security got to him, but was pretty lax and didnt even boot him from the building....after all that's happened with Dimebag and so on, shouldnt we know better?

Probaply just somebody who wanted to know when CD comes out.?

[jarmo]

TOMMY STINSON

A founding member of the legendary Replacements and, since 1997, the bass player for Guns N' Roses, Stinson has made the most of his spare time with his recent solo disc, "Village Gorilla Head." The 11 original songs prove he is a skilled artist who has lived, loved and breathed music for most of his life. He comes to town for an acoustic show; Welcome to Ashley opens at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee. Tickets, $10. Call (773) 489-3160.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/wkp-news-club04.html


The Irreplaceable Tommy Stinson

By Richard Harrington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 4, 2005; Page WE06

ICONIC AS BOTH bands are, differences between indie-rock standard bearers the Replacements and hard rockers Guns N' Roses would seem too huge to allow much commonality. After all, Minneapolis's much-beloved 'Mats never came close to reaching the level of commercial success attending Axl Rose and Co., never selling more than 100,000 copies of any of their eight albums.

True, both bands seemed to have an appetite for self-destruction, but somehow you'd never imagine a musician from one band showing up in the other.



"I get to wear as many hats as I want to in this life," says Tommy Stinson, a former Replacement and now Guns N' Roses member who is also a solo act. (Sanctuary)

Meet Tommy Stinson, who started his career in 1979 when his 20-year-old brother, Bob, taught him to play bass so he could join the band rehearsing in the basement of the Stinson home. Tommy was 12, 14 when he started playing in clubs and touring. By the time he was 24, the Replacements were history, with a legacy that included those eight albums (one, "Let It Be," considered a rock classic) and a tragi-comic reputation for live shows that imploded in aggressive, alcohol-fueled shambles.

Cut to 1998 and an invitation from a Mr. Rose to fill the bass slot previously held by Duff McKagan. Welcome to the jungle, indeed.

"I didn't really ponder the enormity of it until I played a few shows with them, and then it was like, "Oh, jeez, this is like [expletive] bananas!'," Stinson recalled recently from Burbank, Calif., where he's lived for the last dozen years.

Enormity "in a good way," the 38-year-old Stinson adds, "like, 'I can't believe to how many people Axl's like a [expletive] rock icon, though he's still too young to be a rock icon!' The whole thing is pretty crazy, but I didn't think about that when I first joined. I thought it just seems like kind of a cool thing, I should check this out."

Of course, there is quite a difference between the size of venues Stinson plays as a solo act -- he'll be at the intimate Iota on Friday -- and those he plays as a member of Guns N' Roses -- arenas and soccer stadiums.

"It's a cool thing for me, and I get to wear as many hats as I want to in this life," Stinson says. "I've worn a couple of different hats now, and I like the way all of them fit for different days."

Actually, hats probably don't fit too well on Stinson's head, which still sports the spiky hair that made him one of the few genuine heartthrobs of '80s indie-rock. One suspects this did not hurt his prospects when Rose came calling, especially since Stinson has admitted that he was no more of a Guns N' Roses fan than Rose was a Replacements fan. Still, he's probably surprised that eight years after joining the band, Guns N' Roses has yet to release an album (its last album of new material came out in 1993) and has done minimal roadwork (the revamped band's only tour ended disastrously in December 2002 when Rose failed to show for a Chicago concert).

On the other hand, that left Stinson plenty of time to record "Village Gorilla Head." Though Stinson's first post-'Mats album was released in 1993, it came out under the group name Bash and Pop; a 1997 album under the band name Perfect wasn't even released until last year. "Village Gorilla Head" is the first album to actually sport Stinson's name, not that he was actually looking for a solo career.

"When I got into GNR, I threw myself fully into it," he says. "And after being in it for a while, I realized that there was time to do other things, and I could do whatever I want and still be in GNR."

And, yes, the long-awaited GNR album, "Chinese Democracy," is apparently on the horizon, though some suspect we'll see democracy in China long before we see the 10-years-in-the-making-and-counting project. The latest rumor is April, but that didn't come from Stinson.

"There's nothing that I can divulge, but suffice it to say that when it does come out, we'll tour behind it."

The only hint Stinson drops is that the album's awesome.

http://www.washingtonpost.com


Thanks to Denis.



/jarmo

[Axl Z]

dude this would kick ass if they did go on tour in europe - i'd try to see every UK gig if i could, saw them at the docklands arena in 2002 and that kicked ass!! sweet

[madagas]

I went to the Atlanta show last night. Absolutely not one mention of Gnr-much more of a Mats crowd. I ask Tommy to sign something for my daughter and he wrote "Caroline Don't Do It!" Kind of funny. Tommy is a pretty good looking guy up close. A lot of good looking ladies in the crowd. I get the feeling Tommy is a "player". He was really good and suprised me with how much "lead singer" charisma he has- sounded great. Actually, he jumped up on the bar right next to me, ordered a drink, and played three great acoustic tunes I had never heard of. The ladies were swooning. I felt a little uncomfortable as everyone started taking pics and the flashes were going off in my face. In the big ironic moment of the night, Rick Richards of Izzy Stradlin/Georgia Satellites fame was there right up in the front row. Tommy said he hadn't seen Rick in ten years and laughed and hugged him. Man, would Tommy and Izzy really be the shit together. Both are just way too cool. That's about it.?

[ppbebe]

Tommy is a pretty good looking guy up close. Alot of good looking ladies in the crowd.

Yeah, I first thought Axl just picked out good looking guys.

[Mikkamakka]

Tommy is a pretty good looking guy up close. Alot of good looking ladies in the crowd.

Yeah, I first thought Axl just picked out good looking guys.

You mean Buckethead? 

[ppbebe]

You mean Buckethead? 

Sure!  He's nothing short of an eye candy.

[Voodoochild]

Kentucky.com has an article about Tommy (and the usual GNR stuff):

Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005

GOING HIS OWN WAY

Guitarist Tommy Stinson, usually part of band, builds up to soloing

By Walter Tunis

CONTRIBUTING MUSIC WRITER

Plotting a solo career was never really part of the plan for Tommy Stinson. For the past 25 years, he's been a bit of a band man.

Take the alert power trios Bash & Pop and Perfect that he has fronted through brief but fervent recordings careers. Or, should marquee rock 'n' roll be your preference, refer to the fuses Stinson took great glee in lighting during the '80s as a mainstay member of The Replacements. Then there is his current occupation: bass guitarist for Guns N' Roses.

But quietly, casually and with a fervency and purpose that match any of the music he's made as a team player, Stinson dropped a delightful little record of his own last year called Village Gorilla Head.

Pick the album apart, and you will find a virtual glossary of stellar pop references. The opening Without a View, with its chilled soundscape, sounds like a cross between Jay Farrar and Lloyd Cole. Something's Wrong crackles with a homemade charge that recalls his later records with The Replacements. Then Light of Day surfaces from a sea of gray acoustics and pedal steel guitar colors to remind you just how original this package of subversive pop can be.

But the really wicked part of the story remains how unplanned and organic the entire project was.

"I started the whole thing pretty slowly," said Stinson, who performs Wednesday for his first Lexington concert in more than 12 years.

"I just built the music from the ground up and took my time with it. Because I was paying for the record out of my own pocket, I thought I should try stuff I normally wouldn't get a chance to do -- whether it was trying new instruments or using different players and background singers. And I took my time doing that."

While ideas for some of the tunes on Village Gorilla go back five years or more, Stinson put most of them in motion in 2003. Helping move matters along was pal Frank Black, who loaned Stinson mobile recording equipment and rehearsal space while Black was on tour with the Catholics. A few friends, including Catholics guitarist Dave Phillips, helped flesh out the songs. Phillips, who also played in Perfect, will be on board for the Wednesday show to help Stinson present music from Village Gorilla Head in a largely acoustic format.

"I'm basically doing a stripped-down version of the record," Stinson said. "It makes for a really cool vibe. I had already toured with a band for a couple months last year, so I thought I would try another route just for fun."

Trying new sounds has been a common practice for Stinson, and the guitarist sees little reason to fall back on the past as his own music moves forward.

"I don't really ponder it," Stinson said, with a laugh, of The Replacements era. "I saw Paul a couple of weeks ago and did a session with him. Other than that, I don't think either one of us look back at it all that much. I mean, I'm proud of the work we did. I'm glad I was part of it. But I don't sit around and think about it much."

But then, Stinson doesn't really have time for reflection. A long-awaited Guns N' Roses album, the band's first full-length recording of new material in 13 years, is near completion.

"It's being finished as we speak," Stinson said. "Working with those guys has been a blast. It's been a great learning experience and just a lot of fun.

"That's what's been great about doing different things. If I ever get tired of doing one thing for too long, I can move on to something else -- be it a full band project or something stripped-down. I feel pretty lucky to be able to try different things."
Tommy Stinson and Dave Phillips

When: 7 p.m. Wed.

Where: The Dame, 156 W. Main St.

Tickets: $10.

Call: (859) 226-9005.

Source: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/entertainment/music/10813373.htm

[LIRAXL]

greaaaaaat!!!

[madagas]

Two other things of note regarding the Atlanta show-Without a View was interesting as the cello parts are done by a pedal steel guitar. It was pretty cool-not as "epic" but different and nice. Also, someone in the crowd made a comment about "it's all about the benjamins(money)"-to which Tommy replied, "if it was all about the benjamins, I certainly would not be here right now!". It is easy to tell that Tommy's heart is in the right place. He is NOT a sellout. (Although he did seem to have a very nice looking watch on!). I don't think his solo career has paid for that!