Last night, at the Woodward Theater, Tommy Stinson had some fun. And that was his primary goal. He said so from the stage. “We’re here to have fun… play some songs… and drink water.”
There were probably fewer than 100 people in the audience. Not always “fun” for a musician. Especially one who spent several years playing arenas as the bassist for Guns N’ Roses.
When I say Tommy’s been on stage his entire life, I’m only exaggerating ever so slightly. He started playing bass in a Minneapolis band with his older brother Bob and drummer Chris Mars when he wasn’t even a teenager yet. They added singer Paul Westerberg and became The Replacements, and Tommy was 13 when they played their first official gig in June of 1980.
The Replacements are one of my favorite bands. And the poster children for “how to sabotage your chances for large-scale success.” (Read the great book Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr for countless examples. Or just read about their Saturday Night Live appearance that got them banned from the show.)
Tommy and the ‘mats did their brilliant/belligerent thing for more than a decade before fully imploding. Imagine being a grizzled veteran of a defunct band and being a mere 24 years old. Not only that, but imagine being in a band that kicked out your older brother (Bob Stinson was forced out of the Replacements in ’86). That’s a lot to carry for someone so young.
Tommy then fronted a couple of bands, toured with GNR for six years, then Soul Asylum, in addition to putting out solo albums.
He’s spent 46 of his 59 years on stages, in recording studios, and on tour.
And he’s still having fun. He’s sober now, which no doubt helps. But it would be easy to be down about a paltry crowd on a Tuesday night in Cincinnati. Tommy wasn’t down… he was just down-to-earth. After an opening set from Karla Rose (check out her music here), he played several songs solo, then had a band (Tim Schweiger & the Middlemen) join him to rock out. Then Tim Schweiger & the Middlemen played their own set while Tommy hung out at the merch table, taking selfies, signing albums, and talking to fans, most of whom probably wanted to talk about his glory days with The Replacements. I’m sure he’s seen it all, and heard it all, before.
I talked to Tommy briefly. I was too starstruck to carry on for long. I grew up in rural Arkansas, where there was no underground music scene, no clubs, no “left of the dial” (to borrow a phrase from a Replacements song about the college radio stations that championed emerging artists). In 1987, my older brother sent me a cassette tape with a copy of The Replacements Tim album on one side and Pleased to Meet Me on the other. That truly changed my life. I loved those songs so much that I sought out a station I’d read about that played that type of music (97X in Oxford, Ohio). I wound up working there for several years, and have carried that “indie rock” spirit with me ever since.
All I could manage to spit out was “your music means a lot to me” and then said “thanks for continuing to tour” and he said “What else am I gonna do?”
The life of a touring musician is really all he’s known. But from his blue collar, everyman attitude, I think he also knows that life is what you make it. And to still be having fun is worth more than a dozen platinum records.
Keep on rockin’, Tommy!
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