2013.04.11 - CD102.5 - Interview with Tommy

Listen to it here:



Transcript:

Interviewer: You know, before we get into the meat of this thing, I was just watching a YouTube video of you in a bar in Beirut performing. Now I know you were over there with GN'R. The only perception we have over here of Beirut is that it's a place where everyone seems to want to bomb it into the last century or something. Take me through that. And your overall perceptions of what that city is like.

Tommy: You can see the damage, the buildings are blown out, there's bullet holes everywhere. [...] the people that promoted our show, which couldn't have been nicer people on the planet, they were just totally gracious and hard working. They took care of all of our needs, and we have a very big cast of characters in the Guns N' Roses camp between the band and the crew. They were just awesome. And so, after a show I got to hang out with them a little bit, you know, a little sightseeing and such and stuff. And I just got to really like them. And after being there for an extra day or so, it's like, "You know, maybe I will go play," because them asked me, somebody had asked me to, you know, to come play this Radio Beirut place the night after we played. And I'm like, "Yeah, you know, I don't know. I don't feel like jamming with anyone necessarily. But thanks a lot, I appreciate the offer." Cut to a day after that, I'm thinking to myself, "You know, maybe I do feel like going and playing some songs in a pub or something. So maybe I'll do that." And I asked my promoter at [?] what she thought about she goes, "Oh, I'd figure it out." So I called Radio Beirut and I guess they didn't want me to do it so she found a bar that she knew the people that owned it. And I put the tables together and stood up and played a set [?]l Lots of people showed up. There was a lot of fun.

Interviewer: Yeah, well, it's good that you can find a place in Beirut, of all places, to have a drink and play some music, you know?

Tommy: Yeah. I mean, the cool thing is one of the bands that played with us is called the Wanton Bishops. You gotta check them out. One of the two of the guys, the singer and guitar player, man, were at my little pub show, great harmonica player this guy. So I had him play and sit in a couple songs and play, you know, two songs, I had. The key is E, you know, he had a C harp with him and it was just the fucking [?], it was awesome.

Interviewer: Yeah. So that's the guy. I was wondering who was [?] on the harp there. That pretty cool.

Tommy: Yeah. No, he's a great guy and a really great man, really well versed in all the other, you know, all the blues, traditional blues and Chicago blues to the Memphis blues, all that. So they're really.... and they they kind of have kind of a Black Keys kind of vibe going, you know, when they play. Not so much, but they got a little bit of that in them. So they're real current and fun, you know.

Interviewer: Wonton Bishops?

Tommy: Wanton Bishops.

Interviewer: Alright. I'll check them out by Lebanon songs.

[cut part about Songs For Slim]

Interviewer: Tommy, as long as I got you on the line, I'll just go ahead and ask you the question that people ask you all the time. You probably get stopped on the street.

Tommy: There you go. Here we go.

Interviewer: Yeah, let's just get it over with. You can answer it any way you want, obviously. But you and Paul seem to have a good time doing this. Does it mean anything for the future? As far as a a more formal replacements reunion? Do you know? Do you? Are you sick of talking about it? Where are we at?
Tommy: You know, we're at a "We'll see". I mean, we [?] it every year, he and I, you know, start poking around with this thought. And, you know, I think we had a really good time recording. We might go record again together and do some original song this time. We might do that for the fun of it. It might turn into something, or it might just turn into us having fun, recording some songs together. Either way, him and I are going to play together again and we always will, we always have. You know, it's not like a question of whether we'll play together or not. Whether there's any point in calling it The Replacements or not, remains to be seen.

[cut part about The Replacements]

Interviewer: Blows me away that you've been in Guns N' Roses for 16 years. You gotta like it. I mean, it's been 16 years.

Tommy: Oh yeah. We've been playing a month of shows, it was the funniest month of shows we've ever played together. It was a lot of fun. And you know, it's been a good gig for me, Axl's been nothing but, you know, great to me and been a good friend. And you know, it's like, you know, it's what it is. We have fun playing together.

Interviewer: A new record in your thoughts somewhere at some point?

Tommy: My goal for the New Year is that there's going to be a Mats record and a Guns N' Roses record, just throwing that out there.

Interviewer: That's quite a year. This year or next year because-

Tommy: If either of those things or both things happened, I would be happy with that.

[cut part about Tommy's solo career]

Here's Tommy jamming in Beirut: