2005.01.20 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Guns N' Roses bassist finds his way back to Midwest (Tommy)

Guns N' Roses bassist finds his way back to Midwest

Stinson was once part of The Replacements

By NICK CARTER

Tommy Stinson will be coming home in a sense Sunday when he returns to the Midwest as part of a duo for a show at Shank Hall.

The bassist for the seminal punk and alt-rock band The Replacements, which was revered by critics and underground rock fans but never became a strong commercial entity, was based in Minneapolis before breaking up in 1991. After that, Stinson moved to Los Angeles, created his own groups (Bash & Pop, Perfect) and eventually became a member of Guns N' Roses.

Last year, Stinson released a solo album, "Village Gorilla Head." We recently caught up with Stinson at his home, talking about everything from the pressure of writing hit singles to how he and other musicians have cleaned up their acts since their vice-ridden rock 'n' rollin' in the '80s.

Q. I saw your tour with Perfect in the late '90s; the set seemed fun but unfocused. How do you predict this tour will go?

A. This tour will be quite different from the last one. A lot of the Perfect tour was about exploring and finding our niche in the rock scene at that point. And a lot of stuff has gone down in the last several years for me personally as a songwriter.

I've been writing songs of my own, both for myself and for Guns N' Roses. And for the first time I'm pretty much in a position to do whatever I want in terms of creating music. On my new album, I went out of my way to do a little bit of everything - acoustic stuff beside the full-band songs. That was a major point of doing this record.

Q. In the Replacements, the band's few ventures into major labeldom were notorious for the discord they created. Can you envision that happening again?

A. There had always been pressure to do specific types of songs in the Replacements. They wanted us to come up with singles. But Paul (Westerberg, the Replacements' front man) couldn't do it, and I didn't know how to do it. But I don't see that happening in this situation. We're on a label familiar with my music, and that's what they're expecting.

Q. What's it like being a member of Guns N' Roses? It's not exactly the kind of band a member of the Replacements would be expected to eventually join.

A. There's a lot of hype and distraction on the tours and any other public situation, because anything involving Axl Rose is going to take away attention from the music. The long-awaited GNR record is a collaborative effort. That's how Axl likes to do things: involve everyone. You might not know it from what you read and hear about him but he's real keen at tooling individual talents, getting the best, most personal contribution from everyone involved.

Q. What's the difference between touring with the Replacements back in the '80s and touring now?

A. Ten, 15 years ago, I and other musicians I was associated with were in a much different place: the days of sex, drugs and rock and roll aren't as intense today or out front today. Maybe they're just hiding, but the lifestyle certainly isn't as glorified as it once was. Basically, a lot of it merely involves us growing up and not being dumb kids anymore.

Q. How would you compare living in L.A. to life in Minneapolis?

A. I've lived in Burbank (an L.A. suburb) for the last 10 years. I miss my family and the different seasons, but that's about it.

Q. When's the last time you communicated with Paul Westerberg?

A. I had recording sessions with Paul last Monday and Tuesday; he's doing songs for the soundtrack of some animation movie for Sony. It was fun catching up and working together. I hadn't seen him for a while.

Q. Will the Replacements ever reunite?

A. I can't see it happening any time soon. For me, the next couple years are booked, and from what I see, there's no need to do a reunion. Or at least no one's been banging on my door requesting it.

Q. What's booking you up for the next year?

A. I'm touring behind my record and possibly the GNR record, and I may get a soundtrack coming. Those are my immediate goals.

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