Minneapolis rock great Tommy Stinson brings new project to the Bay Area
Founding member of the Replacements Tommy Stinson brings his new stripped-down roots trio Cowboys in the Campfire to the Bay Area for several shows this weekend.
Getting his start at the tender age of 11 playing bass with his half-brother and future Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson, Tommy was a key part of the band's evolution from drunken teenage punk degenerates into one of America's most important underground acts. Filled out by drummer Chris Mars and main songwriter Paul Westerberg, the Replacements released their raucous debut album Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash when the bassist was 15 years old.
While that record and the follow-up EP Stink were rooted in the chaotic punk sound fostered by scene pioneers Hüsker Dü, the Replacements started branching out with their sophomore album Hootenanny. Touching on everything from power pop and classic rock ("Mr. Whirly" paid irreverent homage to the Beatles by lifting parts from several Fab Four hits) to surf and country roots, the album pointed the band in the new direction that would make the quartet one of the defining post-punk groups of the '80s.
The band's string of recordings that followed -- starting with their last effort for Minneapolis indie label Twin/Tone Let It Be through their first two albums for major label Sire Records Tim (their last with Bob Stinson as a member as he spiraled into alcoholism and drug abuse; he died in 1995 at age 35) and Pleased to Meet Me -- would cement the Replacements as leading light of America's emerging alternative-rock movement. While the group would not match those heights on its subsequent two releases before splitting up in 1991 following a farewell tour, their legacy and influence is unequalled.
Tommy Stinson would spend most of the '90s working on a couple of short-lived bands -- Bash & Pop, who released a single album in 1993 and contributed a song to the Clerks soundtrack, and Perfect -- but would make the unusual move of joining Guns N' Roses in 1998 after bassist Duff McKagen left the band. Stinson would contribute writing and arrangements to a number of songs in addition to playing bass on singer Axl Rose's long-gestating opus Chinese Democracy that finally saw release in 2008. He also managed to release his own solo debut Village Gorilla Head in 2005 in addition to reuniting with Westerberg to record a pair of new songs for a greatest hits collection the same year. The Replacements would eventually come together for a tour that included Stinson's GnR bandmate Josh Freese on drums in 2013, playing festivals and the band's first headlining dates in two decades. Stinson also filled in playing bass for fellow Minneapolis band Soul Asylum as his schedule allowed during that period.
More recently the musician has worked on additional solo work and a reunion for Bash & Pop, but his latest focus has been his decade long roots-oriented partnership with guitarist Chip Roberts, Cowboys in the Campfire. Pieced together from various recording sessions held over the last six years -- including studio time in Texas with like-minded roots-punk great John Doe of X adding bass and vocals to four tracks -- the band's debut album Wronger came out last June to wide praise as one of the songwriter's best post-Replacements efforts yet.
Stinson and Robert along with stand-up bass player Chops LaConte come to the Bay Area this weekend to play songs from the album. The threesome will play a free afternoon show at the Downtown Berkeley plaza stage at 12:30 p.m. followed by a sold-out house show in Lafayette Friday night. The band moves to the South Bay for a show on the porch at Hobee's in downtown San Jose Saturday.
Tommy Stinson's Cowboys in the Campfire
Friday, Nov. 10, 12:30 p.m. Free
Downtown Berkeley Plaza
Saturday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. $25-$100
Hobee's San Jose