Stinson’s rock journey returns to Bash & Pop
In 1992, Tommy Stinson — bassist, guitarist, lead singer and inveterate rock ’n’ roller — first formed the band Bash & Pop.
His legendary band the Replacements had just called it quits, and a long stint with Guns N’ Roses was still ahead of him. Now that the Replacements have called it quits (again), and Guns N’ Roses has reformed its near-original lineup, Stinson’s back where he left off — with a second Bash & Pop album (“Anything Could Happen”) and a club tour hitting Great Scott in Allston tomorrow.
“It’s all fun to me,” he said. “I’m not one to sit on my butt for too long and watch the sun set; I need to keep moving. The songs I wrote are all bits and pieces of my life intertwined together, and I’m still listening to the same stuff I always did — Bob Dylan, the Clash and, hell, even Horace Silver.”
Locals will spot another familiar face in the new Bash & Pop lineup, drummer Joe Sirois from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
“I’ve known him a long time. We’ve been hanging out when I lived in L.A. This album is really picking up what I was trying to do with that first Bash & Pop album. It was supposed to be a band album, but our bass player at the time wasn’t up to snuff and I wound up playing the bass and some of the guitars myself. The new one really is a band album, like I wanted the first one to be. Over the course of two years, I’d have friends visit me for the weekend, we’d hang out, mess around and record.”
Stinson was part of Guns N’ Roses for the long birth of “Chinese Democracy” — “a lot of sitting around and recording, five days a week.”
Despite rumors to the contrary, his departure was amicable, he said.
“I didn’t really resign. What happened was that I had some personal issues that were preventing me from being on the road. I have an 8-year-old daughter, and her mom was having some troubles at the same time the Replacements were doing some weekend gigs. So after a time, they just stopped calling. To be honest with you, I did that gig for a long time. And I have nothing but respect and love for all those guys. But the next thing I knew, they were doing their reunion, and that’s how it went.”
Stinson last hit town in spring 2015 as part of the reunited Replacements. Leader Paul Westerberg pulled the plug soon afterward, and Stinson was only slightly less surprised than everyone else.
“I felt we were heading that way for a little while. We kind of overstayed our welcome in terms of keeping it fresh and fun for us. We probably dropped the ball in a few places. In terms of recording, we set up a couple of goofy sessions in goofy spots that weren’t really conducive to making a record, and we wound up with a lot of unusable stuff. But I’m still proud of what we left behind. We have a legacy, and it seems that people tune back into it every 10 years or so.”
In terms of the legendary band’s future, he only said, “Never say never.” Bash & Pop, with the So So Glos, at Great Scott, Allston, tomorrow. Tickets: $15/$18; greatscottboston.com.