Should he choose to, Tommy Stinson will one day be able to write a fascinating book about his career in Rock & Roll, having been a member of two of the most legendarily debauched bands in Rock history.
Stinson got his first bass guitar at the end of the ’70s when he was just 11, given to him by his older brother Bob. By the time the ’80s rolled around, Stinson joined his brother in The Replacements, one of modern Rock’s more influential bands. By the time the band broke up in 1991, Stinson and singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg were the only remaining original members (Tommy’s brother was booted from the band in 1986 and passed away in 1995). Stinson and Westerberg would reunite for a few Replacements shows between 2013-15.
Stinson took the skills he honed with The Replacements and started his own group, Bash & Pop, then later a band called Perfect. Stinson also did studio sessions for artists as varied as Puff Daddy and Cincinnati’s Moth (he played bass on the local group’s major label debut, Provisions, Fiction and Gear). In the ’00s, he released a pair of solo albums (the last one being 2011’s One Man Mutiny), but, beginning in 1998, he spent much of his time as the bassist for Guns N’ Roses. He ended up being one of the longest tenured members of GNR, and it was a position he maintained until Axl Rose reteamed with original members Duff McKagan and Slash for the current massive Guns N’ Roses stadium tour.
Stinson is far from bitter about leaving his nearly 18-year stint with GNR, repeatedly praising Rose and expressing his gratitude for the opportunity. But Stinson isn’t one to remain idle for too long — just as GNR began making the stadium rounds, Stinson went back on his own tour, a decidedly low-key affair. He has been playing small clubs, record stores and other intimate spaces (he even did a “backyard show” behind a record shop in Nashville with free beer) on a tour under the name “Cowboys in the Campfire,” road-testing songs from a forthcoming new album (reportedly due next year under the Bash & Pop banner) and playing some other tunes from his solo catalog. Reports from earlier shows on the tour suggest Stinson is playing mostly acoustic, stripped-down versions of the songs in a duo format with cohort Chip Roberts.
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