Bash and Pop "Friday Night is Killing Me"

 

Bash and Pop "Friday Night is Killing Me"  9/10

Alright, I promise I will take a trip out of Minneapolis on our rock n roll map for the next post, but indulge me for this one.  Today's post is the fantastic solo-ish debut of Tommy Stinson, better known as his "band" Bash and Pop.  Bash and Pop is/was Tommy and whoever else was in the room.  For the debut effort, it is mostly Tommy doing the one man band thing, with some help from Chris Foley on the drums.  Chris and Tommy had previously worked together as Chris had served as the touring drummer in The Replacements on their farewell tour in 1991.

Tommy Stinson was born into rock n roll.  After getting into a bit of teenage delinquency, his older brother, Bob (original guitarist of The Replacements) gave him a bass to keep his idle hands busy.  Fearing Tommy was going down the same path that he had, Bob wanted to give Tommy a constructive hobby.  Tommy naturally took to the bass guitar.  He was only 13 when The Replacements had released their debut, and by the age of 16, his mother had granted the band manager legal guardianship so Tommy could drop out of high school and tour.  

When The Replacements broke up on stage on July 4th, 1991, Tommy had done a decade of living the life of a rock no roll heathen, and he was only 24 years old with nowhere to go.  Being in a band had been his whole life, and here he was, still remarkably young, with a lifetime of experience, but no formal education and no marketable skills beyond musicianship.

Having served as a loyal lieutenant to Paul Westerberg in The Replacements, Tommy learned a few things about songcraft himself.  He was never going to breakout as a songwriter in the group, and most of his efforts were tragically overlooked and/or found themselves on the cutting room floor.  Paul Westerberg is arguably the most prolific Gen X songwriter, but that didn't necessarily mean that Tommy's writing was without merit itself.

Luckily, we don't have to wonder about Tommy's own capabilities as a songwriter, as he released this amazing collection of songs.  We get a booze-soaked, early 90s college rock send up; a record that sounds equal parts Faces and Rolling Stones as it does Sugar and Soul Asylum.  Tommy takes the mike, the guitar (sometimes all of the guitar tracks), and the bass, to show us he is a songwriter to be reckoned with himself.  The real shame is that the loose conglomeration that formed Bash and Pop couldn't be held together to make more than this single record.  Tepid promotion from the label destined this release for the cutout bin almost immediately upon release.  It is too bad, because a lot of us missed one of the most fun, most earnest, most grimy rock n roll records of the 90s.

1) "Never Aim to Please"

This song *could* have been a Replacements song.  In fact, it sounds like it is full of Westerberg-ian double entendre and word play.  You can see Tommy either picked up, or outright inspired much of the cleverness of Replacements' lyrics.  The band plays loose like a dive bar band, in a room full of stale smoke and cheap beer.  It is hard to tell if this song is a "band" effort, or a little bit of studio magic, but it just feels fun.  Very autobiographical as Tommy tells us "I never aim to please, couldn't shoot strait if I wanted" and "Shoot at nothin' is all I ever do"

2) "Hang Ups"

This roots rocker sounds straight out of The Faces catalog.  Tommy manages to convincingly mimic the rollicking playing of Ron Wood, while also having a voice that is sort of a thin sounding Rod Stewart.  The slide guitar work keeps the blues-rock vibe going too.

3) "Loose Ends"

A love scorned song here.  The big riff ties together the blues soaked leads.  Tommy, a man who was 25 at the time, is wearing his years like an elder statesman of rock n roll already.  Some of these songs feel like they are simultaneously dealing with a romantic break as well as the end of what was a band that never quite lived up to its promise.

4) "One More Time"

This is the first one that sounds "contemporary."  Contemporary, meaning, a product of the time.  The Replacements were one of the forefathers of the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, tragically falling apart before they saw the scene that they crafted full reach its success.  It is interesting that Tommy decided to look back a bit to craft this record as many of the songs harken back to classic rock, but this sounds like a 90s send up.

5) "Tickled to Tears"

Another punch drunk sing-a-long.  Even the 70s style production permeates this song as the guitars are panned to a hard left and right stereo speaker placement.  Benmont Trench (yeah, that one from Tommy Petty and the Heartbreakers) adds some organ work here too.  

6) "Nothing"

We reach our first ballad of the lot here.  Tommy really began to find his sort of niche here as a solo artist.  His most recent ventures have been scaled back shows, playing music that lends itself well to a rock album as it does an intimate endeavor at a record store, in front of a campfire, etc.  This song still plays strong in his sets.  The atmospheric guitar work adds just the right sentimental touch to the song.

7) "Fast and Hard"

This is an explosive gem, allowing Tommy to scream his lungs out.  It is a banger with a little piss and vinegar behind it.  It kind of feels like a lover's quarrel played out on record. 

8) "Friday Night (Is Killing Me)"

This is the first truly great song that Tommy wrote.  Not that it took us this long to get to a good track, but rather he wrote this during the sessions for the final Replacements album, likely seeing the writing on the wall for the band and wanting to work his way through songwriting himself.  The song oozes with the charming heartbreak and disappointment of Replacements songs before it.  By the end, you feel just as heartbroken, disappointed, and jaded as Tommy does.  The bittersweet chord progression drives the feel of the whole song.  With a little bit of support from the label, this song, could have found its way to FM rock infamy.  The song isn't just "big" it is downright cinematic.  

9) "He Means It"

Another song straight up riffing on all of the good parts of Faces.  A dirty blues rock riff drives this number.  Not exactly a filler track, but not up there with the highlights of this fantastic collection.

10) "Tiny Pieces"

We get to a fast moving ballad here.  Tommy feels like he is telling another comfortable love story to a mystery woman.  The song reeks of the maturity of a writer in his late 30s, but what we actually get is a very young man, wise beyond his years.  The country rock influence permeates the track, but in an authentic way.  Maybe this is a nod to his fanboys in The Jayhawks.

11) "First Step"

This song plays like a send up of "Cats in the Cradle."  A story about growing up, and the heartbreak of leaving home.  For someone who basically left home at 13 to be in a rock band, this is a convincing story about growing up in the suburbs in the Midwest.  This serves as an excellent bookend to the collection.  It ended up serving as the bookend to the short-lived original Bash and Pop as well.  The biggest regret as a listener is hearing the potential of a band that never really was.

Following the cold reception of Bash and Pop, Tommy went on to form another group whose work was mostly shelved, the band Perfect.  After Perfect disbanded, Tommy left the music business for a bit, working a stint as a telemarketer in LA.  A call from friend and session drummer Josh Freese landed Tommy a successful audition as bass player for a group you may have heard of, called Guns n Roses.  Tommy went on to play bass for Guns n Roses up until The Replacements got back together in the mid 2010s.  

After the second disbanding of The Replacements, Tommy did another Bash and Pop record (also on the dossier for this blog) and had been touring with his friend Chip, playing songs from his entire catalog.  On a personal level, on the last tour to come through town, I spent the evening trading stories and memories with Tommy (for real).  I can say, as far as rock stars go, Tommy is the real deal.  Down to Earth, fun, insightful, and full of tales of fatherhood, success, failure, debauchery, and growing up with a guitar in your hand.