On Oct. 21, Tommy Stinson and Chip Roberts will perform as Cowboys in the Campfire at a venue called Barno’s Backyard Ballroom in Eugene. The duo will perform at Bunk Bar in Portland the following night.
Stinson began his career as the teenage bassist for the now-legendary Minneapolis punk band The Replacements. He played bass for Guns N’ Roses from 1998-2016 until Duff McKagan rejoined for the current tour, and has also fronted the bands Perfect and Bash & Pop, the latter of which is set to release a new album in early 2017.
Stinson spoke with the Emerald to discuss the current tour, Bash & Pop’s new record and what lesson politicians can learn from The Replacement’s alcohol-fueled career.
Emerald: Do you remember anything about the 1985 show The Replacements played on campus at the University of Oregon’s EMU Ballroom?
Tommy Stinson: Nope (laughs). There’s probably a real good reason for that as well.
E: This time in Eugene, you’ll be performing a house show at a place called Barno’s Backyard Ballroom. What should we expect at that show?
TS: You’re gonna see two guys make as much racket as they can with two guitars and having a fucking laugh at it as well. We tend to have a lot of fun and people tend to respond to that aspect a whole lot.
E: Following the large-scale Replacements reunion tour and departing Guns N’ Roses, why did a stripped-down acoustic tour seem like something you wanted to do?
TS: I’m waiting on the Bash & Pop record to come out in the new year, and it got pushed back so far that I had to do something. I had to get out and work and keep myself busy so Chip and I decided to throw it together. We did the East Coast run, which was great, and had such a good time that we decided, “Let’s do that again in October and see how that goes.” So now we’ve got that, and I think we’re going to aim to put a record together to follow it up probably in the new year.
E: I have a friend who saw you play in a basement on this tour. What’s the most unorthodox venue you have played on this tour?
TS: We played poolside in Palm Springs at an unannounced kinda quiet under-the-radar kind of show. We originally had the day off, and instead of having the day off, we played for room and board and food and folly and they paid us, so it’s like, “Wow, that’s a good way to spend a day off.”
E: How do you compare a Guns N’ Roses stadium show to something like a basement show?
TS: My shows, I’m not playing for the boss. I’m not playing for anyone else. It’s our own thing and it’s gratifying in that way. We can do what we want, we can do it the way we want, and we don’t have to worry about any confines of someone else’s material, or any of that.
E: You’ve probably heard this by now, but Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine has listed Let It Be as one of his favorite albums. What are your thoughts on that?
TS: That’s suspect to me (laughs). I don’t know if we need a vice president who’s favorite song is “Gary’s Got A Boner” (laughs). I don’t know. That’s funny to me. In all seriousness I think it’s fine. I joke around and think it’s kind of a funny bit.
E: Are there any lessons politicians can learn from The Replacements’ career?
TS: (Laughs). Hopefully learn how to not shoot yourself in the foot when you’re aiming for your head.
E: You’ve announced a new Bash & Pop record is coming out early next year. How did that album come about?
TS: I started recording the songs in a live format, a live setting, and now I’m laboring over them like I did with my solo records. And the sounds came together sounding more like a band record than a solo record, so we wanted a Bash & Pop record, so we called it that.
E: On PledgeMusic you are offering a variety of options for fans to buy the new Bash & Pop album. Are there any packages you’re particularly excited about?
TS: Yeah. The pool ones. I think it will be fun to have some people come in and play pool with me. I like the intimacy of the whole thing. It gives people a chance to hang out with me and I get to hang out with them in return, and it’s kind of a goofy bit, but it works.
E: The one that caught my eye is the Tommy Stinson Wedding where you will officiate a wedding ceremony then play songs. How long have you been an ordained minister?
TS: A few years. I married my friends Dan and Kathleen like 15 years ago, pretty much to the day. I think that will be fun. That probably will be the funnest bit.
E: A portion of the proceeds of the PledgeMusic campaign will benefit the Timkatec trade schools in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Why did you decide to do that?
TS: They need a lot of help. They just got decimated with another hurricane and it’s just fucked up down there and they get very little help. It’s a country that really needs to get itself together and rebuild itself, and so this little school, Timkatec, it’s a trade school; they teach electricians, plumbers or whatever kind of things like that, and all those things are necessary to help rebuild Haiti. It’s a good cause, it’s a good thing, and I support it.
Tickets are available through Ticketfly.com. Watch a video from the Cowboys in the Campfire tour below: