Tommy Stinson
TOMMY STINSON
“I want to say this about Tommy: Some people say that Keith Richards is the embodiment of rock ‘n roll. Well, I know ‘em both, and I say it’s Tommy Stinson. Keith is a cowboy, he goes back to Gene Autry. Tommy — he goes back to Johnny Thunders. Tommy Stinson is rock ‘n roll. ” - Jim Dickinson, record producer and musician
It would be hard to find a character in rock and roll who has played the part better than Tommy Stinson. From his beginnings as bassist of the legendary Replacements to his current tenure with Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum, Tommy has always done things his own way and has lived to tell the tale.
The story begins with seminal Minneapolis band The Replacements. Tommy started the group with his big brother Bob at the tender age of 13. His spirited bass playing, sense of style, and impenetrable bullshit detector helped make the band special. He dropped out of high school a few years later to focus on touring full-time, and hasn’t looked back. Until the Replacements unceremonious demise in 1991, Tommy and his bandmates found themselves hazily thrashing through the world with reckless abandon. Their unpredictable shows are the stuff of legend — nobody that has ever seen the Replacements on stage will ever forget it. In the end, all he had to show for it was a few bruises and a hell of a reputation to uphold.
