2018.04.20 - Appetite For Distortion - Interview with Tommy

Transcript:

[intro]

Brando: Welcome to the podcast Appetite for Distortion. My name is Brando. Episode 59 59 episodes and I've appreciated and loved every single one of my guests. And again, before I get into our guest today, I want to say thank you to our last guest, Mr. Jack Lue, one of the sweetest and nicest people I think I've had a chance to have to speak with, but that may change today because Mr. Tommy Stinson is taking a break from lunch or eating while we're talking. But yes, our guest today is is bassist extraordinaire, perhaps one of the most renowned and respected musicians of my era, certainly. Tommy Stinson, how are you today?

Tommy: I'm doing great, man. Thank you. That's quite a build up there. I don't know if I can quite take it, I might start quivering.

Brando: That's OK. As long as you have a blanket around you, you should be alright.

Tommy: Yeah. Good, good.

Brando: Where are you calling from? Because you're probably used to being cold, I guess that's my weird segue because you're from Minnesota, right?

Tommy: EIM, but I live in upstate New York now. Been living up here for about 10 years.

Brando: OK.

Tommy: Yeah. Two hours north of Manhattan kind of thing.

Brando: OK, so that's gonna answer, that's gonna answer the questions as to - of course we're gonna talk about your bands Bash and Pop, the legendary Bash & Pop who came out with their first studio record last year, first one since '93, right, so that's quite a gap.

Tommy: Exactly. Exactly.

Brando: So right on.

Tommy: [?] interesting.

Brando: Keep them waiting, awaiting. Keep them wanting more. That's how it works.

Tommy: Exactly.

Brando: So I'll bash and pop on an awesome new band, Cowboys in the Campfire, which I, if I may, may have the single best Facebook banner ever.

Tommy: Thank you [laughs].

Brando: If you remember is, is that you in in Marilyn Monroe's costume?

Tommy: You know that is... Yeah, that's me and Chip horsing around. That would have been from last year's Pride, you know, celebration up here.

Brando: Oh cool.

Tommy: They have one every summer. And we went and did the walk for the for the Gay Pride, you know, Parade. It was a lot of fun. Bunch of our friends were in it, that kind of thing.

Brando: That's amazing. Absolutely. You know, if it was a Halloween or if it was a regular Tuesday but that's even better.

Tommy: You never know. Yeah, you never know.

Brando: No judgments anyway. But that's so cool that you support such a, you know, a great cause and something that, you know, I support as well. Yeah, we're gonna talk about the great causes. And of course some people may know you from your other bands, The Replacements and Guns N' Roses, I guess.

Tommy: Yeah, maybe so.

Brando: Maybe so. But the main reason actually why I reached out to you, it was on your banner for this upcoming event. And see, now I didn't even, I'm not that much of a stalker, I didn't know you lived upstate, so I was going to ask why you're doing the fundraiser there. It's called Safe at Home, a benefit for the Hudson Little League. And it's gonna be two Saturdays. That's gonna be Saturday May 5th and also Saturday May 12th. And I'm from Long Island, right now in broadcasting out of Tribeca. But I used to do radio in the Hudson Valley. I used to do work in in Poughkeepsie. [?] 1.5 WPDH. I don't know if-

Tommy: There you go.

Brando: Doesn't reach you? Because I know if you're a little bit further up north, though, not quite Canada.

Tommy: You know, I don't know if it reaches up here. I haven't heard. And that's only because I, you know, really have a radio on these days.

Brando: [laughs] Yeah, it's all about podcasts now, right?

Tommy: Exactly, exactly. That's what I'm thinking.

Brando: But that's cool, though, because my experience there, really, it's such a beautiful part of New York when people think of, because we have listeners literally all over the world, like got messages from different countries and all that. But when people think of New York, they think of the city. Not much is spoken about, you know, the Hudson Valley. So if I may ask it, you said you've been there for a little bit. What made you move there?

Tommy: You know, I've been coming up here for, I don't know, like over a year approximately, doing some work with my - at the time - wife's great uncle, and we're working with him on some some art projects that he was, you know, working on. And after coming up here a few times, I just kind of fell for it. And it was reasonably priced housing and it was a great little neighborhood, really eclectic array of folks and just decided it was kind of a good place to set up shop.

Brando: Yeah, no, again, it's a beautiful part of New York. Beautiful part of the country. Maybe not now because of the spring is taking its time to arrive, but-

Tommy: I know, it's funny how, you know, the winter that we're having in the middle of spring. Yikes.

Brando: I know. And this all ties in together because of course baseball season has started and a lot of, you know, in Major League Baseball people were complaining how cold it is, especially for pitchers grabbing the ball and everything. But that's not stopping the players. That's not certainly not stopping the the Little Leaguers. So how did you get involved in something like this? Did you play Little League as a kid? How did this come about?

Tommy: Well, no, actually. The funny thing is a friend of mine is on the Association for Little League, you know, association, and he approached me about helping set up, you know set up for shows[?] because they're really underfunded. And it's one of those things up here it used to be a big, it used to be a real big deal up here, Little League Parade and stuff down Warren St. and the kids would go out with like, you know, cans and, you know, collect money from people to kind of support their cause. And he approached me about it and I'd seen a few Little League games, my house used to be right on the backside of a Little League field up here so my kid and I'd go watch games and stuff like that with some of her, some of the kids, some of the kids she went to school with. [?] fun little neighborhood thing. And so when the guy approached me, you know, this guy Mike, I kinda thought it was a perfect kind of thing to kind of get myself involved in. And I called some friends up and asked them to come up and play. And you know, Alejandro, his family appeared. So I gave him a call and three other folks, you know, you could call them up because you know, it's a good cause, who could say "No" to the kids, right?

Brando: No, absolutely. Because it is. I mean, I used to be able to play Little League. I mean, this is a short, you know, this isn't about me, but I have a physical disability. But before that really took over I did play Little League as a kid. All my younger brothers played and really such a community thing, not just for the the kids, how to to learn to make new friends maybe that they're not meeting in school but for the parents, you know, as well. So it seems like it was bonding between you and your daughter. Did I hear that correctly?

Tommy: Yes, exactly, exactly. And it's kind of, you know, it is exactly that, that reason that I got involved with it. It just seemed like a really good cause. You know, and these days, you know, kids are more inclined to get up, you know, mess around on their iPods and their computers and their iPhones and that kind of crap and I kind of, you know, kind of thought, "Yeah, this will kind of help get some kids away from that a bit, get them out on the field rubbing elbows with one another." I think it's a whole lot more healthy for a kid to do that than sitting on their asses playing on their iPhones.

Brando: I know, I know. And this year I think was the the 25th anniversary of the movie The Sandlot[?] and I'm watching that and I used to do that. I mean I'm only 34 but just going out and playing, you know, whether it's baseball, whether it's hockey, but now, you're right, people are just on their phones all the time. And you know, events like this are so important, especially when, you know, there are night games, they need certain amount of money to fund the lights and they pay the umpires, there's so many volunteers involved, people taking their time just like you, so events like this are certainly important. So again, that's going to be at the Hudson River Brewing Company Saturday, May 5th. I know we have listeners everywhere, so if anything, are you gonna be doing more events like this possibly in the future, not just in the Hudson Valley or?

Tommy: You know, I think this was going to be kind of a one off for me at the moment. I helped the Little League set up their domain and all that stuff so that they get their own website and kind of helped them as much as I could to kind of get it running a little bit better and hopefully get some people out to support it. And I think, you know if they approached me next year, I'd probably do it next year. But I think that's kind of all I'm going to be able to do this year with the, you know, with my fundraising and things like that. So I'm going to be busy touring and right, making a new record and stuff here pretty quick. So you know, this is my last hurrah.

Brando: I mean, you're given not one Saturday, but two Saturdays. That's a lot to ask. Those are probably usually gig days for you or travel days.

Tommy: You got it.

Brando: Yeah. So what is the website? So people can check it out? If anything else, it can hopefully inspire other Little League organizations around the country or other countries that do similar fundraisers.

Tommy: Yeah, I do believe - I s set this up the other day - so I do believe it is HudsonLittleLeagueNewYork.com I believe that's the domain name. I just set this up. I had a couple of choices. My friend has helped me do the website, the website form and stuff too. So I think it's HudsonLittleLeagueNewYork.com.

Brando: Cool. And I know, again, cause Saturday May 5th which is coming up soon, that is at the hudsonbrew.com if you wanna check it out. It's gonna be Cowboys in the Campfire, Elvis Perkins, there's going to be like prizes, there's going to be... Are you giving away like music memorabilia as well, right?

Tommy: No, I think the second show in Helsinki [?] auction.

Brando: Oh, OK.

Tommy: [?] some things like that. That's what we do with that.

Brando: Gotcha. So that's gonna be on Saturday, May 12th. And now you can check out at HelsinkiHudson.com.

Tommy: Yeah, they've sports memorabilia, music memorabilia, whatever I can scrounge up from people.

Brando: Right on. So let's go into a little bit the first day, because that includes Cowboys in the Campfire and again, one of the best Facebook banners I've seen. How did that band come about? Because that's with you and Chip Roberts.

Tommy: Yeah, you know, I've been writing and playing with Chip Roberts since I met him, you know, 11 years ago and he and I just had this idea. You know, the painting of the two cowboys and the campfire and we talked about doing this one day, going out and having [?] and take it to the streets, and we finally got around to doing it a couple of years ago and we've been having fun ever since. So we get out and do our thing, in between the Bash & Pop touring and stuff.

Brando: That's so cool. And I think you did a show - and I'm still kicking myself - in Brooklyn, not too far away, like maybe a month or so ago. I think I was working. So I'm hoping you guys come around again.

Tommy: Oh yeah, we're gonna make a record and we'll come right back again probably this summer.

Brando: So is that the new record you were referring to? Because again, you're in so many bands. You know, it could be-

Tommy: I'm gonna probably do, I'm gonna do a Cowboys in the Campfire EP. And then probably gonna work up another Bash & Pop record all this summer.

Brando: Right on. For someone who's been doing it as long as you have, you know, you can have a band Bash & Pop and you can just live off that, you know, and have fun touring. But what... Is it still like the passion in you, like when you have the off days to do the Cowboys and the Campfire as well? You just can't stop playing music and just going out there and performing for people?

Tommy: Yeah and it keeps me busy and I do like doing it. It, you know, gives me something to do and both, you know, the Bash & Pop guys are in other bands as well. So I kind of got to get them when they're available and not doing their other band stuff. But for the Cowboys and Campfire thing works for me because, you know, the other guys in Bash & Pop have other gigs that they do, you know, the drummer Joe [?] and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. And Steve Selvidge is in The Whole Steady and those guys, you know, tour sporadically. But when they do, you know, I got a need to find other people to play with or, as I've chosen, to do Cowboys in the Campfire duo with uncle Chip. You know, it gives me a chance to keep working rather than waiting around for people, you know.

Brando: Oh, for sure and also gives you time to do, you know, benefits and things of that nature. Well I guess that's actually combining everything. So I guess that's not really any sort of downtime. But this I found interesting because again, you know, I'm in radio and anyone has any history in radio, it just piques my interest even more. Is it true that Bash & Pop, the name, was picked from the now defunct New York radio station WDRE? Is that true?

Tommy: It is. My buddy Matt Court used to work, he used to be the DJ there and he came up with the contest for that.

Brando: So was it like a contest to name your band, like what was the what was exactly the-

Tommy: Yeah, it was like, "Tommy's new band" because I had the record, I think, pretty much, I think pretty much in the can at that time. But I just didn't know what to call it. I didn't want to just have a big Tommy Stinson solo record. I felt like I wanted to be more of a band thing because I wasn't, you know, always trying to maintain that more than just having a solo career, you know?

Brando: That's so cool. Cause DRE used to be WLAR and, you know, from Long Island that has major history. But now I think it's getting more of a broader audience because now there's a documentary on Showtime. It's funny, all the six degrees, of again, Kevin Bacon, GN'R Bacon or whatever. Tina, you know who works for you, we have a common friend, Dennis McNamara who was on WLAR who's featured in that documentary that has Billy Idol and Debbie Harry. So it's just funny how all these things kind of [?] together.

Tommy: Oh totally [laughs]. That's great.

Brando: Yeah. With the Bash & Pop, because that was the band that you formed after the Replacements broke up, correct?

Tommy: That's correct. Yep.

Brando: So what was your mindset? Because you said you didn't want it to be like solo band, like, what was your mindset with your new band? What did you want to accomplish with that? Because obviously there's-

Tommy: You now, I still, I mean, as much as Replacements, you know, we'd kind of broken up at that point but I still liked the idea of being in a band rather than, you know, just having to be Tommy Simpson, the bunch of guys, you know, playing my stuff. I really kind of wanted to, you know, maintain that kind of group atmosphere. You know, when I got into making that record with Don Smith, he was kind of like, "Yeah, you should probably play bass on this, because," you know, Kevin was not holding it together as good as we would hope. And, you know, he also liked my guitar playing stuff on some of the songs. So it got to be kind of a... You know, what I was hoping to do kind of changed up a little bit as we, you know, made that record. And even at the end of that process I still wanted it to be a band vibe, and that touring band for that went out for a little while before I had changed it up. And then after touring behind that record with a couple different lineups I decided it was probably best to change band name all over again. And so, you know, just kind of living, you know, trial by error kind of thing, really.

Brando: Sure. So how did that come about as far as you wanting to be in a band and having the group of guys around you instead of your solo, is being solo? Is that something that, you know, came from childhood? Like if you don't mind me going back to little Tommy and, like, how you picked up the first bass and you know, how did that come about? Is that something you always wanted to do?

Tommy: Yeah, you know, I did. And I guess I still have got that same feeling and [?] me a couple solo records. But ultimately I've always liked the band atmosphere, the camaraderie and all that stuff. I think it makes for more interesting, lively records. And hence, you know, I went back to the Bash and Pop name on this last record. Basically, it had turned into the thing that I hoped.... The first one had turned into, which was a band effort. I had guys that were in the part of the process of making that record, you know, completely, even more so than the first one. So it just made sense. And I've always just kind of, you know, was going to rather be in a band than have a solo career, you know?

Brando: Sure. So what's your approach, I guess, of a band versus solo as far as songwriting, collaboration, how do you approach? Or do you have the same approach to both and it's just, I guess, whatever the name is, is the difference?

Tommy: You know, the funny thing is I don't really have any sort of, you know, traditional approach to any of this. I tend to write alone, unless there's someone there [?] right with someone that's there if, you know, if it's a good vibe. And I don't really, I don't have any kind of, you know, I'll sit down and do it a certain way and just kind of happens whatever is in front of me, you know.

Brando: Like whenever it strikes, you do need to be in a certain mindset to like.... You know, do you like a favorite writing spot or?

Tommy: Yeah, you know, I don't. And it's always kind of been perplexing. Like, stuff comes to me as long as I got a place to play my guitar and, you know, kind of hash stuff out, you know. It kind of just kind of comes when it comes, you know. A lot of times too the writing tends to come to me when I'm in my best mood, like, if I'm free and clear of, you know, paying bills or whatever, I'm kind of just floating kind of happy go lucky. That's usually my pick the guitar up and start really getting into stuff. But, you know, in a case like today when it's really dreary out and it's raining again and spring has not quite sprung. I don't have any even a guitar in the room [laughs].

Brando: Yeah, I can identify with that because there could be people who they want to be in a bad headspace, maybe that inspires them to write certain kind of lyrics, but no, I'm like you. I don't know. I just want to be surrounded by squirrels and flowers and just-

[laughs]

Tommy: [?] damn squirrel or a flower out right now.

Brando: I know, maybe this will just mean summer is gonna go into December or something. I'm just hoping it's just everything is shifted. I hope that's the case. So what is going on with - because you said Cowboys in the Campfire is going to be recording a new EP, so what can we expect from that?

Tommy: You know, it's kind of a stripped down kind of approach to things. Chip and I do a duo, I play acoustic and sing, he plays either slide or flat steel. And we do a little more in instrumentation on top of that just to keep it kind of interesting sounding rather than just two dudes. But, you know, we [?] EP in Dallas, or not Dallas, Austin, we were just down there recently and friend of mine was producing it, Christine Smith, who I have known from [?] with playing with Jesse Malin years ago. And so we're going to put that out, you know, as soon as I can get a hold of those masters and mix it. And I think Fat Possum is going to want to put it out, they seem to indicate that. So that would be a place for that would go. Yeah. And you know, we'll do that first and then I'll start working on a Bash and Pop record.

Brando: [?] the lyrics for Cowboys before Bash & Pop, are the lyrics gonna be cowboy related? You're gonna be talking about gold mining? Like what kind of lyrics could we expect?

Tommy: [laughs] Not quite that point, but-

Brando: I was being silly.

Tommy: Yeah, no, it'll be, you know, nothing really all that different than I normally do except it's more stripped down, probably.

Brando: Right on, right on. So that's great though, with Bash & Pop, because again, I previously mentioned, you know, the last studio record was in '93. I was 12. So I'm sorry to...

Tommy: [laughs]

Brando: No, it's 10. I'm sorry. I was 10. I can't even do math. I was born in 83, so I was 10. Even worse.

Tommy: Yeah, there you go.

Brando: Oh. And that I remember specifically, that ties everything together, in 10 [?] I was playing for the Paint Stripes, a Little League baseball team and I -

Tommy: Oh, nice.

Brando: -and it was owned by a baseball card company and they gave us like cards. And I think I got like a Sammy Sosa rookie card in that, which of course now is worth nothing because, you know, he did steroids and everything. So you came out with Bash & Pop Anything Could Happen in 2007, and that's so awesome we're going to hear you guys again. So when could you expect that release?

Tommy: You know, with a little luck I'll get it done by the fall. Round up the guys, get them out to the studio, go to Memphis probably in May and work with Steve Selvidge on some stuff. And, you know, hopefully record it this summer.

Brando: That's amazing to come out with these two EP and records so quickly. So that means you're really gonna be traveling all over? So, I mean, are you even thinking about touring yet or are you just focusing on the music at the moment?

Tommy: You know, stuff kind of comes up and if good things come up all, you know, switch gears and take with the good, you know, good show here and there. As long as everyone's available, I'll take them. We're playing.... Do you know where Brownies used to be in Manhattan?

Brando: Yeah, Yeah.

Tommy: So they're opening up a new club there. My buddy Jesse Mountain[?] is part of it's called Coney Island Baby and we're going, Bash & Pop, is going to be playing that opening week that they're open up and I guess it's going to be the week, the Friday... the Thursday before the May 12 gig at Helsinki. Maybe I can warm up gig for us right there you know in the city. But like stuff like that comes up and it's, you know, if everyone's available we'll take them, you know.

Brando: Awesome. I definitely want to go to that. So I'm assuming you're going to announce these on your Facebook and TommyStinson.com?

Tommy: Yeah.

Brando: OK.

Tommy: Yeah, yeah. I'll get all the particulars out of Jesse here in the next day or so. I'll pop them up there. You'll see what's going on.

Brando: Right on. Is everything gonna be in the States? I mean, obviously for me, I'm selfish, you know, as long as it's Long Island or New York, it's, you know, for me. But again, we have listeners and I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind asking, about people from Spain, people from Sweden, So do you foresee going overseas? Because I know this is a stripped down thing and that's a lot to travel, but do you foresee-

Tommy: We've actually been talking with the promoter over in Spain actually and trying to hook up a little England or European run with me and Chip, the Cowboys in the Campfire thing. But that stuff, you know, it takes a while to hook it up but we're open to all that. Like I said, we're already talking Spain. There's a promoter over that really wants to get us out there. So we'll see, all thing's possible.

Brando: See that's great. If anything else that's just a lot... This is a lot to look forward to from you Tommy. That's incredible.

Tommy: Oh well, thank you.

Brando: No, thank you. You know for the great music you continue to to provide us. Now if you don't mind, I have a couple of GN'R questions if you don't mind.

Tommy: Alright.

Brando: Well one I got a question from Spain, speaking of Spain, this is from a Javier, he just wants to know is there anything about the unreleased song Going Down.

Tommy: You know, I was wondering about that the other day myself. I don't really know what's gonna happen with that song in the future or not. I'm still in touch with all those guys and, you know, I haven't really seen them since I saw the show last year, last fall, but it's an interesting question and I don't really have an answer for it. I don't know if they would ever put it out, being that I'm singing it, you know, but you never know. Axl comes up with some different ideas about things all on his own, you know?

Brando: Well, I don't know as well as you, but I'm just kind of like the difficult reporter, "Mm-hmm, that sounds interesting."

Tommy: [laughs]

Brando: Do you mind if I ask how you first met Axl?

Tommy: Yeah, well, you know, Duff had quit and my buddy Josh Freese was already playing drums with them. And I happened to be rehearsing, you know, the rehearsal hall when Josh came in for some other band he was working with or whatever, and he had joked about me coming out and trying it out and make, "Now we need a bass player," and you know, kind of making fun of it kind of in a funny way. And I kind of said, "I'll try it out." So I actually learned up a few songs and went out there just on a lark. And, you know, they videotaped it and sent that to Axl and he was really into it and, you know, the rest is history. And he came down a couple days after that, we met, and the idea that was pretty, pretty punk rock, I mean, trying to maintain the whole thing without any of the other guys, the original lineup and stuff, was kind of ballsy, I thought. And I went in.

Brando: Had you seen the, like, the original band in form? Because, I mean, obviously you were with the Replacements and doing your solo stuff. I mean, I know sometimes with musicians it's hard to see other concerts, but had you seen the early days of GN'R at all?

Tommy: No, I never saw any of those shows. I almost probably saw the one in when they're opening for Aerosmith, but I think I got there too late for that show to have caught them. But I think they were the opening band on that run that I saw [?].

Brando: Gotcha. Well, I was lucky enough to to see you with the GN'R, this was 2002 Madison Square Garden and that was my first time ever seeing GN'R was your version of it. So that was a cool experience and actually just saw your former bandmate Buckethead at BB Kings, which apparently is closing, which is awful.

Tommy: Oh wow. [?] kidding. I didn't know that.

Brando: Yeah, it figures, as soon as - cuz I'm a New Yorker - it's a shame that I had never been there before. But as soon as, of course, I finally go to a concert there and they're closing. So I assume it's my fault, clearly.

Tommy: [laughs] No, stuff happens everywhere.

Brando: No, of course. And another question, if you don't mind it from another listener. This is from Johann in Sweden. If you can, what would you guys do in between '03 and '05? Because I know that era was such a unique era of of the band, like were you writing, recording, rehearsing or just chilling doing your own thing? If you can't speak about that.

Tommy: Yeah, you know, there were all kinds of big breaks, you know, where we would just, you know, go into sort of "untouring, unworking mode". And that's when I would kind of do other things on my own, other projects. And I can't imagine exactly what that was in that period of time what I was doing, but usually when we had downtime, I'd be working on other music or producing someone or what have you.

Brando: Right on, right on. See, my impression - because I never got to see the Replacements - and I have to, obviously, I gotta see Cowboys in the Campfire and Bash & Pop whenever you guys are around. Especially since it's so intimate. I prefer those intimate shows. It's just the glow that you give off on stage, it's such a mix of just like being punk rock, that Sid Vicious attitude, but then you're smiling, you see you're getting along with your bandmates. So that was something I noticed when kind of Duff was coming back with the band and you were just, you know, hugging him on stage and just being so cool about everything. So what was that experience like when he, I guess, was kind of making his way back into the band and, you know, then you were spinning off to do a, you know, your own thing again and, you know, we revitalize Bash & Pop?

Tommy: You know, when I met with him, you know, well before he was back in the band or stuff, we just met together for coffee and just, you know shoot the breeze. We had some mutual friends, you know, kind of hooked that up. And, you know, it was in Burbank, we met at Starbucks. It turns out, you know, one of his bands early on had opened for a Replacement show in Seattle, I didn't know that. We had a chat about it and had a laugh and he was always just, you know, very cool to me and a very good guy. I always liked him as a guy and a player. After meeting initially, you know, we kind of would once in a while just, you know, put through a text out to each other and, "Hey, what's going on? How you doing out there?" and stuff like that, he's that kind of guy. It's been kind of cool to know him.

Brando: Awesome. Because you said you're still in touch - and this is leading to, you know, your new bands - not their their most recent leg, but when they first did the Not In This Lifetime, they had such an eclectic array of opening acts. So if you're still in touch with them do you foresee maybe, you know, opening for GN'R in the future with whether Bash & Pop or - which would be awesome if you did Cowboys in the Campfire, just, you know, you and Chip opening up for Guns N' Roses would be a unique experience - and I think the fans would really, you know, love to see you on stage and on that kind of platform again.

Tommy: It would be funny. And I'll be honest with you, I actually threw that out there too, a while ago, because, what the hell, it doesn't hurt to ask, right? We're all still friends. What the hell? But you know, I never heard back from that, which is fine, I can totally understand that they're doing their own thing and stuff and yeah.

Brando: Well, you never know, I mean, that's just never-

Tommy: Anything could happen, right? [laughs]

Brando: That's just seems to be the case with you and your career because you're saying like you'll keep certain names of bands and trying to get the right group of guys together and just changing the name. And you know, of course, GN'R as their own story. I mean, I'm doing a podcast about it. I mean 59 episodes, 58 episodes or whatever, I can't even remember at this moment in time. But that's just again and nothing is... Everything is left to chance. That's what I'm trying to say.

Tommy: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

Brando: You just never know. So that's cool that you still have a cool relationship with them but obviously the main focus and the fact that you're putting out not only Cowboys in the Campfire EP, Bash & Pop new record, and you'll be touring and possibly even overseas it's just a phenomenal. And you're doing all that while still giving your time to the charity in Little League. And I hope to see you in baseball pants, well, we see you perform in baseball pants?

Tommy: You never know. If I could find a pair that I like that fit me and just you never know.

Brando: I got you. And you never played sports as a kid? Nothing?

Tommy: I played football a little bit when I was a kid. You know, nothing other than just playing with your buddies out in front of school, that kind of thing. But that's kind of what I was into, and I like picked up bass. Now I'm really into basketball.

Brando: Oh yeah, who's your team?

Tommy: [?] right now. I always kind of been into the Sixers now I think about it.

Brando: How come you're not a Timberwolves fan or not even like a Knicks fan or Nets fan? How do the Sixers come about?

Tommy: You know, it's because I've always had friends in Philly, I guess is probably the real reason for that. And it comes for that.

Brando: Alright, fair enough. I hope you do more events like this and the fact that you're giving your time. So again, it's gonna be Saturday - for those in the area - Saturday, May 5th, that's gonna be the Hudson Brewing Company and on Saturday May 12th at Club Helsinki for people who can't make it. Are they able to make donations online?

Tommy: Yes, they are. I think at the moment you can go to the Little Hudson Little League Facebook page and I think there's a button in there where you can push and make donations if you should feel like it. And also like I said before, if you look out for the HudsonLittleLeaguenewyork.com website to be opening pretty soon here, there's gonna be a little button on there for you to donate to through PayPal.

Brando: Oh, amazing. And knowing the GN'R fans and obviously just fans of of you, I'm sure you'll be getting a lot of of donations and helping out a lot of kids stay away from the iPhones and the iPads and actually, you know, playing sports. Before I let you go, because you mentioned it, because I wanna... Well, now because I have you here, how did you first get into into music? Was it your parents? Was it a sibling? Like, what was the the route that brought you along this path that you're still rocking and doing everything in 2018?

Tommy: It was my older brother Bobby. He taught me, told me, showed me how to play bass when he came back from being gone for a while, got some trouble as a kid and went for like a boys reform place or whatever for a while. When he came back from that he had some instruments and he caught me messing around with the bass and he quickly showed me how to play it and the rest is history.

Brando: Any specific bands he turned you on to? Like,  who did you-

Tommy: [laughs] A whole lot of Johnny Winter and, you know, and, Yes, some prog rock stuff like that early on. You know, mostly a lot of Johnny Winter in there.

Brando: OK, OK. Are you doing the same thing with your daughter? Are you trying to program her to be a rocker? Like every time she's in the car, you know, do you play your music for her or she listens to One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer?

Tommy: Yeah, she's got her own thing she likes, loves, She likes a lot of new stuff. But I don't really go down that road. I let the kids figure out where they want to be and how they wanna be it.

Brando: That's cool.

Tommy: Yeah.

Brando: Because I, when I was talking to the comedian Jim Florentine from That Metal Show, he's like with his son, he's like he just puts on metal in the car and that's just like brainwashing his kid, just to love metal. So you just never know, you know, for someone, you know, when the famous become parents, you never know how they're going to treat their young ones. And I'm like that because I'm the oldest of four boys. Actually my youngest brother just turned 22 today and I try as hard as I can, you know, here's the Replacements, here's Guns N' Roses, here's Metallica, here's all these bands, but he likes his hip hop. So I don't know, I failed. I failed him somewhere I guess. But I guess that's OK.

Tommy: Everyone's got their own bit[?], man.

Brando: Yeah no. As long as they're happy and healthy that's all that matters. So the fact that-

Tommy: Exactly, exactly.

Brando: That's what I always got from you is something like such a happy guy and I can't thank you enough for your time. You know, I was actually, this might have been like the first interview in a while, I was kind of nervous for us like, " Oh God, Tommy Stinson!" And I've been doing radio for 15 years. I don't get nervous that often. I'm like awkward, you know, stuttering Jew normally. But that's just me. That's just me. But I got a little more awkward before. So I appreciate you, you know, taking time from your lunch and giving us the time and hopefully we can help you out, pay for some more baseballs and, you know, light up the.... I think they're the only... What did it say in the press release? Is the only field in Columbia County with field lights. You know, in this time when spring is yet to be sprung and it gets still dark really early, that's, you don't want to go inside. You wanna play until, you know, the wee hours of the night and be able to see what, you know, what base you're running to.

Tommy: Exactly. Exactly. So yeah. Donate, donate, donate.

Brando: Absolutely. Anything else? I mean, I can't even think of anything else that you might have on deck other than, you know, Cowboys in the Campfire, Bash & Pop-

Tommy: Yeah, you've covered all the bases, my friend.

Brando: Pun intended or no pun intended?

Tommy: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Brando: Awesome, Tommy, thank you so much for your time and I'm going to see you out on the road for sure.

Tommy: Cool, man. Appreciate it. Have a great day.

Excerpts from Alternative Nation:
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In a new Appetite for Distortion interview, former Guns N’ Roses bassist Tommy Stinson revealed that he threw out the idea to open on the band’s Not In This Lifetime tour with one of his projects, though it is unclear how many shows he mentioned. Alternative Nation transcribed his comments.

“It would be funny, and I’ll be honest with you, I actually threw that out there to them awhile ago (laughs). Because I figured hell, it doesn’t hurt to ask right, we’re all still friends, what the hell. But no, I never heard back from that, which is fine, I totally understand that, they’re doing their own thing and stuff.”

He later added, “You never know, anything could happen, right?”

He also discussed meeting Duff McKagan.

“When I met with him, I met with him well before he was back in the band, we just met together for a coffee just to shoot the breeze. We had some mutual friends who hooked that up, it was in Burbank, we met in Starbucks, and it turned out that one of his bands early on had opened a Replacements show in Seattle. I didn’t know that, we had a chat about it, and had a laugh. He was always very cool to me, and a very good guy, I always liked him as a guy and a player. After meeting him initially, we’d once in awhile throw out a text to each other. It’s always been kind of cool to know him.”

Tommy also discussed a special charity event happening in May – Safe At Home–A Benefit For Hudson Little League. The two events will include live music from a plethora of national and regional musicians with all proceeds raised going to the Hudson Little League Association. The first event will be held at Hudson Brewing Company on Saturday, May 5th featuring Tommy’s “Cowboys in the Campfire.” The second event will be held at Club Helsinki,on Saturday, May 12th with Bash & Pop. For more information on the benefits please visit hudsonbrew.com and helsinkihudson.com

https://www.alternativenation.net/guns-n-roses-ignored-offer-from-member-to-open-reunion-tour/

Completed the Tommy interview part.