Posts Tagged ‘Tommy Stinson’

GUNS N’ ROSES PLAN NEW YORK TAKEOVER WITH HISTORIC RETURN TO THE RITZ

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 30, 2012) – Seminal rock icons, Guns N’ Roses, are set to invade New York during fashion week with a series of intimate shows then continue with additional stops through the northeast, announced today.  Six shows confirmed so far including the historic return to The Ritz (now Webster Hall), 24 years after the filming of their heralded “Live At The Ritz” – the MTV concert continues to be one of the most sought after trades in bootleg circles.  For the Webster Hall date, GN’R will celebrate their return by reclaiming the venue as The Ritz with signage and the name appearing on the marquee.  The New York takeover in February marks the first time the band will appear at Roseland and Terminal 5, beginning on February 10, 2012.  Full list of dates below.

Ticket presale is set for Tuesday, January 31 at 10:00am ET for the NY run, public on-sale is Wednesday, February 1.  Chicago, Silver Spring and Atlantic City presale is Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00am EST, with public on-sale Friday, February 3. Tickets and VIP packages for all six dates will be available at gunsnroses.com.

Guns N’ Roses have just come off their sold-out global 2011 arena tour, with more than 30 shows in the US, visits to Latin America and multiple festivals, having played to millions of fans around the globe.

Celebrated worldwide as one of the most important rock acts in musical history, Guns N’ Roses are Axl Rose, DJ Ashba (guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboards), Tommy Stinson (bass), Richard Fortus (guitar), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar), Chris Pitman (keyboards) and Frank Ferrer (drums).  Founder Axl Rose started Guns N’ Roses over 25 years ago and since that time, they have become one of the biggest bands in music history, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.  GN’R’s major-label debut, “Appetite For Destruction,” has sold over 28 million albums in the United States alone.  The ground-breaking album changed the course of music with such classic hits as “Welcome The Jungle,” “Paradise City,” and the chart-topping single, “Sweet Child of Mine.”   The band’s third studio release, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, was the first double album release in history to nab both the top spots on the Billboard chart and went on to remain on the charts for more than 108 weeks while the band spent more than 2 years on the road to support. The ‘Illusion’ releases found the band charting new territory in the video arena with the theatrical trilogy, “November Rain,” “Don’t Cry” and “Estranged.”  The band’s most recent release, Chinese Democracy (Black Frog/Geffen Records), released in November 2008 and debuted #1 on the charts in thirteen countries, going platinum in 15 countries!

Tour Dates:

February 10  Roseland Ballroom            New York, NY

February 12  Terminal 6                       New York, NY

February 15  The Ritz (Webster Hall)      New York, NY

February 19  House of Blues                 Chicago, IL

February 23  The Fillmore                     Silver Spring, MD

February 24  House of Blues                 Atlantic City, NJ

It is unlikely the teenage Tommy Stinson would have thought that the band he helped start would become such an indie legend or indeed that he would one day end up playing with the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses or Soul Asylum, but life is a strange beast.  As bassist with the legendary alt rock pioneers The Replacements’, Tommy Stinson along with his brother Bob, drummer Chris Mars and Paul Westerberg unwittingly and often unwillingly helped shape the American indie rock scene of the late 80s.

Having kept himself busy since the demise of The Replacements with various projects, ‘One Man Mutiny’ is actually only his second solo record.  Featuring contributions and collaborations from G’n’R’s Dizzy Reed and Richard Fortus plus former Replacements mainman Paul Westerberg, this marks a definite step forward in Stinson’s progression as an artist in his own right.

The album kicks off with the lairy swagger of the short but sweet ‘Don’t Deserve You’ before ‘It’s A Drag’ oozes from the speakers with the sleazy charm of a Stones number, replete with ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ style “woo hoo’s”.

Things mellow out with the country twang of ‘Seize The Moment’ and ‘Zero To Stupid’, the latter edging towards the pop snap of Fountains Of Wayne.  ‘Match Made In Hell’ is a bittersweet duet, performed with his fiancée Emily Roberts and co-written with the aforementioned Paul Westerberg.  Part bar room blues, part pop, Westerberg’s influence is clear and there is a cheeky charm to it that makes it one of the album highlights.  Emily also features heavily on ‘Destroy Me’, this time however the playful relationship is replaced with a more corrosive coupling.

Recorded in the restaurant of a Belgian hotel during the Guns ‘n’ Roses tour and featuring Dizzy Reed and Richard Fortus, the album closes on this low key, simple acoustic arrangement and sees Stinson delivering his best Dylan-esque drawl .

Given Tommy’s rock pedigree it is hard to not compare ‘One Man Mutiny’ against the likes of ‘Let It Be’ or ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ and whilst not quite in the same league, it is a solid collection of tunes.  It may not be as raw and energetic as The Replacements, Tommy does show he is far from trading on past glories and has produced an engaging sophomore record.  Maturing in sound and confidence, ‘One Man Mutiny’ is a mishmash of styles, borrowing heavily from his past but also showing he has more than a few new ideas of his own. 

Jules says….

Find out more about Tommy Stinson HERE.

Tommy Stinson willl release his new solo album ‘One Man Mutiny’ on Nov 7th.
Featuring contributions from fellow former Replacements, Paul Westerberg and current Guns N’ Roses bandmates!

Tommy Stinson, founding member of The Replacements, and current bass player for Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum, will release his second solo effort, ‘One Man Mutiny’, on his own Done To Death label,  on November 7th 2011 in the UK, distributed by Shellshock.

“I figured the time was right,” Stinson says of his label. “The record industry is falling apart, so I thought I’d figure it out on my own and make a permanent place for my music.”
Stinson will donate a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the album to the Timkatec Schools in Haiti.  Last summer, Stinson held an on-line auction and raised over $40,000 for the schools, which have housed and provided skilled trade education for abandoned and orphaned youths in the Pétionville district of Port-au-Prince for over ten years.  The schools’ fund-raising needs have drastically increased in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, and as a result Stinson remains committed to his on-going effort to raise funds for them.

‘One Man Mutiny’ is Stinson’s most fully realized effort to date in both production quality and craftsmanship of song.  “I’m finding it a lot more interesting to make music  these days,” says Tommy. “Especially given the musical climate as of the last few years – there are a lot of people complaining about how bad it is. I am actually embracing the challenges“.  This album is also a family affair for Tommy – his fiancée Emily Roberts sings harmonies on many of the songs and lead on his first ever duet, “Destroy Me,” while her uncle Chip Roberts’ slide guitar playing flavours the album from beginning to end.  The album was produced by Phillip Broussard, Jr. ( Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer) and recorded at Tommy’s Bipolarbear studios in both Los Angeles and suburban Philadelphia.

Included on the  One Man Mutiny’s 10 tracks is “Match Made in Hell” was co-written by one Paul Westerberg.  “I sent it to him and he came up the counter melody and the vocal hook,” Stinson says.  “It’s a little thing that did a lot, so that’s why I credited the old fucker”.  The title track  “One Man Mutiny“, was recorded with Guns N’ Roses members Dizzy Reed and Richard Fortus in the restaurant of the Conrad Hotel in Brussels, Belgium on a day off from their 2010 world tour, which was documented on video (along with all sorts of other adventures on the road with G’n'R) on Tommy’s website.

Dizzy Reed also co-wrote “All This Way For Nothing” and played on “Come To Me” The album was mixed by Sean Beavan (GnR, Nine Inch Nails, Village Gorilla Head).

Stinson, whose career began at the tender age of 13, has spent his entire life thus far making music and touring incessantly, leaving an indelible mark in the world of music and pop culture.  After The Replacements stopped playing in 1991, Stinson went on to form his Faces-flavored group Bash & Pop and the more straightforward Perfect.  His first solo release, Village Gorilla Head, was released in 2004 receiving praise from the critics and the fans.  In 2005, Stinson also scored his first movie (“Catch and Release” with Jennifer Garner) with BT.  Stinson is currently helping Soul Asylum put the finishing touches on their forthcoming album.

One Man Army Track listing:

01 Don’t Deserve You.

02 It’s A Drag.

03 Meant To Be.

04 All This Way For Nothing.

05 Come To Hide.

06 Seize The Moment.

07 Zero To Stupid.

08 Match Made In Hell.

09 Destroy Me

10 One Man Mutiny

www.tommystinson.com