Tommy Stinson Interview on Chinese, Axl, Duff and Robin Finck

[Dean]

Tommy is going on tour in Spain and recently done an interview with Rockzone, a Spanish Media Outlet. This is a rough translation courtesy of Google so there will no doubt be errors. Here are a few tidbits on Guns and Chinese.

https://www.rockzonemag.com/entrevista-a-tommy-stinson-cerca-de-las-estrellas/

One of the songs you sang on the tour with the Guns N' Roses was 'Motivation', from the album Village Gorilla Head.

"It was great to be able to sing that song with the band. It wasn't my idea, precisely. They asked me if I could sing one or two songs, for production reasons. I showed them a list of my songs, we tried several and I really felt comfortable singing that song, so they added it to the set list. It was great to be able to do that with a band like Guns N' Roses."

Let's talk about Guns N' Roses. What is your current opinion of Chinese Democracy?

"I haven't heard it recently, but I think it's a great album at different levels. There was a lot of dedication on everyone's part and it was also an extraordinary learning experience. I have never had to record with people of totally distant musical styles before. The best of all was that, the experience. I've learned a lot by recording that album."

How would you describe Axl as a composer? He has always stretched more to Queen or Elton John than not just prototypical rock.

"He's someone very interesting. For me, he doesn't get enough credit in what he does. He is a very diplomatic person, he wants us all to be part of the process, for us all to participate in the recordings. He is very good at the role of producer and there is not much talk about that. He's really very good at his business. As a composer he is unique, he always tries to get everyone involved in the process of a song, that no one is left out."

Now they are back, and I would like to know your opinion of Duff McKagan as a musician.

"Oh, I think he's a great bassist. I love his style and we also come from similar places. I'm glad Guns N' Roses are together again. I only have good memories of when I was with them, so I'm happy to know that they are on tour and playing for their audience."

What can you tell me about the songs 'Catcher In The Rye' and 'Hard Skool'?

"Mmm... not much. 'Catcher In The Rye' is a very interesting song, Axl was inspired by the book. He felt very identified. The recording process was very interesting too, we all contributed different ideas. It's one of my favorite songs from that album. And I don't remember much about 'Hard Skool'. I think it's an old song by the band but I can be wrong."

You agreed with Robin Finck. For me, it is one of the best of the last three decades.

"Yes, I agree. I always thought he was a better guitarist than DJ Ashba...

Of course. (I laugh and he gets laughed)

"Ssshh, don't make me laugh. Robin is a very interesting guy, like a Renaissance. He is also a very good person, I love Robin."

What do you remember about Brian May's collaboration on Chinese Democracy?

"Oh, I remember it very well. When we were recording that album, Brian appeared to play some guitar parts. It started with one of my songs, 'Riad N' the Bedouins'. And it was really great to see Brian May of Queen playing one of my songs. We both had a good time together because at that time I lived in Burbank and his house was in Hancock Park in Hollywood. So I used to pick me up. It was great. Sometimes we were going to have a few beers. He also tried to approach one of my friends (laughs). I remember a particular moment, he was recording one of my songs and suddenly he stopped everything, took the microphone and said, 'Tommy, what are these damn jazz chords?' (laughs).And I had to show him the jazz chords that were part of the song."

 

Full Interview:

Spoiler

Next week Tommy Stinson will start a tour of several concerts around the peninsula. A unique opportunity to see one of the musicians with a most peculiar career.

If Tommy Stinson already signed a deal with musical immortality with The Replacements, his solo albums or with Bash & Pop show a restless, free and brilliant guy. But it is that he was also Axl Rose's undaunted companion towards Chinese democracy. And he played on a Soul Asylum record. More than enough credentials to chat with one of the most charismatic rock bass players, apart from an excellent and exalted composer.

One of the songs you sang on tour with Guns N' Roses was 'Motivation' from the Village Gorilla Head album .
“It was great to be able to sing that song with the band. It wasn't exactly my idea. They asked me if I could sing one or two songs, for production reasons. I showed them a list of my songs, we tried several and I really felt comfortable singing that song, so they added it to the set list . It was great to be able to do that with a band like Guns N' Roses."

Bash & Pop seems like a great project to me. You have released two albums so far, Friday Night Is Killing Me and Anything Could Happen .
“We released those two albums at two different times and with different line-ups of course, but recorded the same way. The first one was recorded just after finishing a tour with The Replacements, so I wanted to do something similar, that sounded like a rock band. I set up a recording studio in my house and we started working. I didn't want to record the songs in parts, but wanted the band to play the songs as if it were live. I wanted to do the same for the second album Anything Could Happen . For me, it was much better to do it that way.”

How did you start playing bass? Who were your influences?
«My brother was the first to show me how to play the bass, when he was eleven years old. Together we were part of the first formation of The Replacements. My favorite bass players were Paul McCartney, Jim Lea from Slade, Paul Simonon from The Clash and John Doe from X.

I love X. Any favorite album? Los Angeles maybe ?
“ Hmm no. I think my favorite album is See How We Are. Although it sounds strange, I love that record.

If you had to define your bassist style, what would you say?
“Well, I'm a very disciplined person and I try to play all styles, whether it's punk, rock or blues. I can improvise on any style of music or at least try."

Have you thought about releasing a new album soon?
“My songwriting partner, for at least the last thirteen years, has been Chip Roberts, who is friend and family, he is my second wife's uncle. Together we have been writing songs. We decided to call ourselves Cowboys In The Campfire because we're always playing acoustic guitar and singing here and there. At first we rehearsed, it was a fun concept, but we have been writing so many songs that it has become a serious project. We are going to release an album with Fat Possum Records, who released the last Bash & Pop album. It will be a quieter album but with several new elements, with wind instruments. If all goes well, it will be out early next year. The first single will be out this November 9th, a song called 'Dream.'”

What inspires you to compose?
“With Chip we write about things we see and do together, fun things. This album has a lot of humour, some songs are inspired by funny anecdotes that Chip told me”.

Let's talk about Guns N' Roses. What is your current opinion of Chinese Democracy ?
“I haven't listened to it recently, but I think it's a great album on different levels. There was a lot of dedication from everyone and it was also an extraordinary learning experience. Never before had I had to record with people from totally distant musical styles. The best of all was that, the experience. I've learned a lot recording that album."

How would you describe Axl as a songwriter? He has always tended more to Queen or Elton John than not just the prototypical rock.
“He is someone very interesting. To me he doesn't get enough credit for what he does. He is a very diplomatic person, he wants us all to be part of the process, that we all have our participation in the recordings. He is very good in the role of producer and that is not talked about much. He is really very good at his thing. As a composer he is unique, he always tries to get everyone involved in the process of a song, so that no one is left out”.

Now they're back, and I'd like to know your opinion of Duff McKagan as a musician.
“Oh, I think he's a great bass player. I love his style and we also come from similar places. I'm glad Guns N' Roses are back together. I only have good memories of when I was with them so it makes me happy to know that they are touring and playing for their public”.

What can you tell me about the songs 'Catcher In The Rye' and 'Hard Skool'?
“ Hmm… not much. 'Catcher In The Rye' is a very interesting song, Axl was inspired by the book. He felt very identified. The recording process was very interesting too, we all brought different ideas. It's one of my favorite songs on that album. And about 'Hard Skool' I don't remember much. I think it is an old song of the band but I can be wrong”.

You met Robin Finck. For me it is one of the best of the last three decades.
"Yes I agree. I always thought he was a better guitar player than DJ Ashba”…

Of course. (I burst out laughing and his laughter is contagious)
“ Ssshh , don't make me laugh. Robin is a very interesting guy, like a Renaissance man. Besides he is a very good person, I love Robin ».

What do you remember about the Brian May collaboration on Chinese Democracy ?
“ Oh , I remember it very well. When we were recording that record, Brian showed up to play some guitar parts. He started with one of my songs, 'Riad N' the Bedouins'. And it was really cool to see Brian May from Queen play one of my songs. We both had a good time together because I was living in Burbank at the time and his house was in Hancock Park in Hollywood. So he used to pick me up. It was great. Sometimes we would go for a few beers. He also tried to approach one of my friends (laughs) . I remember one moment in particular, he was recording one of my songs and suddenly everything stopped, he took the microphone and said to me,'Tommy, what are these damn jazz chords?' (laughs) . And I had to teach him the jazz chords that were part of the song."

What is your favorite Queen album and your favorite song of theirs?
I don't know if I have a favorite Queen album because I've always listened to the greatest hits albums. I remember when News Of The World came out , I was in a friend's basement and the brother had bought that record. It was great when we heard 'We Will Rock You'. Maybe that's my favorite album, because of the memories I have. Favorite song? 'You're My Best Friend'. It's a brilliant song with a great feeling. I always think of that song when I think of my best friends.”

It was composed by John Deacon.
“ Oh really? I did not know, I did not know it".

How about Deacon on bass?
“I think he's a great bass player and also a great songwriter. Much of Queen's musical brand is thanks to him and under him. I really think he's a genius, he took the bass sound to another level. Like Paul McCartney or Brian Wilson."

Among many projects, you got to be with Soul Asylum.
“I only recorded one album with them, The Silver Lining . What can I tell you… I grew up with them. I've known Dave and Dan since high school. We are old friends, neighbors, family. It's funny because just this morning Dave texted me and we've been talking. When Karl Mueller died, his wife told me that one of his last wishes was that his place be taken by one of the 10 bass players he had selected. And the first name on that list was mine. It was a great honor for me."

Regarding The Replacements, if I don't ask you about their albums, they kill me (laughs) . I mention three: Let It Be , Tim and Pleased to Meet Me .
“With Tim, my brother's era in the band ended. He was already taking other directions, and also substances, so it wasn't working. It was a very difficult album for me. In fact, of all our albums it is the one with the worst sound, despite having the financial support of Warner Brothers. But we had the wrong producer. Let It Be is probably our last big record, with Bob of course. We were able to get away a bit from the punk rock and hardcore that we had been pigeonholed into. We were able to do that thanks to songs like 'I Will Dare'. WithPleased to Meet Me , after Tim , we tried to find a twist to the concept of the group with Chris and Paul. We didn't want to stop being The Replacements despite my brother's problems. We didn't want to give up. We worked hard to make the best record we could. Of course, there are things that I now think we should have done differently. But the reality is that we were able to achieve one of our best records.”

They censored you on Saturday Night Live .
“Well, it was for a couple of reasons. One of them, which nobody talks about, is that Harry Dean Stanton got drunk before going on the air as a presenter. And he did it with our drinks, the ones that were in our dressing room, they hadn't left anything for him. He was with us drinking vodka. Then, well…he could barely stand. The second reason was that we changed some lyrics and they didn't like that at all. They didn't want us to say offensive words."

Let's talk about your tastes. Let's start with literature.
“One of my favorite authors is Roald Dahl. Many years ago my first wife had a book by him with many short stories. It was a huge yellow book. The stories were very interesting. Quite dark but very well written. It was captivating and I wanted to read more. Roald Dahl wrote books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Books for children but also valid for an adult. Oh , and he wrote the script for the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice . "

Just connecting with that, the next thing was the cinema.
“When I joined Guns N' Roses, I found out that Axl's favorite movie was Once Upon A Time In America , with Robert De Niro. Turns out it's also my favorite movie. So as soon as I found out I asked him and we talked about it, it was one of the many things we had in common.

Finally, the other day I was talking to Lee Rocker, from Stray Cats, about rock and roll today, we commented that it's not like it used to be. The new generations prefer to listen to artists like Rosalía, trap music and reggaeton. Apart from giving you only thirty seconds of attention with tik tok.
“You know, I think it's not that rock doesn't exist anymore. It's rather cyclical, rock always comes back and takes other forms. The world changes, the music changes. Access to music is also not the same. What we used to call rock and roll, the image, the feelings, have changed. It has morphed into other styles of music. It's hard to accept, but I think rock is always there. It will always be still in its most traditional form. We'll see in about ten or twenty years (laughs) ."

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Dean

[Spaghetti4twenty]

Interesting he doesn’t remember hard skool. 
 

i guess the instrumental was recorded under a different title 

[Dean]

8 minutes ago, Spaghetti4twenty said:

Interesting he doesn’t remember hard skool. 
 

i guess the instrumental was recorded under a different title 

He's listed as a songwriter on ASCAP I believe, Josh Freese was the same and he couldn't remember if he had any involvement either - it's been around 24/25 years since the Chinese sessions were started and I wouldn't be surprised if the song never had any vocals when they were working on it.

Delighted that new music from Tommy is imminent as he's teased this Cowboys In The Campfire record for years now! 

[bumbleslash69]

4 minutes ago, Spaghetti4twenty said:

Interesting he doesn’t remember hard skool. 
 

i guess the instrumental was recorded under a different title 

Tommy's an interesting guy. He's always a great chat and full of stories. He came to a community library not far from me a few weeks ago and talked openly about his life and the Mats. He retold stories from the Replacement's biography Trouble Boys too. Not much on GnR if at all. Still he was proud of all the work he's done. He appreciates guys like Axl for sure. His favorite Replacement's album was the last one that most fans write off as a Westerberg solo album. I think he likes the craft and process more than anything. A lot of people were saying he still to this day will put out feelers and show up and plays random house shows. Just a real fun guy with a lot of experience and someone who has had a lot of fun in his life.

It's not that I'm surprised he remembers so much about the recordings in this interview, but I am. It was close to 25 years ago. If I had to guess, most of the sessions and songs that didn't make the album are probably chalked up as just "work" and not much more. He very well could have laid some bass parts and walked away from GnR without ever hearing the actual song.

[Axls_Moustache_Rules]

Tommy considers Riad one of his songs? Interesting.

Anyway when I met him he was blind drunk.

[Gimmick]

Tommy wrote it, so not hard to realize why.

1 hour ago, Axls_Moustache_Rules said:

Tommy considers Riad one of his songs? Interesting.

Anyway when I met him he was blind drunk.

 

[Bitchisback]

6 hours ago, Dean said:

You met Robin Finck. For me it is one of the best of the last three decades.

"Yes I agree. I always thought he was a better guitar player than DJ Ashba”…

  Hide contents

 

 

Lmao no way he dunked on Ashba like that. That's amazing 

[Bitchisback]

I found a couple interesting quotes from Tommy which makes me wonder how much he actually respected Ashba.  First was this quote about Ashba splitting 

 

"Asked if he knew that Ashba was going to leave GUNS N' ROSES before he made the announcement, Stinson laughed and said: "You know, he called me up on the phone and told me that he was gonna quit, you know, and this that and the other thing. I just kinda got to thinking… It was funny that he made such a big deal about it, because there wasn't really anything going on [with the pre-reunion incarnation of GUNS N' ROSES]. He seemed like it was kind of inevitable that there was going to be a reunion happening, so I think he… I don't know if he [laughs] tried to get in front of the curve to, you know, drum up some extra fucking press for himself. I don't really know what the deal was, but I thought it odd. I thought it an odd time to make a big stink about quitting, you know?"

 

And then this one where he doesn't mention anybody by name but the previous two quotes make me wonder if it's about Ashba lol 

 

"The bassist told Eric Blair (via Alternative Nation): "I wasn't the musical director for Guns N' Roses. What I became in the early stages of the new Guns N' Roses, was I would try and organize a bit.

"You've got six guys, Axl too, I would just do my best to try and just keep us all on the same page. We had some different guitar players who were alternately either good friends of mine, or an absolute opposite of a friend, and a pain in the ass, who we dealt with, and I had to deal with."

8 hours ago, Bitchisback said:

 

 

[Amir]

15 hours ago, Axls_Moustache_Rules said:

Tommy considers Riad one of his songs? Interesting.

It's a very bass-driven song on the demos. Shame the bass guitar is drowned out in the album version, it's pretty funky.

[Dean]

1 hour ago, Bitchisback said:

I found a couple interesting quotes from Tommy which makes me wonder how much he actually respected Ashba.  First was this quote about Ashba splitting 

 

"Asked if he knew that Ashba was going to leave GUNS N' ROSES before he made the announcement, Stinson laughed and said: "You know, he called me up on the phone and told me that he was gonna quit, you know, and this that and the other thing. I just kinda got to thinking… It was funny that he made such a big deal about it, because there wasn't really anything going on [with the pre-reunion incarnation of GUNS N' ROSES]. He seemed like it was kind of inevitable that there was going to be a reunion happening, so I think he… I don't know if he [laughs] tried to get in front of the curve to, you know, drum up some extra fucking press for himself. I don't really know what the deal was, but I thought it odd. I thought it an odd time to make a big stink about quitting, you know?"

 

And then this one where he doesn't mention anybody by name but the previous two quotes make me wonder if it's about Ashba lol 

 

"The bassist told Eric Blair (via Alternative Nation): "I wasn't the musical director for Guns N' Roses. What I became in the early stages of the new Guns N' Roses, was I would try and organize a bit.

"You've got six guys, Axl too, I would just do my best to try and just keep us all on the same page. We had some different guitar players who were alternately either good friends of mine, or an absolute opposite of a friend, and a pain in the ass, who we dealt with, and I had to deal with."

 

I’d probably guess the last part is aimed at Bucket and Bumble. It was rumored that Tommy had no time for either of them and Ron had said the band weren’t too happy at his last minute addition to the band after they had made it work with just 2 guitars.

[Rovim]

1 minute ago, Dean said:

I’d probably guess the last part is aimed at Bucket and Bumble. It was rumored that Tommy had no time for either of them and Ron had said the band weren’t too happy at his last minute addition to the band after they had made it work with just 2 guitars.

yeah it seems he was close with Robin and Richard and wasn't really with Bucket, Bumble, and DJ. Tommy always tells it like it is. He even once mentioned in an interview how "some of the players in the band never made an album before", probably talking about Robin, which he seems to like.

[Guest]

Really good interview, funny to hear about the Dj stuff

[Rayno]

So it seems his famous clapping during DJ's solo (can't remember the gig nor the year) had a reason.

[We love Axl Rose]

24 minutes ago, Rayno said:

So it seems his famous clapping during DJ's solo (can't remember the gig nor the year) had a reason.

[invisible_rose]

1 hour ago, We love Axl Rose said:

At least we now that this was sarcastic as fuck. I was indifferent about Tommy. Seemed like a genuine guy, but I wasn't really a 'fan' as such. Not like I was of Bucket, Brain and Freese. They were superb musicians.  

But I have to say, these quotes got me. He clearly despised DJ and thought he was a really fucking average guitarist - and that's something I can totally get onboard with. Bravo Tommy, bravo.

[Sweersa]

Apparently Tommy wasn't not the most likeable member. There's many emails (MSL documents) where people wanted him out. Only the titles summarizing the emails got out there, sadly the emails themselves have not surfaced. There's some about wanting to fire and/or sue DJ Ashba too. Another about dissolving the band. Interesting shit. Hope they surface one day. 

[ZoSoRose]

What a great interview, lots of interesting parts 

[BangoSkank]

1 hour ago, Sweersa said:

Apparently Tommy wasn't not the most likeable member. There's many emails (MSL documents) where people wanted him out. Only the titles summarizing the emails got out there, sadly the emails themselves have not surfaced. There's some about wanting to fire and/or sue DJ Ashba too. Another about dissolving the band. Interesting shit. Hope they surface one day. 

I forgot about those - so wild to me that MSL never ended up getting sued (that we know of).

[itsprettytiedup]

What a legend. Didn't know Brian May played guitar on Rhiad also? I thought it was Perhaps, Catcher and Atlas

[Dean]

1 hour ago, Sweersa said:

Apparently Tommy wasn't not the most likeable member. There's many emails (MSL documents) where people wanted him out. Only the titles summarizing the emails got out there, sadly the emails themselves have not surfaced. There's some about wanting to fire and/or sue DJ Ashba too. Another about dissolving the band. Interesting shit. Hope they surface one day. 

Without Tommy, I don't think Axl has the longevity he had without Slash and Duff. An integral part of the whole Chinese era was Tam. I was told that a lot of those supposed emails were bogus, take that with a pinch of salt though.

[Amir]

19 minutes ago, itsprettytiedup said:

What a legend. Didn't know Brian May played guitar on Rhiad also? I thought it was Perhaps, Catcher and Atlas

May played on Riad, Catcher, and Atlas. Perhaps is (most likely) all Finck, definitely not May.

[Dean]

20 minutes ago, itsprettytiedup said:

What a legend. Didn't know Brian May played guitar on Rhiad also? I thought it was Perhaps, Catcher and Atlas

Brian said he played on 3 songs IIRC, around the time Catcher leaked in '06. Tommy dropped that he played on Riad in an interview last year, so that confirms that the three songs were Atlas, Catcher and Riad. No Red Special is present on Perhaps.

[mystery]

22 hours ago, Dean said:

He's listed as a songwriter on ASCAP I believe, Josh Freese was the same and he couldn't remember if he had any involvement either - it's been around 24/25 years since the Chinese sessions were started and I wouldn't be surprised if the song never had any vocals when they were working on it.

Delighted that new music from Tommy is imminent as he's teased this Cowboys In The Campfire record for years now! 

You also have Dave Dominguez who was an engineer for the early sessions who barely recognized anything on the final product outside some of the song titles. There also must have been a ton of instrumentals that were worked on then that will never see the light of day. 

[AxlRoseCDII]

Tommy’s definitely in my top 2 GNR bassists.

[itsprettytiedup]

1 hour ago, Amir said:

May played on Riad, Catcher, and Atlas. Perhaps is (most likely) all Finck, definitely not May.

My whole life has just changed in a second.