Pop Quiz: Tommy Stinson

Pop Quiz: Tommy Stinson

Aidin Vaziri | Tommy Stinson has gone through more bands than shades of hair color. Before even hitting puberty, the bassist started playing music alongside Paul Westerberg in the seminal college radio band the Replacements, released a couple of solo albums under various names and eventually joined up with the Frankenstein version of Axl Rose's Guns N' Roses six years ago. He plays on that band's long-awaited "Chinese Democracy," which has yet to get a release date. In the meantime, Stinson has recorded a solo release, "Village Gorilla Head."



Tommy Stinson
Q: Which do you want first: the questions about Guns N' Roses or the ones about the Replacements?
A: I didn't think you had any questions about those bands. I thought you were just interested in my solo career and wanted to talk to me because you like my new record.
Q: You have a new record?
A: Yeah.
Q: What's so great about it?
A: It embodies all that I am now. I made it out of my own pocket so I thought it would be fun to get as self-indulgent as I felt like.
Q: Nobody wants to hear about that.
A: As long as you don't ask me any Axl Rose questions, I'm cool.
Q: Why did Axl Rose hire a guitar player who wears a bucket of fried chicken on his head?