Hello my peeps,

After what has been an intense and busy first quarter of 2012, I finally have time to talk about some of the highlights and lowlights thus far. I’ll start with the lowlights. I’ve been at a loss for words as to the death of my friend Armand. Not only was he my friend, but he was also a great bass tech, and he will be missed by a lot of good people. His untimely death has given me much to reflect on and to be grateful for. R.I.P.ABC.

Now for some highlights! I had a great little east coast tour last week which started with a benefit show at Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY. It was a tool drive for the graduating class at Timkatec trade schools in Haiti (timkatec.org). As you probably already know, I have been raising money for this school since the earthquake . Our goal was to raise $15,000 and we ended up raising a little over $18,000! And we’ve just received wonderful news – Herrington’s here in Hudson has offered to donate the lion’s share of the tools we need, saving us a great deal of money which will now go towards providing Timkatec students with the food they desperately need now that USAid has cut off supply to Port-au-Prince.

Our friend Antony Katz designed a beautiful hand-screened poster for the event, and we have a few left over which I signed and can be purchased in my webstore with the proceeds going to Timkatec.

There are so many talented people in Hudson who stepped it up and came together to help make this happen. Everybody donated their time and services to the cause, and some just helped by being there, and never before have I lived in such a diverse and caring community.

Please show the following folks your support by going to their websites, checking out their businesses, or by just reaching out and saying “Thanks!”

Club Helsinki (An awesome live venue and restaurant. Thank you Marc, Deborah, and their entire staff who have all been nothing but great to us since moving to Hudson.)
White Rice
Casa Urbana (my girls love getting their nails done here.)
Le Gamin (best eggs benedict on the planet.)
Stair Galleries (I want everything in this place.)
Ca’ Mea Restaurant & Inn
Red Dot (LOL Alana.)
Hudson River Tattoo
Musica (I wonder if Rob knew it was the Dave Mustaine model flying V!)
Lillie K Chai shop (Good luck with the new restaurant.)
Kristopher Perry (Thanks for being such a great friend.)
Sorted Creative (Great poster Antony! Sticky buns for you, man!)
Cafe Le Perche
David Wexler & Grandstand Sports
DaBa Hudson
Jean and John Roccanova; Grow Against Poverty
Shana Lee (I love your jewelry!)
Five and Diamond
Steve & Anne Koenig (Wonderful friends whose support for Timkatec knows no bounds)
Hudson City Books
Evan Rothman & Billy Casper Golf
Melissa Auf der Maur & Tony Stone
Bella
Azouke
Chip Roberts & Debbi Calton (Thanks for always helping me with everything!)
Elvis Perkins In Dearland
Trapper Schoepp & the Shades
Pocatello (Lets make a record!)
Young Paris & Lady Moon from Black n’ Gold
Troublemakers
Dan Wall
Carline Murphy (Your candor and support is invaluable and very appreciated.)
Erika Clark (Couldn’t have done this without you)
WGXC Hudson Community Radio, WAMC Albany Public Radio, Radio Woodstock, Exit 97.7 Albany
Jonny Phillip, Tim Schweiger, Justin Perkins (My great backing band)
Emily Roberts (My beautiful and supportive wife)
Benny Perlstein (My manager and my friend)

Since getting back from the last few weeks of work I’ve been able to rev up the big rig and start recording some new rock. Photos, videos, and more updates to come!

Now I must start getting my shit together for the European GNR tour. I’ll be looking forward to working up some new long over due GNR rock soon. See y’all on the road!

t

Alright, lets get serious for half a second here. Yes, I am playing at Target Center with GNR tonight (Sunday). Then I am playing with a few of my friends from GNR on Monday night at the Fine Line in Minneapolis, the proceeds of which will benefit Timkatec, the trade school in Haiti that I will forever try to help. The amount of money that I raised in 2010 with my auction did more for this school than I could ever have imagined and I am forever grateful to those who participated.

Also, I’ll be playing an in-store at Reckless Records in Chicago’s fashionable Wicker Park neighborhood at 4PM on Tuesday Nov. 15.

At my show in Minneapolis I will have for the first time One Man Mutiny vinyl and hoodies, as well as CDs and t-shirts to sell. It should be a gas no matter what your preference.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you out there this week, but in the meantime enjoy this little film about our adventures in Mexico recently…

Love,
t

This money will be used to enroll roughly 50 more children in the schools this year (along with the necessary extra teachers), and it will also help to pay most (if not all) of the cost of adding a third story to the Timkatec 3 building which will then house and educate many many more children for years to come.

This fundraiser has meant a lot to my partners and myself, and we are all very proud and grateful for you all helping us achieve our goal. To those who participated and even to those who couldn’t donate, your enthusiasm and passion has humbled and inspired us all. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

To those who missed out, we will do it again next year, mark my word!

I would also like to thank the following people for their generous contributions to our cause:

Guns n Roses
Soul Asylum
Steve Koenig
Paul Westerberg
Chris Mars
Goldenvoice
Fine Line Music Café
First Avenue

And the following folks have helped make my dream of helping these people a reality:

Ben Perlstein (My friend and manager and right-hand man on this adventure)
Patrick O’Shea (founder, Friends Of Timkatec in America)
Father Joseph Simon (founder and director, Timkatec Schools)
Scott Campbell (Catholic Relief Services)
Luke Klien (Friend and founder of Kids of Kadiogne)
Michelle Roche (My extremely dedicated publicist)
Jason Kadlec (My webmaster and a creative force)
Steve Koenig (Donor, inspiration, and friend)
Emily Jane Roberts (My fiancé and so much more)
Brian Sohn & Benjamin Erwin (CharityBuzz)

Starting the evening off with a bang here in Bucharest!!  On the eve of my auction for Timkatec in Haiti, I had a great Italian dinner with the band and won €1,000 at roulette, and it’s still only 10:00PM!!!  Hmmmmm, what next?

Anyways, I’m super stoked about the auction.  I hope at the very least to bring awareness to the plight of Haiti and the young ones working towards graduating from Timkatec. They are ultimately the future of Haiti and will need our help in the rebuilding of their country.

We’ve received some great items for bid, for those with both big budgets and small.  In addition to the bass guitars and plaid suits that I’ve donated and the Bahamas trips, some of the other great stuff up for bid includes a First Act guitar signed by the Replacements, some original art from Chris Mars, VIP tickets to Guns N’ Roses shows, as well as to Coachella, the Arcade Fire in LA, and several great clubs.  This is just the beginning, be sure to check out all of the items at our CharityBuzz auction page.

I also need to point out a small error in the press release for my auction. The vacation package mentioned has been turned into two separate vacation packages. The 1st package is a six day and seven night stay at The Reef Atlantis in the Bahamas. This includes round trip airfare for two from anywhere in the US or Canada. The second trip is a four day and three night stay at The Reef Atlantis in the Bahamas, and airfare is NOT included. Both trips include daily activity fees and all room fees. Of course, all food and beverage, etc is extra. The condo includes a full kitchen and can sleep five people and has two bathrooms. It also comes with full concierge service.

So that’s two trips to Atlantis.

You can get more info on The Reef Atlantis by going to their website. This package changed because we thought we could get more bang for the buck by adding a second trip, as we are here to raise as much money as we can for Timkatec.







Details for the rest of the items are on the CharityBuzz website, which is http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/tommystinson.

Thanks for your support!
-t

JoAnn Loviglio from the Associated Press put together a wonderful piece on Tommy’s trip to Haiti last weekend. In the article, she gets Tommy to open up on why he chose to go to Haiti and help the Timkatec schools, and his initial reactions upon returning from his life-altering trip.

Click here to read it at MSNBC’s website.

HELLO MY PEOPLES!

All that I can say right now is that after almost eight hours of being in Port-Au-Prince, I am amazed to see that people are able to live beneath these ruins. En route from the airport to the hotel, we didn’t pass through one single neighborhood that was not devastated by this disaster (as you can see from the picture here of the middle of our hotel). I thought I had a good idea about what I was about to see after having been through the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles about 15 years ago, and I was wrong. Nothing could have prepared me for this.

On a positive note, the people of Haiti seem to be overwhelmingly thankful to have any help at all. I couldn’t be more glad that I came. Tomorrow we’re going to get a tour of the Timkatec schools.

t

HELLO PEOPLES!

First off, I want to thank all of you who are buying up my t-shirts and buttons. The response has been awesome!!! Also FYI — the availability of the current shirts is limited, as i want to present new designs as often as possible to keep it interesting. You can find everything at tommystinson.com/store. I’m also on track to have a new album out by the end of the year.

TIMKATEC/HAITI

As I sit here writing this I can’t help but feel a nervous excitement about my trip to Haiti in a couple weeks. I’m going down there to observe what’s going on, and attend the graduation ceremony at Timkatec, the school that all proceeds from my fundraiser are going. I’m asking myself “Can I really prepare for what I’m about to witness first-hand?” The good and the bad of it all is that you can’t go more than a few days without hearing how screwed up things are down there. Hopefully the more we all talk about Haiti, the more we will feel like getting involved and helping. The way I see it, to do anything is doing something helpful, no matter how big or small. They need so much help in so many ways, and they are going to need it for many years to come. I hear Bill Clinton is gonna dedicate his next three years to helping to rebuild Haiti — he still gets my vote.

Upon my return I will be getting my Timkatec fund raiser up and running. I’m looking forward to helping to raise money and awareness for the people of Haiti by auctioning off some great personal items from myself and a couple of my friends, a trip to the Bahamas, and more.

t

PS – Please visit timkatec.org to learn more about this great organization.

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