Originally published by: Craig Wright, November 21, 2017 on wweek.com
By tackling a country- and blues-based sound for his new project, Cowboys in the Campfire, Stinson says he’s completing a cycle.
From basements to stadiums and everything in between, Tommy Stinson has left his mark on venues across the world. But not every city has received an apology after he passes through.
As the bass player for the Replacements, the legendary and erratic Minneapolis punk band, Stinson earned a legacy of infamy in Portland after a badly flubbed gig in 1987. It was so bad, the band wrote a song apologizing for it. But as he gears up for his fourth Portland performance since 2015—a run that began with the reunited ‘Mats performing at Crystal Ballroom—he believes his local reputation is finally redeemed. And by tackling a country- and blues-based sound for his new project, Cowboys in the Campfire, Stinson says he’s completing a cycle.
“Country and blues are always the fucking beginning of rock ‘n’ roll anyway. So when our bands either break up or whatever, you go right back to the beginning again,” he says. “It’s the nucleus of what we’ve grown up doing.”