Trouble boys: the true story of the Replacements

522 Pages·2016·142.736 MB·English

by  Mehr, Bob

6.25 × 9.5 SPINE: 1.5195 FLAPS: 4
continued from front flap depression, drinking, and desire PRAISE B T TROUBLE $27.50 / £18.99 / $35.99 CAN
“
to go solo became all-consuming. The band’s break-up FOR A raucous, ribald, and oft-times harrowing book that takes us
came in front of 20,000 people onstage at Chicago’s T behind the scenes, to the bottom of the bottle, all the way to the end of the OR The epic biography of one of the
Grant Park as they ceremonially handed off their instru-
road, and then further still—revealing the story of the Replacements, a band that greatest rock ’n’ roll bands of all
R
ments to their road crew and disappeared, seemingly
gave away its soul on every record and refused to sell its soul to a corporate world.” O
Y BOYS time, THE REPLACEMENTS, told
for good.
O —Robert Gordon, author of It Came from Memphis and Respect Yourself: Stax
Trouble Boys then traces Paul Westerberg and Records and the Soul Explosion “Riveting, definitive, and funny as hell, S with the participation of band
U
Tommy Stinson’s subsequent efforts to find careers of
U here is the story of the Replacements. Bob Mehr, the band’s designated driver, tours us members and based on all-new
their own, and it reveals the Replacements’ impact and
through the chaos, heartbreak, and broken bottles, driving us deep into the bleeding,
influence on successive generations of artists—from THETB interviews, with 72 rare photos
B very human heart of the band. Mehr’s not only crazy for their music, he loves the people RH THE TRUE STORY OF
the Flaming Lips to the Pixies, Nirvana to Green Day, E
the Wallflowers to Wilco. The book also offers a behind- L wnohtoh incgre bautet.d F irto, man idts htietl ep atoy sth teh evmer yth laes ut lwtimoradt ew rreitstepne,c tth eorf et’es llninogt athne o wunhcoele o tfr ufatht, aanndd E TRUL HEREPLACEMENTS Tdreofiunbitliev eB obyiosg: Trahpeh Tyr uoef oSntoer yo fo fth the el aRset pglraecaetm roecnkts ’ nis’ trhoell
the-scenes look at the Replacements’ triumphant E the picture it paints is as indelible as a cigarette stubbed out on the Mona Lisa’s face. PE SE T bands of the twentieth century. Written with the participa-
2013–2015 reunion, which saw them selling out sta- A classic music biography.” —Jimmy McDonough, author of Shakey: Neil Young’s LTO BOB MEHR tion of the group’s key members, including reclusive singer-
diums, reclaiming their legacy, and re-establishing the Biography and Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen “Heartbreaking and ARY songwriter Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson,
complicated brotherhood between Westerberg and B hilarious, the story of rock provocateurs the Replacements is a tour de force— O and the family of late guitarist Bob Stinson, Trouble Boys
Stinson. CF
vibrantly written and meticulously researched. Bob Mehr has dug deep and come up is a deeply intimate and nuanced portrait, exposing the
A roaring rock ’n’ roll adventure, a heartrending O
with riveting behind-the-scenes info, from the disturbing childhoods of the Stinson E primal factors and forces—addiction, abuse, fear—that
family drama, and a cautionary showbiz tale, Trouble
would shape one of the most brilliant and notoriously
brothers to the inspirations behind Paul Westerberg’s greatest songs. Trouble Boys is a M
Boys is a penetrating work of biography and a major Y
self-destructive groups of all time.
must-read for all ’Mats fans—as well as those interested in Minneapolis’s nascent punk
addition to the rock book canon.
E Based on a decade of research and reporting, hun-
S scene and the birth of alt-rock in the 1980s. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—but you won’t be able
dreds of interviews (with family, friends, managers, pro-
to put this book down.” —Holly George-Warren, author of A Man Called Destruction: N
BOB MEHR is an award-winning
ducers, and musical colleagues), as well as full access
The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man
music critic for the Gannett-owned T
“The destruction. The volume. The cruelty. The charm. The songs. to the Replacements’ archives at Twin/Tone and Warner
newspaper The Commercial Appeal S Bros. Records, author Bob Mehr has fashioned some-
The songs. The songs. To live close to Paul Westerberg’s material was to be lifted . . .
and a longtime contributor to MOJO
thing far more compelling than a conventional band bio.
then bent by it. Bob Mehr shows us that no one, Westerberg included, knew quite
magazine. He’s also served as an
Beginning with riveting revelations about the band
what to do with it all. It was underrated, overrated, obsessed over, ignored—never
editor, writer, and columnist for
members’ troubled early years—which were scarred by
anything in the middle. But somewhere between the Replacements’ path of de- BOB MEHR
Village Voice Media, New Times
alcoholism and mental health issues—Trouble Boys tracks
struction and the beauty and honesty of Westerberg’s writing, there was a band
Inc., and Chicago Reader. He con-
the group as they rise within the early ’80s American un-
whose story has for too long remained unknown and unknowable. This book gets
tributed liner notes to the Grammy-winning Big Star box
derground and chronicles the making of classic LPs like
us closer than we’ve ever been. Mehr brings us one of the great American rock ’n’
set Keep an Eye on the Sky and has written essays
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash and Let It Be.
roll stories and all the hurt that came with it.”—Warren Zanes, author of Petty:
for reissues by the Replacements, Kinks, Warren Zevon,
Signing to Warner’s Sire Records, the Replacements
The Biography “The Replacements spent a decade of their lives making
Dixie Chicks, Al Green, and many others. A native of Los
became one of the first indie bands to make the transi-
Angeles, he lives in Memphis, Tennessee. some of the most emotive rock music never to hit the mainstream. Bob Mehr has
tion to the major label world, winning converts thanks to
spent a decade of his life researching their story. Balancing a fan’s enthusiasm
Westerberg’s rapidly maturing songwriting on records like
with journalistic perspective, he now delivers it in richly detailed and powerfully
Tim and Pleased to Meet Me.
unvarnished form. Finally, the ’Mats get the book they deserve.” —Tony Fletcher,
Mehr uncovers the darker truths behind the band’s
author of A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths
legendary drinking, showing how their addictions first
“Bob Mehr has given us a book, a real book, that will draw you in whether
came to define them and then nearly destroyed them. He
or not you give a fig about rock ’n’ roll or any world but your own.” —Nick Tosches,
offers an in-depth exploration of the life and tragic death
author of Hellfire and Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams
DA CAPO PRESS of founding member Bob Stinson, who was fired from
A Member of the Perseus Books Group the group and later passed away at the age of thirty-five.
dacapopress.com By the end of their twelve-year run in 1991, the band’s
Jacket design by Alex Camlin
tightly held bonds had frayed as drummer Chris Mars
Jacket photograph © Greg Helgeson
was fired and Westerberg’s continued on back flap
Author photograph by Kevin Scanlon
TROUBLE BOYS

TROUBLE BOYS
THE TRUE STORY OF
THE REPLACEMENTS
BOB MEHR
DA CAPO PRESS
A MEMBER OF THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP
Copyright © 2016 by Bob Mehr
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechan-
ical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address
Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210.

Designed by Jack Lenzo
Set in ten point Janson by The Perseus Books Group

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mehr, Bob.
Trouble boys : the true story of the Replacements / Bob Mehr.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-306-81879-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-306-82203-2
(e-book : alk. paper) 1. Replacements (Musical group) 2. Rock musicians--United
States--Biography. I. Title.
ML421.R47M43 2015
782.42166092’2--dc23
[B]
2015026791
First Da Capo Press edition 2016 
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com

Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S.
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[email protected].

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Bob and Joey Stinson

CONTENTS
Introduction ....................xi
PART I: JAIL, DEATH, OR JANITOR
Chapter 1 ........................3 Chapter 7 ......................41
Chapter 2 ......................10 Chapter 8 ......................47
Chapter 3 ......................15 Chapter 9 ......................54
Chapter 4 ......................22 Chapter 10 ....................69
Chapter 5 ......................30 Chapter 11 ....................87
Chapter 6 ......................34
PART II: A BAND FOR OUR TIME
Chapter 12 ....................95 Chapter 22 ..................174
Chapter 13 ..................109 Chapter 23 ..................177
Chapter 14 ..................122 Chapter 24 ..................185
Chapter 15 ..................128 Chapter 25 ..................191
Chapter 16 ..................134 Chapter 26 ..................198
Chapter 17 ..................144 Chapter 27 ..................202
Chapter 18 ..................152 Chapter 28 ..................209
Chapter 19 ..................160 Chapter 29 ..................216
Chapter 20 ..................163 Chapter 30 ..................221
Chapter 21 ..................168
| vii |
viii | Contents
PART III: DREAMS AND GAMES
Chapter 31 ..................228 Chapter 43 ..................291
Chapter 32 ..................231 Chapter 44 ..................294
Chapter 33 ..................236 Chapter 45 ..................300
Chapter 34 ..................246 Chapter 46 ..................304
Chapter 35 ..................252 Chapter 47 ..................309
Chapter 36 ..................258 Chapter 48 ..................317
Chapter 37 ..................261 Chapter 49 ..................321
Chapter 38 ..................266 Chapter 50 ..................328
Chapter 39 ..................271 Chapter 51 ..................335
Chapter 40 ..................276 Chapter 52 ..................338
Chapter 41 ..................282 Chapter 53 ..................342
Chapter 42 ..................287 Chapter 54 ..................345
PART IV: THE LAST
Chapter 55 ..................355 Chapter 60 ..................380
Chapter 56 ..................359 Chapter 61 ..................386
Chapter 57 ..................363 Chapter 62 ..................392
Chapter 58 ..................369 Chapter 63 ..................395
Chapter 59 ..................374

Epilogue .......................399 Acknowledgments .........452
Notes ............................436 Index ............................458
Mates.
We controlled rage with humor, struck the wrong chords 1st to
acquaint ourselves with disaster, to ease the inevitability of our next
return. Our next assault.
Baring all, as an offsetting pose then . . . HIT, SCREAM, JUMP,
CRASH as one.
Quicksilver morons. We love it, so we stop. Why? Because soon we
won’t and this way it won’t hurt as much.
Afraid? Terrified. Out numbered. Retreat? “They’ll kill us” never
enters our mind.
We load and on 4 we charge laughing. The enemy babble: “I don’t
believe my eyes”; “What the fuck?”; “This is a trick.”
Bang we land in their trench: “Gotta light?” Hey, what do you guys think
you’re doing?
“See ya!”
They aim at our backs as we fall over each other. The bullets always
missed.
PAUL WESTERBERG,
LETTER TO AUTHOR, 2012