Saturday, April 12, 2014

Honoring The Replacements

Many bands and artists have inspired and shaped me. My musical influences are numerous. But there is only one band that influenced my live performances. The Replacements. I bought my first Placemats album at Appletree Records in Elgin, IL right around '82. The 'Sorry, Ma' record. Greatest album title ever? I was a power pop guy at the time. It sunk into the archives. Too hardcore. But I didn't quit them. Hootenanny was interesting. Purchased and absorbed. Closer to what I liked. And then … Let It Be. Hooked. Happy to report that I witnessed at least two Bob shows. Maybe three. I liked the albums, but the live bootlegs I began collecting were a revelation. You can do anything on stage! Good, bad, indifferent. To paraphrase Paul, "We just wanted a reaction. We wanted to be the best band you ever saw or the worst band you ever saw." I was all in. I never wanted to do the same show twice. As a performer, spontaneity was paramount. For better or worse. If I'm not feeling it, why would the audience enjoy it? OK. Let's wrap this up. Placemats released a song called, 'Nowhere Is My Home' on the Boink album, which was a trade between TwinToine and Glass. TwinTone got Jazz Butcher, which is a really great record. The one never before released song on the Glass comp was Nowhere Is My Home. They played that same song live last night at Coachella. I rewrote that song 25 years ago. Never did get a proper recording of it. But here is a demo version. I'm playing the drums. Poorly. Wish I could remember who the background choir was.