DETROIT – The new book, “Trouble Boys” tells the reckless and hair raising tells of four hellions known as The Replacements. This encyclopedic account takes a look at the wild and raucous days and the climb for greatness. It is unique in the sense that it goes deep into each of the four members of the group leaving no stone unturned. This new book by Bob Mehr is well written and very introspective and tells the complete story of this uncompromising and unique group.

The book starts off with the funeral of guitarist Bob Stinson. Singer Paul Westerberg is in a state of unbelief in the funeral home. When he tries to comfort Stinson’s sister he utters what appears to be an apology by saying, “We were just kids….we didn’t know anything”. That statement really sums up the first four albums. But this trashy rock band was more than just mere noise. The thing that set them apart was Westerberg’s brilliant song writing. There were glimmers of something beautiful and mature in some of these songs and that got critics to pay attention.

The band was not built to last. They were there for what was happening in that exact moment and they were there for the mayhem. The Replacements hail from Minneapolis and come from a rock scene that included Husker Du with Bob Mould. They were signed to Twin Tone records and were unruly from day one. The now classic album, “Sorry Ma Forgot To Take Out The Trash” set the tone for where everything was going to eventually go --- right over a cliff. They were famous for their drunken shows, silly adlibs on stage, and sometimes not performing well at all. You never knew what you were going to get when you saw them perform live. It was a gamble.

Unlike other post punk bands the Replacements really didn’t fit into a category. They were young, brash, and snotty. The E.P. “STINK” really let us know what kind of band they were going to be even then. It serves as a blueprint of the whole sound starting with actual recordings of the Minneapolis Poilice Department threatening to arrest the audience at a live show. Then the album ends with the eerie rock song, “GO” which has thought provoking breaks and Westerbergs howling scream while singing about a break up. The song then says, “Go…. While you can. Just go.: That E.P. also shows a total disgust and lack of authority with the song, “Fuck School” and it is catchy and demands multiple replays.

Westerberg slowed down on the roughness of his songs and went for more thought provoking pop. Paul Westerberg later admitted that singing those early Replacement songs were damn near impossible. They would really wreck his vocal chords with all of that howling and sceaming. Writing more thought provoking songs, (The Ledge) and even adding in some jazz influences, ( Night Club Jitters) got him more press. This gained him more attention and pulled him apart from the regular punk crowd. Keith Johnny Morris from the Circle Jerks once said that he thought the critics made too much out of his maturity as a songwriter. Artistically he was in a whole other category in that you could listen to an entire Replacement record and actually remember the songs. You couldn’t do that with other punk albums let alone recall specific details ten, twenty, and even thirty years later. This is what really set them apart. They were in fact very memorable.

The first shows was held in some sort of recovery house believe it or not. Drummer Christopher Mars got them all thrown out by sneaking in a bottle of hooch. That was their first gig. The band was unscathed and did more at a bowling alley. There they exhibited a rare raw talent. It wasn’t just two or three chords and thrashing on the drums these guys could really play. Bob Stinson was in a few bands before the Replacements formed and had a scholarly approach to rock music. He knew different songs by Aerosmith, T-REX and the Rolling Stones and even some oddball garage tunes, (The Bay City Rollers). He lived for music and spoke through his guitar. It was said that he could create a range of emotions through his instrument from a raging beast to a wounded animal.

Bob Stinson was the revved up motor of the band and complimented the songwriting. He added dimension to the sound because he could really play. Just like the Damned these guys were not afraid of musicianship and it wasn’t offensive to them. Tommy was Bob’s younger brother and was the bassist. Tommy Stinson was looking to keep up with his sibling and could really play too but he was a teenager. Together they were really scrappy to look at and had a very dangerous quality around them. Trouble seemed to follow them on stage and off and they were no strangers to law enforcement.

Paul Westerberg and drummer Chris Mars were on a motorbike trying to outrun cops one drunken night. This became the inspiration for the song, “Run It” which later appeared on the album, “Hootenany”. After a high run chase through the town the motorcycle hopped the curb and ran through some neighborhood yards. From there the bike wiped out sending Westerberg and Mars flying in mid air. They were both lucky that they didn’t snap their necks. They landed somewhat safely but were apprehended. These reckless antics came along with the territory of being in a rock and roll band. Their brand of reckless behavior was taken out of the Keith Moon playbook for mischief and mayhem. But these guys took it to such extremes that it became synonymous with the music. By the time, “Don’t Tell A Soul” was released this sort of crazy living was all but abandoned. By that time Bob Stinson had been fired from the group and he went on a solo career. Stinson had picked up Cheetah from Johnny Thunders old group and they even lived together. Drugs were always part of Stinson’s life and he continued on with his reckless ways. It was a match made in heaven. These two partied as well as write songs together all while living under the same roof.

Tommy Stinson was capable of keeping up with his insane bandmates. He was under the tutelage of Paul Westerberg and together they fed off of eachother in realms of comedy, destruction of property and music. Tommy started to grow his hair out and the end result was just as unruly as Westerberg. Like the Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger and Keith Richards these were our new Glimmer Twins. They adopted this glam rock look and shared this self depreciating view upon themselves. Along with the high end rock persona they would do things like wear spray painted shoes. They had a homemade look about them and they almost did not want to fit in. Bob Stinson took things in a much stranger direction where he would dress up as characters on stage. The audience would never know what to expect. Bob showed up in a dress upon occasion and played a full show like this. Westerberg would wear zuit suit type pants and tease his hair out. When their road manager picked them up at the airport he was aghast by their goofy appearance. They had their backs turned as their manager approached and he later admitted that, “They looked like circus clowns.”.

Just who was it that the Replacements were rebelling against? It was clear they hated law enforcement but they also seemed to show disdain for the record company. They really were against everything and constantly bit the hand that fed them. The audio engineer can be heard saying, “Tape rolling” and you can hear Westerberg mumbling, “So what?” back into the mic. They ended up leaving that on the album of, “Sorry Ma Forgot To Take Out The Trash”. On that album they left their over dubs and mistakes on it. This was a candid look at rock music and there were no apologies on it. The end result was pure attitude, angst, desperation and a yearning for something greater. The group would take their antics into the recording room on occasion and do their silly stunts on studio time. One of these episodes involved the band switching instruments when recording, “Hootenany”. These guys were not accomplished musicians and could not play 20 instruments. So what you end up with is a clumsy attempt to create music. Westerberg bellows over the whole mess and it served up to be a practical joke on the audience and the recording engineer. They ended up leaving this on the finished album.

In other times the band just showed flat out disrespect for the record label. Tommy Stinson walked on top of the new mixing board during one meeting. The whole room flipped out and the overall recklessness they displayed. Another story tells us about a new touring bus the record company shelled out for the band. It was greeted with a heavy dose of redecorating the minute they got it. Tommy Stinson and Westerberg tore the seats out of the bus and then threw paint all over the interior making it look like a Jackson Pollock tribute. The bus was literally destroyed. Sometimes it was the audience who suffered at the hands of the group. When The Replacements were booked at the Ritz in New York City the band went on early. They did a full show while their fans waited in vain outside unable to attend. As rumors spread about them performing an hour early the fans in line became concerned and even frantic. Westerberg took odd delight in knowing that his fans were outside getting upset.

Bob Stinson guitar antics even got the spotlight on rare occasion. It was almost as if the band mates were in some weird competition to be the most outrageous. While doing a gig in Ann Arbor, Michigan Bob disappeared. He had been gone for hours and missed the soundcheck. He was down the street at Dooley’s slugging down beer. He even missed a good part of the show. He ended up coming in on stage all sweaty and ready to play which both surprised and pissed off the band. Immediately he changes the set by launching into the classic song, “Taking Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive. Bob would also carry his antics on off the stage by appearing at parties. He would unload his friends refrigerators and throw everything into a big black Glad bag and then burst thru the living room saying, “Taking out the trash” and then disappear for the night with the choice goods. In some way I suppose that they must of felt like giants. They were all very young and very talented and seem to have the record company throwing money at them. Even though they had all of this The Replacements still had something deeply bothering them. Whatever they got it never seemed to be enough.

In 1986 it seemed that the major media was ready for the Replacements and they were booked on an episode of Saturday Night Live. They did two songs that night, “Kiss Me On The Bus” and “Bastards of Young”. This was a live show and the band showed up wrecked after a day of drinking and tearing it up in Manhattan. According to Bob Stinson the band was given a limo and it was full of booze. Everything was free for the asking and in his own words, “We just went to town”. The band showed up intoxicated and Paul was heard on the mic saying the word, “Fuck” on national television. This sent shockwaves across the control room and that was how the group got banned for life in 30 Rock where SNL is housed. This carried a lot of weight with major networks and media. These guys were not to be trusted. Cast member Nora Dunn can be seen ignoring the band while the end credits rolled. The SNL cast turned their backs on the band.

Bob Stinson was eventually fired from the band after the album, “Tim” came out. This album was critically acclaimed and people took them seriously. “Tim” was looked upon favorably and even included in the music section at the snooty Ann Arbor town library. They could be very selective and the other rock albums in their section at the time belonged to Todd Rundgren and XTC. It was noted that Westerberg even dated a girl from Ann Arbor back then when they recorded, “Let It Be”. Bob went off to experiment with more drugs and he seemed to favor needles. This was chased with strong drink and endless amounts of beer. After being fired from the group the party never really ended. After trying to start other band projects he eventually succumbed to multiple organ failure. He died with a stack of albums on the turntable. Maybe it was suicide and this was how he wanted to go. In any case, his time was short and he seemed to know it. Stinson’s passing was a tragic loss and felt very heavily by the band.

By the time, “Pleased To Meet Me” was released, (on Sire Records) the band seemed to mature in some ways. Bob was replaced, (ho ho) by guitarist Slim Dunlap. The core work of the album had featured the work of Bob Stinson. He was kind enough to teach the guitar parts to Slim through the transition. It is Dunlap’s guitar work that appears on the final album. The party definitely continued but it was a very different kind of sound. There was thought provoking and introspective lyrics about love, ambiguity of status, and all out rocking. The record label demanded videos of the band so it could sell the music to an audience on MTV. The band reluctantly complied by showing a live video of Westerberg sitting with his back to the camera blasting one of his own songs on a turn table. The other way the public saw them was on an episode of IRS Cutting Edge. This was a monthly music program which was presented in a magazine format. For this one the band decided to shave their eyebrows off which made them look like imbeciles. Although it was hilarious and good for a laugh the overall impression was that these guys did not take anything seriously. They were not going to compromise.

The Replacements died as a group on stage in Chicago. They called it quits on July 4, 1991. They played some outdoor festival in Grant Park and it was one of those things where everybody you talk to, “was there”. It goes down into Chicago myth much in the same way that every body claims they met Smashing Pumpkin’s singer Billy Corgan. You know the one story where he approaches you and asks if you can play an instrument because he is starting a band. In any case, if you haven’t heard the story it goes something like this. The Replacements did a great show and Westerberg announced to the audience that they were all going to quit. It had taken everyone by surprise and went down into legend.

The band was eventually allowed to come back to 30 Rock on the Tonight Show. They had reformed after Paul Westerberg reformed the band together. By this time David Letterman had given Paul high praises and even called him the songwriter of his generation. He had also worked on some movie soundtracks and released a whole slew of highly acclaimed solo material. Tommy Stinson went off to do work in Guns and Roses and his own group Bash and Pop. Time seems to heal all wounds and the group was allowed to come back and perform. They chose, “Alex Chilton” and won over a whole new generation of fans. Thanks to the web the video of them performing reached people overnight and buzz began to stir about them. The Replacements reformed briefly and hit the road.

This should have been their moment. They have stirred up interest in the past at the Chicago based Riot Fest in 2013 but again it was short lived. The band even played in Detroit at the Filmore to a sold out crowd. Everything was lining back up for them and there was talk about an extended tour. For whatever reason the band pulled the plug on success for what it looks like to be the final time. Now I don’t have any reason why they would do such a thing but maybe it is for the best. This book is exhaustive in its amount of stories and amount of content. It is like a Bible of their rock and roll history. It will be overload for some but for others this book will serve as the definitive story.

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