Tommy Stinson Speaks About Leaving Guns N’ Roses
With Duff McKagan back playing bass for Guns N' Roses, Tommy Stinson is able to concentrate on his solo career. In a new interview, he talked about his desire to leave after 16 years in the band.
"I think everyone kind of knows where I stand with it all," he told the Current's Mary Lucia (whose brother, Paul Westerberg, fronted Stinson's original band, the Replacements). "I left it in a good way. I mean, roughly, I actually had to just start turning down tours because I was unable to tour; I got into a position, personally, where my personal life was going to prevent me from doing, I don't know — it must have been about five tours that they called me to do, and I just said I can't do 'em [...] I think Axl {Rose] got to the position where he was, like, 'Okay, so what am I going to do now? 'Cause I don't have a band. Blah blah blah.'"
Back in September, Stinson said that he wanted the original lineup to reunite, citing his experience with the Replacements. He echoed those words here. "I think it worked out," he said. "And I think they'll have fun. It will be a healing thing for 'em, if it works out good. It will be good for them."
Since the initial break-up of the Replacements in 1991, Stinson has fronted two bands, Bash & Pop and Perfect, and put out two solo albums, the most recent of which, Village Gorilla Head, was released in 2011. He also played with Soul Asylum from 2005-12 when not working with Guns N' Roses. He is hoping to have his next album completed by March 1.
So far, Guns N' Roses, with McKagan and Slash rejoining the group, have announced four concerts. The first two will be played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 8 and 9, with the others taking place at the Coachella Festival on April 15 and 22. They have been reportedly in negotiations to launch a full-scale tour of North American football stadiums this summer, and are believed to be asking upwards of $3 million per show.
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