This is a page dedicated to true musicians, who write their own lyrics, music and play their own instruments and if they do play someone else's song that they have written they call it a cover. They are multi-faceted musicians, as opposed to the present day Backstreet Boys or N'sync and any other of these teen bands that clutter the airwaves. They can sing, but they are not musicians, they a simply good singers. In my own personal opinion, I believe music and lyrics should come from the musician and not some professional song writter. True musicians, seem to be slowly fading away in present day music, becomming more and more a rarity, instead of the norm. It's unfortunate, that singers like The Backstreet Boys and Brittany Spears, replace musicans like Paul Westerberg, Counting Crows, Cracker, Matin Zellar and the Hardways, Natailie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan, just to name a few, in today's music scene.
These are just a few of my favorite musicians, more will be added in awhile. Along with some Bio information on each band as well as a discography. Just click on link below their picture to visit the bands official web site. Hope you enjoy. Please take a moment and sign my guest book at the bottom of the page.
From their beginnings as an ersatz hard core band in 1979 until their demise in 1991, the Replacements managed to create some of the rawest and uncompromising rock music of the 1980s. The band earned a reputation for being one of the finest and unpredictable live acts of 1980s indie scene by juxtaposing cathartic, punk-influenced shows with drunken tomfoolery. But their ace in the hole was their frontman, Paul Westerberg, who managed to perfectly articulate the ambivalence and alienation of growing up.
The band (Paul, guitar, songwriter and vocals; Tommy Stinson, bass; Bob Stinson, guitar; Chris Mars, drums) formed in the basement of the Stinson Minneapolis home in 1979. They played their first gig at an alcoholic halfway house in Minneapolis under the name of the Impediments. They showed up plowed and were told, in effect, "They would never work in this town again." They renamed themselves the Replacements and under the guidance of a local record store manager, Peter Jesperson, began to gig around the city. The band earned a reputation for wildly unpredictable shows. Sometimes they would tear the roof off of the place. Other times they would show up too drunk to stand up. One night they could play their songs with fierce passion. The next night they would plod their way through covers, never able to finish any song they started.
Jesperson also recorded the Replacements' first five albums on his own label, Twin/Tone. Their first three albums - Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash, Stink, and Hootenanny - were essentially exercises in Ramones-derived punk, albeit with even more charm, humor and craft.
In 1984, the band released the breakthrough Let It Be, whose songs served as the bridge between the band's hard core days and the more melodic and soul-searching songs. The album tore through the underground scene and lodged itself towards the top of many critics' 1984 polls. It wasn't long before the band started to attract major label attention. The Replacements eventually signed with Sire Records in 1985 and released four more records: Tim, Pleased To Meet Me, Don't Tell A Soul, and All Shook Down.
Coincidence or not, when they moved to Sire, The Replacements left behind some of the punk novelty songs that peppered their earlier albums. The lyrics became more polished and articulate. And the music was becoming more straight-forward rock and roll. But if the band's music became more disciplined, the band members certainly did not. A number of incidents managed to alienate the band from their major label home, including botching up a guest slot on Saturday Night Live and delivering unairable videos for MTV. Booze and cocaine were reportedly plentiful in those days. The band's attitude was no longer considered endearing, but a nuisance. In 1986 following the Tim tour, Bob Stinson and the Mats parted ways. Although the reasons for the split were complicated, the Mats publicly claimed that Bob's chemical habits were dragging the band down.
Pleased To Meet Me was recorded as a trio in 1987, with Paul assuming all the guitar duties. Slim Dunlap, a freelance musician and longtime friend of the band (including Bob), was called in as the lead guitarist for the Pleased To Meet Me tour and subsequently became a full-fledged member of the band. The Replacements decided that their next album would be an all-out attempt at commercial acceptance. It's unclear whether Sire forced their hands or whether 10 years as indie darlings made the band hungry for a hit. The result was Don't Tell A Soul, which was decidedly glossier that any of the bands previous efforts. The album was derided by many of the band's older fans for that reason. The album contained "I'll Be You," the Mats' only "hit", which peaked at a whopping #51 on the Billboard charts. The album subsequently died without meeting the label's expectations.
The band set off on an frustrating arena tour opening for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, a career move that would sound the death knell for the band. Tom Petty's professional and pristine stage act was a stark contrast to the 'anything goes' attitude of the Mats. Fed up, Paul decided his next album would be a solo album. The record company "persuaded" Paul to record a "Replacements" album. All Shook Down in 1990 was a Replacements album in name only. Tommy, Slim and Chris put in appearances. But the lineup was augmented by session ringers.
Frustrated that he appeared on only two songs on the new album, Chris and the Mats parted ways before the All Shook Down tour in 1991. The band hired another Minneapolis local, Steve Foley, to fill in for the tour. But within the immediate circle of the band, it was clear that this would be the last go round for The Replacements. They announced their official breakup after the last show of the tour on July 4, 1991 in Grant Park in Chicago.
Chris was the first to release a solo effort, Horsehoes and Hand Grenades, in early 1992. He followed it with 75% Less Fat in 1993, Tenterhooks in 1995, and what he claims to be his final musical album, Anonymous Botch, in 1996. He spends most of the time on his painting (he painted the covers of all his albums) and steadfastly refuses to tour. Tommy formed Bash & Pop and released Friday Night Is Killing Me in February 1993 and toured throughout 1993. Paul helped Tommy with demos and played guitar on the album's single "Loose Ends." Slim Dunlap released The Old New Me in the summer of 1993. But the project most eagerly awaited for was Paul's 14 Songs, which revealed more crafty songwriting than he displayed with the Mats, and the rough edges of the music seemed a little more polished. Biography provided by Skyway Official Replacements Mailing list.
PAUL WESTERBERG
(In His Own Words)
Father. Artist. Mid-westerner. Eccentric. Walker. Movie hater. Tree lover. Pill taker. Songwriter. Gardener. Floor sweeper. Floor sleeper. Dyslexic. Weather enthusiast. Rock singer. Janitor. Romantic. Liar. Has-been. Hero. Has made a new record, SUICAINE GRATIFACTION.
After the Mats split, Paul’s next project was the soundtrack to the movie "Singles". A terrible movie (totally disagree with that, it's one of my favorites) but a pretty good soundtrack, with two great songs from Paul: "Dyslexic Heart" and "Waiting for Somebody".
Paul’s first solo record "14 Songs" was released in June 1993. The supporting tour kicked off in Cambridge MA with a 'surprise' show at a small club called T.T. the Bear’s. The lineup included Dave Minehan (of the longtime Boston band the Neighborhoods), perhaps accounting for Paul’s decision to rehearse and launch the tour in Boston.
Unfortunately, the tour was sidelined in November when Paul injured his back. After a month or so off, the tour resumed, with a stop on Saturday Night Live. Guess Lorne Micheals had recovered from Paul’s last visit! The guest host was Charlton Heston, who capped the appearance by forgetting Paul’s name at the end of the show. The band played two songs - "Knocking On Mine" and "Can’t Hardly Wait".
After the "14 Songs" tour ended in December 93, Paul seemed to keep busy mainly contributing to soundtracks, including a duet with Joat Jett on the "Tank Girl" soundtrack and two songs on the "Friends" soundtrack.
According to an interview in Rolling Stone, the death of Bob Stinson in February 1995 prompted him to get serious about recording the next record and he ended up in Atlanta, recording with Pearl Jam producer Brendan O’Brien. That collaboration didn’t pan out, and Paul recorded the rest of the record in L.A., co-producing it with Lou Giordano. The record, "Eventually", was released in May 1996 to mixed reviews. Paul embarked on a fairly lenghthy tour that summer with legendary power popster Tommy Keene on guitar, Ken Chastain on bass and a "Spinal-Tap"ish revolving roster of drummers. Although it would be nearly three years before another official Westerberg solo album, Paul released a single and an EP in the summer of 97, under the name Grandpaboy. Both are available from Monolyth Records.
Capitol Records and Paul talk about his newest album on his label site. Singer, songwriter and guitarist PAUL WESTERBERG is back with a new album, SUICAINE GRATIFACTION, his first for Capitol. It was produced by Don & Paul WASterberg. Of the album, Don Was says: "It’s a rare occasion when you get to make a record that has solidly good writing throughout, where every line has value and there’s not a wasted word. I wanted the production to be sonically invisible so that there would be no remnants of the recording process that would get between Paul and the listener."
SUICAINE GRATIFACTION was recorded at PAUL’s Minneapolis home and in New York and Los Angeles. The album--a stormy blend of rockers, acoustic guitar ballads and piano-and-vocal songs--features PAUL on guitars and piano, backed by such esteemed players as Don Was and keyboardist Benmont Tench. The production touches--a cello, French horn, pedal steel guitar and accordion--are subtle.
When pressed to describe the music on SUICAINE GRATIFACTION, PAUL says "it’s fucked-up folk music." Adds DON, "It seemed almost discourteous to clean up the mess after him. It wasn’t appropriate for me to litter it with my own personal touches."
For WESTERBERG--known for his "genius for injecting sensitivity into flat-out chaos" (Trouser Press Record Guide)--it’s the song that rules. It’s this aesthetic that inspired him to join forces with Don Was, probably best known for producing acclaimed albums for Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and The Rolling Stones. Was’ opinion about the songs on SUICAINE GRATIFACTION? "I think people in general can’t make records like this because no one writes songs that are this good and direct and that have this kind of integrity."
What inspired PAUL WESTERBERG to title the new album SUICAINE GRATIFACTION? "Over the years, I’ve come up with words that I guess are incorrect but mean something to me," he explains. "I don’t want to think about it too deeply other than the fact that it seems wrong, and therefore it’s attractive to me."
Talking about the album, PAUL says: "This is a dark record--you’d be hard pressed to find a joke on it, which might be the greatest departure, because there’s always at least one joke on my records, but I don’t think this one has one."
Ben Lee. His songs are melded visions of strict autobiography and megalomaniacal revolutionary escapism. Weaving fragile lines between melodic story telling, sharp songwriting and a developing self awareness, his tunes are portraits of ideas and emotions that often transcend the boundaries of their creator. Ben's songs exist in the world where a commitment to adventure and reckless ambition are the only recognizable landmarks, as he sings about his personal observations on Life, Love and the Universe.
Ben Lee made his auspicious stage debut in '93 fronting indie rockers Noise Addict, a foursome of Sydney school friends who's inaugural performance was a gig at a library book sale. Catching the eye of promoter and Fellaheen Records head Stephen Pavlovic, the band were quickly signed to the label that same year releasing the semi-controversied Evan Dando nod/poke 7" "I Wish I Was Him" when the average age of the group was a mere 14. Soon after, Sonic Youth guy Thurston Moore signed the band to his Ecstatic Peace label championing their work as "the best all time interpersonal fractured songwriting ever put on tape," and released an EP entitled DEF.
Noise Addict would, soon afterwards, release their Young & Jaded EP in June '94 on the, then fledgling Grand Royal label under the auspices of Beastie Boy Mike D. Mike, like Moore, recognized greatness when he saw it. The EP would get nothing less than a hero's welcome here in the States culling favorable reviews from many crits, but stateside opportunities to see the band's dynamo live shows would be lost to burgeoning school schedules, etc...
Ben's solo debut Grandpaw Would would come soon after. Produced by Chicago luminary Brad Wood, the long player earned Ben high praise from his peers, press and radio, garnering a top spot on the college charts for several weeks. Released on Grand Royal in March '95, Grandpaw Would proved to be an evocative debut release. The record showcased an accomplished songwriter at the ripe old age of 16 and incited Aussie journos to quip "Ben Lee is the greatest Australian songwriter of all time."
A new Noise Addict offering would then be released in January of the following year. Entitled Meet The Real You, the debut (and swan song) long player by the band saw helmsman Brad Wood trek it to Sydney to meet up with Ben and friends Romy Hoffman, Saul Smith and Daniel Kohn. The record would, like previous releases, tear up the college charts and find the rock press throwing their arms around the band. It would also prompt a stateside tour displaying a flourishing mandate to rock. But alas, Noise Addict would soon go the way of many a power pop group and disband blaming scheduling conflicts and varying interests. Young Ben would carry on though, ever-grasping for the musical brass ring proclaiming to Paper Magazine in March '96, "I'm gonna bungee jump into territory that hasn't been covered since Hootie did a duet with Bjork, with Exodus as the backing band."
And bungee jump he did. While fans anticipated a slick commercial pop record, Ben took a left at the crossroads and delivered a rich and complex collection of acoustically wrought songs. He recorded the folk-tinged Something To Remember Me By in Spring '97 which saw Brad Wood at the board once again, this time choosing Los Angeles as his home base. The production partnership of Ben and Brad turned what was essentially 18 simple acoustic ditties into an engaging album of ideas. This record allowed Ben to explore his roots as a singer/songwriter having been inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan and Loudon Wainwright III, among others. "I've seen the future of rock and roll... and it's name is Ben Lee," quipped Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins.
Now on the eve of the release of Ben's brand new album Breathing Tornados, it is clear that the curve balls Ben has thrown his fans throughout his short career have all been part of a master plan leading to this new creation. Breathing Tornados is his most accomplished work to date. The record was tracked at a Los Angeles apartment owned by a curious figure named One Arm Joe. The apartment, adequately dubbed One Arm Joe's Orgy Pad seemed a perfect setting for the creative process although recording would be often interrupted by Joe's appearing naked and drunk in the morning smashing his own glass windows.
However, despite the turbulent environment, Ben and producer Ed Buller (Suede, Pulp, Spiritualized) managed to put together a highly cohesive body of work. Described by Ben as "a lush, organic, synthesized pop record," Breathing Tornados mixes his unique songwriting style with textures not yet heard in his records. Additionally, Ben and Ed recorded the album entirely on computers using mostly synthesized sounds. However, this was more out of the necessity to experiment unencumbered by human emotion rather than an attempt to embrace techno-fashion.
Ironically, the result is a warm and vibrant album of songs spanning many moods but with an undoubtedly pre-millennium vibe. Ben's lyrics on Breathing Tornados are in keeping with this dichotomy, dealing for the most part with the concept of detaching from one's environment and creating and dictating a more customized fantasy/reality. While "Ship My Body Home" deals with the idea of dying away from the safety of your birthplace, "I Am A Sunflower" touches upon the aforementioned idea of detachment, opening with the line "Today, a boy becomes a man."
For a closing reflection on Breathing Tornados, Ben says, "It's sexy. It sounds like Lou Reed buying drinks for Marvin Gaye."
Breathing Tornados was released on Grand Royal/Capitol Records on March 9th, 1999. Provided by ben-lee.com
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