the // skyway \\ issue #87 (june 19, 2007) web page at www.theskyway.com send your submissions to skyway@novia.net list guy (stop by and say hi) mattaki@gmail.com subscription info: to subscribe: 'subscribe skyway' to unsubscribe: 'unsubscribe skyway' send in the body of a message to majordomo@novia.net always thanks to bob fulkerson __________________________________________________________________________ 0. LITTLE MASCARA Here's a letter with a bunch of numbers and anniversaries and dates. I'm on a 10 hour train back from a wedding in Northern Germany, and it's true that you truly finally live somewhere when you start getting invited to family events. I've lived in Switzerland for two years, have had a semi-permanent residency permit for over a year, and re-learned how to ski since my last ski trip was in 1986. I still have large long distance bills to the US, largely calling up US Fish and Wildlife and convincing them that my pet macaw parrot that is still in the US wasn't stolen from the jungles of Ecuador but born domestically in North Carolina and so it's perfectly okay if he comes over here and gets me kicked out of my apartment for his 120 decibel rainforest calls that my quiet, law-abiding Swiss neighbors will undoubtedly love. You know it's vaguely illegal to even do laundry or wash your car here on a Sunday? (Don't you know you're supposed to be skiing or ice skating or hiking in the mountains instead on the day of rest, apostate immigrant?) Last week I saw a video on YouTube of Paul Westerberg playing a triumphantly ass-kicking version of "Left of the Dial" to a raucous crowd in San Diego on his first solo tour in the summer of 1993. (See it for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdIsB5FINDg and see if it isn't one of the best parts of your day.) 1993 was ... fifteen years ago? If you counted back fifteen years at that show in San Diego, it would've been 1978. Neither this performance nor the song itself never felt like from another time like "More Than a Feeling" would've back then. Even a solo performance of what was at the time almost a ten year old The Replacements' song has aged better after a decade and a half than had Grease or Mark Hamill's (admittedly otherwise rockin') haircut from 1978, or even most of the heavy rotation from MTV Alternative Nation circa 1993 have today. While it would've sounded like silly SPIN-magazine hyperbole at the time, Replacements songs really are ending up to be timeless. Extrapolating from Paul and Tommy's semi-acoustic solo performances the past couple years, if there ever is a reunion of the currently living members of the Replacements, even if it admittedly would be to put the kids through college, I think it would still be one of the best rock shows you have ever seen. It would not be as eardrum blistering and out of control as Bob Stinson on SNL in 1985, or the 'maybe we're gonna be huge if only we could try' shows in 1989, but it would not be a rock facade. And the fact that it wouldn't be a charade is why I still bother to write things about the Replacements after 'starting' this thing 15 years ago. (Charles Bissell from the Wrens astutely observed the only problem with the Pixies reunion: "Back on the Bossanova tour, they would come on stage, say nothing, play, glare at the crowd, and disappear - they were a mystery. Now they smile and talk.") It’s hard to believe there was only the single empty summer of 1992 between the last Replacements show and the first Westerberg solo tour shows, even though it felt like forever since we had heard anything from Paul. It just how much things have slowed down musically from all of them since then. (That's probably okay considering the world's CD pressing plants can deal with only one Bob Pollard at a time.) But it's a shame, because the worst thing I have heard someone call even something like off-the-cuff demos of Westerberg's riff rock (i.e. Mono) and acoustic meditations (Stereo) are "decent." It's just one reason why, even though I don't need to listen to "Let It Be" just to get through the day anymore, The Replacements are my favorite band. While it’s been 15 years since I started this thing and it’s all much slower than it used to be – there aren’t solo tours every week, there are fewer clearer memories of 1989 or people who were around in 1989, and manually consolidating and editing a journal with a text editor journal is about as archaic as using a typewriter where there are message boards and newsgroups. But watching that video of Left of the Dial wasn’t nostalgic or dated. You know, it seemed like a show that could’ve happened tonight. I wish it had happened tonight. - m@. P.S. However, the second side of "Tim" makes more sense than ever. __________________________________________________________________________ I. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Here's a list of what has happened with the various members of the Replacements in the past year: PAUL WESTERBERG Last fall, Paul released the soundtrack to the "Open Season" movie, which includes two songs that have Tommy Stinson and Josh Freese together. When they got together at the premier to play, instead of giving the crowd a couple songs from the soundtrack, they played "I.O.U." You can read an account of the performance and see some pictures from the premiere here, including a Westerberg family shot: http://paulwesterberg.proboards107.com/index.cgi?board=generalpw&action=display&thread=1159271684 Unfortunately, Paul injured his hand over Christmas, meaning that he is reportedly not playing guitar for the rest of the year. However, that might not be true: his wife Laurie Lindeen, is putting out her own rock story about life in Zuzu's Petals and with Paul called "Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story". As part of the release, Laurie will be playing live on the Fakebook show on 89.3 The Current (a Minneapolis public radio station) along with a reunited Zuzu's Pedals and other guests including Paul himself. You can read about these stories in more detail at the Paul Westerberg site at http://www.paulwesterberg.com TOMMY STINSON Pirated tracks from the still unreleased Guns n’ Roses album “Chinese Democracy” have been floating around, but the band has actually been showing up and playing shows in places that sound more like a vacation tour than a rock tour: Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan. There also is a new Tommy Stinson forum at http://tommystinson.proboards50.com/index.cgi, in addition to the “official” one at http://www.tommystinsonforum.com. CHRIS MARS On average, Chris has had two solo exhibitions a year of his artwork. If you live in a major metropolitan area, he might be coming to you. Stop by and see how ridiculously tall he is. http://www.chrismarspublishing.com SLIM DUNLAP Slim is apparently still playing around the Minneapolis area. Check this funny story out: http://www.howwastheshow.com/index.cfm/action/potw.view/potwKey/74 __________________________________________________________________________ II. LOOKING FOR REPLACEMENTS LIVE SHOW RECORDINGS Jeremy Levy : The Replacements @ American Theatre in St. Louis on 1/31/91? J. Freeland : The Replacements in Nashville TN on 04-21-89? __________________________________________________________________________ III. WHEN I WENT TO COLLEGE, WE JUST SMOKED BANANA PEELS, SON Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 05:24:28 -0700 (PDT) From: "james greene, jr." Subject: "Hootenanny" totally synchs up with "Star Wars" Hello, my name is James and I do this thing called the Great Star Wars Synchronicity Project. Every day I listen to a different album with "Star Wars" to see if anything synchs up a la "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wizard of Oz." Yesterday I tried "Hootenanny" by the Replacements, and to my surprise, the damn thing synched up in seventeen distinct ways. Check it out here: http://starwarssynch.blogspot.com/2006/08/take-me-down-to-jundland-wastes.html Just thought you might be interested. The Skyway totally kicks ass, by the way. Thanks for doing such an awesome job. Keep on rockin' in the free world. James __________________________________________________________________________ IV. PRAY FOR THE HOME TEAM Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:18:02 -0500 From: Eric Melin Subject: We named our team after Paul on VH1! Since Paul's been sidelined with a hand injury and news is slow, I thought you might be interested in a tidbit of slightly Westerberg-related news. My friends and I are huge Westerberg fans, and we will be appearing on a VH-1 TV show in July. We named our team Westerburg High ("Heathers" + Paul reference - VH1 made us spell it that way!) and we gave Paul (best songwriter ever) props on Episode 1, premiering July 11! Here's our ad, running on TV now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsWHgRG8qzs Hopefully, you'll find this noteworthy! We also mentioned Paul and The 'Mats in lots of interviews! Yours in rock, Eric Melin Here's a press release sent out by the indie record label that my band records for. It has all the details: Ex-Ultimate Fakebook and current Dead Girls Ruin Everything drummer Eric Melin will be appearing on Entertainment Weekly's 2007 "World Series of Pop Culture" on VH1. Sixteen of the best pop culture trivia teams from all over the nation will be competing for a grand prize of $250,000 on the show, which debuts at 8ct/9et on Monday, July 9. Melin is 1/3 of the rock powerhouse team from Lawrence, KS called Westerburg High. The team, which also includes former Ultimate Fakebook guitarist J.D. Warnock, takes their name from the high school in the classic teen black comedy "Heathers," starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. It is also a reference to the world's most talented songwriter, Paul Westerberg of The Replacements. To keep the rock n roll vibe going, Westerburg High designed the team's T-shirt logo to mirror the classic repeated typewriter font of power pop legends Cheap Trick. Melin and Warnock moonlight as movie critics as well, running a movie review website, www.Scene-Stealers.com, where you can find new original on-camera content and updates on the show. Watch the team go for the $250,000 during prime time on VH1 and also online at www.vh1.com. Episodes will be archived after they air, and Westerburg High's debut show will premiere on Wednesday July 11, and be re-run every time you turn around between quintessential episodes of "Charm School" and "Flavor of Love." Here is the link to the show's main page on VH1.com, Many more details are forthcoming, including exclusive and bizarre video of Westerburg High's pre-game preparation on the VSpot: http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/2007_world_series_of_pop_culture/series.jhtml Dead Girls Ruin Everything's debut album "What a Perfect Ending" is out now on Reignition Records, as well as Ultimate Fakebook's debut album, "Electric Kissing Parties." The Dead Girls are currently recording their follow-up, tentatively titled "Out of Earshot." You can find the Dead Girls video and Scene-Stealers videos plastered all over YouTube.com like a wad of cream cheese. http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/2007_world_series_of_pop_culture/series.jhtml http://www.scene-stealers.com/ http://www.reignition.com/artist/bio.asp?BandID=41 http://www.myspace.com/deadgirlsruineverything http://www.reignition.com/artist/bio.asp?BandID=25 fin. “If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain.” - Emile Herzog