Bob Stinson

For the baseball player, see Bob Stinson (baseball)

Bob Stinson
Stinson with The Replacements
Background information
Birth name	Robert Neil Stinson
Born	December 17, 1959 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Died	February 18, 1995 (age 35) Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Lead guitar
Associated acts	The Replacements Model Prisoner Static Taxi The Bleeding Hearts

Bob Stinson (born Robert Neil Stinson, December 17, 1959–February 18, 1995) was the founding member and lead guitarist for the American rock band The Replacements.

Biography

The Replacements

Stinson formed The Replacements (formerly Dog's Breath) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA in 1979 with drummer Chris Mars and Bob's younger half-brother Tommy, then just 12 years old; a year later, Stinson brought in Paul Westerberg on second guitar and vocals.

In 1985, a long-running power struggle between Stinson and Westerberg reached a breaking point, and Stinson was forced out of the band sometime in late 1986. Though the exact circumstances of the split remain murky, published explanations include Westerberg's commercial aspirations, pressure from Sire Records for more mainstream records, and Stinson's increasing substance abuse problems. "Whether he was thrown out for the way his alleged alcohol problems had destroyed his skills or he left voluntarily due to creative tension is a moot point," according to Prefix Magazine. "What matters is this: Stinson was gone, and with him went much of the band's edge." With the departure of Stinson, "Pleased to Meet Me" and all subsequent recordings by the band were increasingly more pop-oriented, dominated by Westerberg's pop stylings. Stinson's last stint in the band was on the demos for the Pleased to Meet Me album.

Later projects

Stinson's first band after leaving The Replacements was an outfit called Model Prisoner, which broke up in 1988. Model Prisoner's line up consisted of Sonny Vincent (Testors)-Vocals and Guitar, Bob Stinson -Guitar, Eric Magistad-Bass, Jeff Rogers-Drums. Other members included Jim Michels and Mike Henderson. The band performed live and they recorded an album at Nicollet Studios (Twin Tone).

Bob later formed Static Taxi in 1988. They recorded two albums Stinson Boulevard (released in 2000) and Closer 2 Normal (released in 2003) before folding in the summer of 1991.

Again in alliance with Sonny Vincent, Bobby Stinson was a member of the band 'Shotgun Rationale' and they appeared together on Shotgun Rationale's Time Is Mine single (in 1991 on Dogmeat Records)( a remake of the original 'Testors' song). The new version of the song with Bob on guitar also featured future Bash & Pop guitarist Steve Brantseg. Bob also appears on sought after European releases that featured him together with Sonny. An interesting aspect of the band 'Shotgun Rationale' was its constantly changing line up. At one point Bob and Sonny invited Cheetah Chrome (Dead Boys) to join the band and Cheetah moved to Minnesota to play guitar with them. According to Sonny that was "quite insane for a while"... "You have to imagine a band consisting of both Bob Stinson and Cheetah Chrome playing and working together.. then add to that I was no angel and you start to get a glimpse of the mercurial energy and intense chaos that we lived in, it didn't last long but it was like living in a constant lightning storm and the sound was the same, tight and concentrated but always exploding over the edge."

Stinson also played with local band Dog 994 around this time. His last band was The Bleeding Hearts, which he formed with his roommate Mike Leonard. One of their most high-profile performances was opening for his brother Tommy's band Bash & Pop in 1993. His last public performance was playing with Minneapolis Countryswing band Trailer Trash at Lee's Liquor Bar in late 1994. They performed a version of Lefty Frizzell's "Lil 'Ol Wine Drinker Me".

In 2010, Sonny Vincent compiled all the songs he recorded with Bob over the years and it is available as a Euro import. The Artist name on the album is 'Model Prisoners Featuring:Sonny Vincent And Bob Stinson' and the name of the album is 'Cow Milking Music' This album was released on Vinyl with Cd included along with many photos of Bob from Sonny's archives as well as a 4 Page story detailing the history of their collaboration and friendship.

Death

Stinson, a long-term alcoholic and drug addict, died in 1995; according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Report, he did not die of a drug overdose (as is frequently reported) but rather frequent drug use caused his overall health to diminish, resulting in organ failure.^{[citation needed]} His body was found in his Uptown, Minneapolis apartment, with an unused insulin syringe next to it. His obituary appeared in the print edition of the New York Times on February 24, 1995.