R: It wasn't that look!

C: Not yet

R: Not yet..

PW: Well have one! I wish I had five kids. He wants a sibling now but his mom is 40-years-old with multiple sclerosis. I'm 42, my dad was 42 when I was born…I don't know, we'll see…maybe I'll knock up the babysitter …don't write that please. You guys are young… how old are you?

R: 32

C: 30

PW: That's perfect, it didn't start to haunt me until I was 36.

R: You knew you were ready when the time came?

PW: I knew I wasn't ready at 24. I would not have been ready - I would have been way too selfish. I was already at point where I didn't go out at night, it didn't cramp my style. I didn't do anything anyway. Being rock'n'roll and staying up all night, I was fine with staying up all night to give him a bottle. I used to put him in this little backpack and play the guitar and walk around.

R: I was reading the Vagrant bio - and you wanting to do that (Buddy Holly) tour with Tommy. Even though it's hard to remember songs do you still want to do it? With or without Tommy?

PW: With Tommy it would have made a world of difference because he is the other half of my brain, he functions where I can't. That's where we work really well as a team. The (tour) was literally four days away. I said 'I've got this crazy ideas, I've got these songs we should play, we should just wing it. We'll get Big Mike to play drums and Chris Robinson or someone to shake the tambourine - or Axl (Rose) if he wants to do it. And we'll just go and raise hell.' And then he called back and had changed his mind. He had obligations. I can't blame him - he might have thought 'do I really want to ride in the van in February? Be in Iowa for five nights?' And after I thought about it, frankly I didn't want to do it either. But it was my way to force (Vagrant) to get the Grandpaboy record out on the 2nd of February. They were dragging their heels and it was pushed back - I wanted to do something to make them release it and that was the first thing I thought of. Then a couple of promoters in Chicago got a hold of the idea and then it started to stink like 'well it's a Replacements reunion' and then the rooms started to get bigger and then it started to get scarier.

R: It took on a life of its own?

C: I've heard tons of rumors since then - that Dave Pirner was involved, the rumors kept going.

PW: It was going to be David Carl and Michael Bland and then Peter Wolfe wanted to be on it. It was the kind of thing where if people think we do it, then it will be better than if we actually do it. It was just something to get the record. I told them 'if you can get the record out in three days then I will be bottled - which is kind of what I'm doing now." I told them if you can get this record out by the day that Johnny Thunders died then I will go and do in-stores.

R: Is that what this is?

PW: I lost the bet

C: It sounds like you're having fun though

PW: Well…Rich is a gambler

R: Have you met Axl Rose?

PW: I went out of my way not to the time he played with Tom Petty and I would imagine we're in similar in many ways. Tommy says we're very much alike. I understand his situation. Very much. If I had left the Replacements - I mean the Replacements left me. I then put the name in a drawer and carried on. Had I chose to keep the name and hire new guys, I would be in a much more nail-biting situation. He's no fool. It's a cash cow, the name, but I can see where he's hurting. He's got to come back and whatever he does they're going to slay him mercilessly. Unless, maybe they got somebody really different. My theory is that they're trying to be so 'tomorrow' - that's it's going to be electronic-hip-hop-metal. Who knows.

C: I have a copy of that last Perfect record that never came out - it's great..

PW: Is it? I never listened to his stuff much. Satellite is the one song of his that to his day is stuck in my head.

C: How do you feel about the Replacements legacy?

PW: I don't know. I don't know if I talk about it that I take the wind out of its sails. By going away for four years and keeping my mouth shut - it's been the best move I've ever done. I wonder how many times does Bob Dylan cringe when he hears guys who learned from him say that. Same with Pete Townshend or Mick Jagger. Considering that, me from this other era, call it punk / post-punk. I have a hard time with that. I'm not going to mention "R.A." but they're not going to talk to him and say "Husker Du". Each time I come up there's a new person

R: A new person who's imitating you?

PW: Yeah.

R: Do you cringe when they make the comparisons - even when it's just the journalist making the comparison?

PW: I think it's about time that they started looking at it from my eyes, a little bit like - I'm here, I'm staying, I'm the original. I don't know what to say - I'll never be Bob Dylan, I'll never be Keith Richards, I'll never be Pete Townsend - that's how I look at it. I don't give two shits about any of the other guys who sound like me. But I don't bear them any ill will. I wanted to be Johnny Thunders and he knew it and he was nice to me.

R: Are you satisfied with your place in rock history?

PW: Satisfied is a bad word I actually tried to play that song the other night - and it was like forcing myself to hotwire a car. It felt illegal, like something some hood used to do. It's like 'oh yeah, I screamed over an F chord for four or five minutes … yeah, that was a riot." My place isn't done. My place is…does it seem like I'm falling asleep?

R: Are you?

PW: Part of my brain is. But there's a part of me that's coming alive at age 42. To be able to release it artistically. I don't think it's going to be writing, I don't think it's going to be prose. I don't have the skills to put out coherent writing and I wouldn't want to put out some free verse piece of rubbish. I'm not done with …three things…I'm not done with the notion that I might play in the Replacements again. I'm not done with the notion that I might form a brand-new rock'n'roll band and I might just go away and do what I really want which is write songs. And one of these days someone's going to record one and it will be a hit and it at least it will pay for the..

C: And retire nicely?

PW I couldn't. I went home to relax and I couldn't relax for one minute. I couldn't relax for four years. I went home to have a nervous breakdown - all I did was bend. Which was nice. It taught me that I don't break - I'm resilient. I'm fragile, I am a flower. It's such a cliché but I'm not the strong oak tree, I'm the delicate flower. I'll tell you one thing, I've talked to Slim - I called him up last week to sort of say 'OK, here you go - we're going, do you want to come?" And in five minutes, after not talking to him in five years, I got such a sense of negativity. He came up with every conceivable thing that could go wrong and why it shouldn't be done and what could be expected …" And it was like 'you old fucking man…." I just didn't have the heart to meet with him the next day.

R: Is that just the place he's in right now?

PW: He's always been like that - he's older than the rest of us, he's eight years older than me. He's turned into a crotchety old man but it's like don't you want to tour and raise some hell? He didn't. He works at a music store and he plays solo acoustic. He said something to the effect of 'I'll help you out again this time Paulie if you really want me to." And I thought 'help me out?' I've seen tapes and we were a band of three-and-a-half guys as far as I'm concerned. I'm saying do you want to go and have fun and ride the bus and listen to music? Go break some rules and whoop it up - even if we both end up in the hospital - which we both have. It's not out of the cards but he wasn't there.

C: How is your relationship with Chris?

PW: See, there you go. Chris is so well-adjusted to being a clean and sober successful visual artist. I think he works in film and backdrops - I don't think he would have, I don't think he would want to play the drums or have the stamina. He passed by my house by accident. He was driving by - I thought who's this creep and he came up 'how ya doing!?' Happy as can be, smiling. I said, "what do you think, should we put it together?" He goes "for a week." He was serious and he laughed but I really think that's all he can take. If it ever does come to be, we would have to do it - me and Tommy would have to do it - gas up the van. Get ready, go to his house and ring the bell and say 'come on, we're going for a week". And he would do it but it wouldn't be…

R: A long-term thing?

PW: No, we made "Stink" in a night. So we could conceivably play Madison Square Garden and make a movie and make a record and do it all. It's possible.

C: It's good that you are least talking to those guys….

R: You say he's too well-adjusted to want to go out…does that mean that you're not well-adjusted?

PW: Uh, good question. Um, yeah, I'm more comfortable right here (indicates hotel room). I mean they've been running my ass ragged and I'm more comfortable doing this then watching my son and for an hour-and-a-half - cuz that knocks me out. He's already broken his arm and cut his head open. I've already been in the emergency room with him several times. It's gotten to the point where I'm (lunging) to catch him from falling into the radiator - he takes a lot of out of me. This is easier - but I've got to talk to him on somebody's crappy cell phone and it's the first time I've been away and it's "I miss you! I love you!" And he's crying and then there's something about Thomas the Train and then he's gone. -hey, are you sure I can't get you something to drink? I mean as long as we're here….

C: Is tonight's show going to be as long as the others?

PW: It's happening so early and apparently it's downtown in this business district…I'm preparing to wear my most hideous outfit of the tour.

C: Dusting off the plaid suits?

PW: Well you saw me the last time when I wore the nice suits out of my closet - I've been painting but not necessarily canvases. I paint things - guitars or clothes. So that's what I've got. Talk about stripsearch and stuff - going through my clothes and my clothes are wet with paint. It's like "but I'm Grandpaboy!" They made me take off my shoes and they scanned the bottom of my bare foot. It's like what? Like I've got something under my skin? Tonight's going to be the piece de resistence because I will have no luggage. I'll have a carry-on.

R: All the red lights will go on.

PW: Yeah, I've been red-lighted from day one.

R: So how many shows will you do total?

PW: Tonight and then Friday have dinner with Johnny and Mar and then go to New York and we're going to try and rehearse.

C: Are you doing Letterman with a band?

PW: I've been calling all kinds of guys. It's going to be Michael Bland and Jimmy Anton in the rhythm section and I talked to one guy today and invited him to be the guitar player and I'm still holding out for Keith Richards. It's not out of the question. But you can't write that because if it doesn't come true …but just watch.

C: First reaction when someone asked me what the Grandpaboy record sounded like - I thought, it's kind of like "Paul and the Expensive Winos". It had that - It has a different feel to it.

PW: It's two-fold. The thing is in mono for one, you listen to Stones records and a lot of things are in mono - I bought an old 330 hollow body that I've always wanted to get and that's what gives it that real honkey sound. The problem is all the songs are open tuning so I can't play any of the solos - it's like what in the world. It's me imitating Keith. It's like asking Keith "would you come play me imitating you?" Because he's there. He's in New York writing songs - he's there with Charlie Dreighton writing songs. And Michael Blande is good friends with Charlie Dreighton and I play with Charlie Dreighton and he's mad at Mick for doing the movie and the Lenny Kravitz thing - he's not going to do a record. He's going to do one last record and then the band is going to be over. And then there's this whole thing with Ron Wood - he's dying. He's concerned. There's been communication. There's a one-in-10 chance rather than a one-in-zillion chance.

R: What was it like writing songs for this record? There are some people who have been writing songs for years and say it gets harder…

PW: They come in manic phases - I'm sort of manic depressive. I've got six books going at once and things like that. I write six songs at a time. I rarely sit down and labor on one thing but while I'm crafting the six, out of sheer frustration I'll sit down and bang out "Kicking the Stall" and then maybe go back and work on the other six. And then maybe after getting more of those instantaneous ones that will become "Let the Bad Times Roll". When you're afraid you do aggressive things and when you're anxious you'll fly off the handle. And I've hurt people's feelings - other musicians, drummers and things simply because I'm terrified. Soon as I stopped and did it myself and went home and didn't burden other musicians with saying "no man, do it like this"…It brings it full circle to where I want it to sound like the Replacements - more metal. Like Bob - I didn't like it…but I fell in love with Tommy and I wanted Chris to do ?? so Bob and I formed a kinship which…..

C: The end of the record - is that for the critics, the repeated line …

PW: Yeah you could take it that way. The reality was the depressing nature of just sitting by myself and saying it for myself. I have nothing to say to anyone anymore. Realizing it out loud…I have nothing to say….I guess I have some things to hide. It's like, why do I have to have something to say is maybe more the point? And then follow it up with something to say…(laughs)

R:What's next for you after this?

PW: While I was home - I recorded "Nowhere Man" …. I got to the point where I thought why don't I record my favorite songs of all time - if I don't do it now maybe I never will. I don't feel that now - like I'm going to die. I'm not paranoid that someone's going to shoot me. But I don't know…I would be lying if I felt, I don't see myself a long time from now, I don't know why. But I'm not worried - I feel like something's around the corner that's really good and monumental and I'll just turn my back for good and then I won't have to…

C: What other songs have you recorded? Did you do a handful of covers?

PW: (unintelligible …. Goes to his knapsack and gets tape, starts reading off titles). Times in Trouble.

R: (notices Ann Sexton biography on dresser) )Are you reading that book?

PW: ….(a fan) sent me the book and dedicated it to "Paul who saved my life" (laughs). I'm not the stable one anymore …. You are.

R: Don't you get a lot of that from people when they talk about your music …that savior….

PW: It's a horrible feeling because I almost think 'Oh God, I saved you? Can you save me?"

C: Have you ever felt that way about another artist's record?

PW: I certainly sought solace in my records - my Stones records and Faces as a really young kid and my punk records gave me an identity that I didn't have. I do get (something) listening to Dylan…it makes me think that no matter what, somehow brains and spirituality will win out and you can be an old cripple who can't carry a tune…

C: Are there any new artists?

R: What are you listening to now?

PW: Jelly Roll King I'm listening. I'm driven to listen to more rootsy stuff because I almost feel like there's some competition - I won't compete with my competitors, but the way I can compete with them is I can go back to places they don't know about rather than listen to them. That's what Bob does. I heard two minutes of his new record and it's like he's playing music that his mom would have liked…he's got to go back to get something new.

 

Read the Paul Westerberg story

 

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