Sixty to Zero

Friday, May 16, 2025

Review: Swamp Dogg documentary "Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted"

The new Swamp Dogg doc Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted is currently showing and is absolutely worth checking out. It's funny, informative, insightful and moving all at the same time and is just wildly creative: a fast-paced stew of standard archival fare, animation, AI, cinema verite, amazing sound design & left turns galore. The film stars Swamp and his two musician housemates - including the late great Guitar Shorty, who passed away during the project - and a cast of supporting characters who spend a good chunk of the film sitting around the pool, natch. It's a wild ride, touching on everything from loss and grief to the sheer joy of creativity, with an imposing backdrop of Swamp's music and underrated lyrics throughout.

Filmmakers Ryan Olson and Isaac Gale worked on this for several years, with the editing alone taking two years. They've done a superb job shining a light on this American musical treasure, born Jerry Williams Jr, who released his first record (as Little Jerry) in the early 60s, followed by his rebirth as Swamp Dogg in 1970 with the still powerful, timeless psych funk soul of the Total Destruction of Your Mind album. (Hilarious aside: we learn that Mr. Psych Funk himself Norman Whitfield hung the ceiling fan in Swamp's "bachelor pad for aging musicians" in North Ridge and, judging from its current condition, this is something that happened a long time ago).

Swamp's life and career is almost too wild and crazy to capture in a 95 minute film - including stints as running a mail order record label that ran ads on late night TV + a stint managing a pre fame Dr Dre - but Olson and Gale somehow keep the needle in the groove with their usual flair and creativity.

The film is an inspiring testament to the importance of community, family and friendship, and how, for some people, creating art is part of their very soul, no matter how difficult that journey may be in the real world. Considering Swamp's largely unknown contributions to the music world for the last 7 decades - and the film does a very good job of putting his massive accomplishments into context - it's amazing how little he's been compensated materially for that, and it's even more amazing how that doesn't seem to have affected his drive to keep creating even now in his 80s. Swamp is above all else a survivor. Not making art is simply not an option for the (original) dee-oh-double G (there's a cool cameo from a reverential Snoop).

Steve Marsh conducted a great Q&A with Ryan and Isaac after last night's showing, adding even more juicy details to this already fascinating story.

Speaking of continued creativity, Swamp's fine new album delves into....bluegrass and is titled, appropriately, Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th Street. In the film he makes a reference to that golden time circa 1970 when all of the genres - rock, soul, funk, jazz, psych, country, blues - all peacefully, albeit briefly, lived in perfect harmony before everything got Balkanized (google "techno subgenres" for reference).

Photos from May 15, 2025 screening in Minneapolis at The Main.

Swamp Dogg Wiki HERE

Swamp Dogg Blackgrass review HERE & video HERE

Interview by Steve Marsh with Swamp Dogg & Moogstar HERE

Swamp Dogg discography HERE

Jerry Williams discography HERE

Little Jerry discography HERE

Friday, April 11, 2025

Al Sparhawk - First Avenue/Minneapolis, MN/10 April 2025: show review

Still trying to process the Al Sparhawk show I saw last night at First Avenue. It was a tour de force, musically, emotionally and visually. Sparhawk was equal parts electro shaman and rock visionary: it was a punch-in-the-gut performance that was arresting, invigorating, challenging, enlightening and, ultimately, profoundly moving. It produced the kind of catharsis that only the best art can provide....something increasingly necessary in days like these.

I've watched Al perform in a variety of incarnations over the last year or so and heard (via live recordings) his new music - including many of these songs - develop in different forms: hard core electro funk with heavily processed/altered vocals, the delicious psych / funk of Derecho Rhythm Section, straight ahead rock, soul-revealing slowcore and all points in between. Recent Al live shows here in MSP and Duluth have often popped up with short notice and, other than the frequent Derecho shows, you never really knew what to expect, which adds a nice bit of tension to the new material that is exploding out of him with often ferocious urgency. His short outdoor 10pm set last summer at the Totally GNP block party - always a feast of delights - where he performed White Roses material in the middle of a packed crowd with just a microphone & blistering tracks blasting behind him while he ecstatically danced like a spirit possessed, had 4am Coachella rave tent intensity and was absolutely one of the best live performances I saw in 2024.

The 2025 version of the "Al Sparhawk Band" is comprised of Al on guitar & vocals with his son Cyrus on bass (who has played with Al at almost every live appearance over the last 2 years) plus longtime collaborator Eric Pollard on drums. The setlist has been pretty static this year:

6 opening songs from the current "controversial" White Roses album
5 songs from the forthcoming collab with Trampled by Turtles
1 song common to both of those releases, the devastating "Heaven" ("Heaven / It's a lonely place if you're alone / I wanna be there with the people that I love") delivered tonight with unprocessed vocals. "Get Still," the set opener tonight, is the other song that is on both White Roses, My God and Alan Sparhawk with Trampled By Turtles, but on this tour "Get Still" is being performed in the White Roses version.
2 Retribution Gospel Choir tunes, including the unreleased "JCMF" aka "When Jesus Comes Back" which memorably exclaims: "When Jesus comes back / All you motherf***ers are gonna pay"
2 songs that have been in every one of the two dozen or so Derecho Rhythm Section sets over the last few years, providing sonic and emotional relief in the midst of the storm (Al gave a nice s/o to Derecho mates Al Church and Izzy Cruz)
1 Low song in the encore, tonight it was "Days Like These," one of Al's finest songs in recent years, with lyrics that hit home like a sledgehammer:

"When you think you've seen everything
You'll find we're living in days like these
No, you're never gonna feel complete
No, you're never gonna be released
Maybe never even see, believe
That's why we're living in days like these again"

(always a good time to revisit this video)

The emotional gravity of the songs Sparhawk has written the last few years is evident to anyone who is even slightly aware of recent events in Sparhawk's life. Witnessing them in person takes that impact to another level.

After 80 minutes of testifying - wordlessly whirling around a dark stage with punishingly loud electro jams pulsing through the new, world class First Avenue sound system, unleashing Crazy Horse-ish walls of sound, or baring his soul to the cosmos - Al thanked the crowd, told them he loved them and then read this David Lynch quote to introduce the final song of the main set, a so far unreleased, hymn-like little ditty titled, appropriately, No More Darkness.

“Don’t fight the darkness.
Don’t even worry about the darkness.
Turn on the light and the darkness goes.
Turn up that light of pure consciousness: Negativity goes.”

SETLIST
Alan Sparhawk
April 10, 2025
First Ave - Minneapolis, MN

01 Get Still
02 I Made This Beat
03 Can U Hear
04 Station
05 Brother
06 Project 4 Ever
07 Heaven
08 Screaming Song
09 JCMF (aka When Jesus Comes Back)
10 Torn & In Ashes
11 Get High
12 Poor Man's Daughter
13 Too High
14 Liquid Love (Roy Ayer's cover)
15 Stranger
16 Not Broken
17 No More Darkness

Encore
18 Days Like These

1-7: Alan Sparhawk - White Roses, My God (2024)
1,7,8,10,13,15,16: Alan Sparhawk - Alan Sparhawk with Trampled By Turtles (2025)
9: unreleased (previously performed by Retribution Gospel Choir & Al Sparhawk 2013-2025)
11: Derecho Rhythm Section (released on Bandcamp in 2023 & performed live 2023-2025)
12: Retribution Gospel Choir - 2 (2010)
14: Derecho Rhythm Section (performed live 2023-2025)
17: unreleased (first performed in 2025)
18: Low - HEY WHAT (2021)

Al Sparhawk: vocals, guitar (7-18)
Cyrus Sparhawk: bass, vocals
Eric Pollard: drums, vocals
Additional backing tracks used on 1-6

In related news....

The Alan Sparhawk and Trampled By Turtles album is supposed to come out on May 30, 2025, but cassette copies of it were being sold at the merch table, 7+ weeks before the official release date. Side A was the Sparhawk/TBT album with all of White Roses, My God on side B.

Nice guerrilla marketing!

Sunday, January 12, 2025

21st Century Boy: Paul Westerberg 2002-2017

CONTENTS

Intro
Paul Westerberg Releases 2008-2017
Bonus Grandpa Boy Discography
Paul Westerberg Releases 2002-2006
Paul Westerberg: 21st Century Live
Paul Westerberg Come Feel Me Tremble CD vs DVD

INTRO

"I don't know what's what in the world or where or when /
Soon as I do, then I'll go from the start again"

"Everyone's Stupid" from 49:00 (Paul Westerberg digital album, 2008)

The saga of Paul Westerberg's solo music in the 21st century is... confusing ... confounding... maddening... revelatory ...pick your adjective. There's no easy way to chart Westerberg's artistic journey over the last three decades, especially since by 2007 he had ditched what was then the conventional way of releasing music - apparently for good. According to word from his manager a few years ago, Paul has "retired," apparently finalizing a career detachment whose seeds were planted almost 20 years ago.

For Westerberg's artistic output in this century, what we're left with is a patchwork quilt of mostly digital releases, a rogue's gallery of pseudonyms and a guerrilla release strategy that can best be described as "unconventional," with music being released and sometimes withdrawn without notice, use of multiple platforms, discounted pricing, lack of transparency - all seemingly done at random. And that's just how this music was unleashed on the world; the breadth of creativity that these off the radar releases encompass - ranging from absurd mayhem to absolute brilliance - is a whole different story, one that warrants continued study and an abundance of patience.... and that's assuming one is able to track everything down. Even by the standards of someone who has largely thumbed his nose at convention since bursting on the scene with The Replacements in 1980, navigating Paul Westerberg's discography in the 21st century is one wild ride.

The period after the release of Westerberg's third solo album, Suicaine Gratifaction, in 1998 was devoid of much notable professional activity. The new century started out in fairly conventional albeit accelerated fashion for Westerberg, with a flurry of 5+ albums worth of material being released in less than 3 years. Stereo and Mono came first in 2002 - both loved by fans and considered by many to represent high water marks in Westerberg's work post-Suicaine. Mono was initially included as a bonus disc in the first pressings of Stereo and later was released by itself. Mono reprised the "Grandpa Boy" moniker for the first time since a pair of obscure releases in 1997: a 2 song single and a 5 song EP that introduced the world to yet another classic Westerberg nom de plume, Winthrope Marion Purvical V, and, in retrospect, presaged his shenanigans in the next century (see Grandpa Boy discography below).

2003 saw a Grandpa Boy follow up, the cover heavy Dead Man Shake (released on Fat Possum / Epitaph; the CD contained 2 more tracks than the LP) and the underrated, fascinating Come Feel Me Tremble, issued both as a standalone CD and an accompanying DVD documentary with an abundance of additional material (see chart below). The CFMT documentary contains both "studio" and live recordings from a long solo tour Westerberg did in early 2002. As he told an interviewer at the time, "I kind of used the whole movie thing as an excuse to put out another record without having to get off my ass and tour again."

Paul's last conventional album released under his name, Folker, came out in 2004 to generally very favorable reviews but no corresponding touring. Except for Dead Man Shake, these 2002-2004 releases were all on Vagrant, a Massachusetts-based punk/indie label.

Two years after Folker, 8 original Westerberg compositions, with Tommy Stinson contributing bass and backing vocals to 2 tracks, were released on the soundtrack album to Open Season (Lost Highway, 2006), an animated comedy. A now rare 10 inch vinyl mini album was also released featuring 5 of Westerberg's soundtrack songs from the CD + 2 tracks unique to this release: an alternate version of 1 song and a "Replacements version" of a non PW song originally performed by Deathray on the soundtrack.

Then Paul seemingly pulled the plug connecting him to what we know as the "music industry."

This burst of activity from 2002-2006 also marked the beginning of what some fans have called "the basement era." Suicaine Gratifaction appears to be the last full Westerberg solo album recorded in a professional studio. For solo / Grandpa Boy releases this century, Westerberg has relied mostly on his basement home studio - recording, performing and producing everything on his own. This informal, at times ramshackle, approach has greatly informed all of his releases from 2002-2017 and seems to be in sync with Westerberg's reclusive lifestyle.

Westerberg 21st century work in proper recording studios mostly involved sessions with a reconstituted Replacements, and most of these sessions occurred at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis, started in the late 90s by the late Ed Ackerson, formerly of Polara. Westerberg recorded 2 new songs ("Message to the Boys" and "Pool and Dive") with Ackerson at Flowers for a 2006 Replacements compilation during a time when the "basement era" was in full swing. In 2012 Westerberg was back at Flowers to record the Replacements' contributions to the Songs for Slim project, released in January 2013. Around this time he also produced and contributed to a 2013 album and single for The Silks, both done at Flowers. During the Replacements reunion era (2013-15), there was a one-off session in a Massachusetts studio for the bizarre "Poke Me in My Cage" release and there was also a rumored ultra-secret, exploratory session at Flowers circa 2013 for prospective new Replacements material of which little is publicly known (some of the material attempted may or may not have shown up on subsequent Tommy Stinson releases).

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Concurrent with this early 21st century creative renewal were Westerberg's first live tours since 1996 (there were no live shows to support Suicaine Gratifaction). In 2002, Westerberg undertook probably his most ambitious solo tour, including about a dozen record store performances. These 30 odd shows represent some of the most memorable live outings of Westerberg's post-Replacements career. Aside from the diverse setlists - including many songs covered in this article (see chart below) - one of the more notable aspects of this tour was the amount of fan interaction he conducted on a regular basis, something hard to fathom given his previous behavior in the department. The Come Feel Me Tremble video documents this period with some remarkable insight and access.

2003 and 2004 were relatively quiet. He did a a few one off shows in 2004, including a 7 song solo set at the "Rock for Karl" benefit at Prince's old club in downtown Minneapolis for Soul Asylum bassist Karl Mueller which featured a few songs from the "basement era" as well as Westerberg fronting a quasi-Golden Smog lineup for a cover of the Stones' "Dead Flowers." In November 2004, Westerberg performed 3 full band shows over 3 nights at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis (down the sidewalk from First Avenue) with Michael Bland, Kevin Bowe and Jim Boquist - a band Westerberg dubbed during one of the shows as "Paul Westerberg and his Only Friends." This was a preview for a couple of dozen dates with The Only Friends from February - May 2005. These full band shows were energetic, frenetic, spontaneous and, at times, chaotic. They often ran well over 2 hours, sporting wildly diverse setlists, and frequently channeled the kind of devil may care / off the rails mayhem that became notorious two decades earlier with The Replacements.

The 2005 tour wrapped up on May 8 at a House of Blues in Orlando, FLA and that marked the end of Westerberg's touring life until the Replacements reboot almost a decade later.

In September 2006 Westerberg performed 3 songs with Tommy Stinson at the Open Season premiere in Hollywood. There were two gigs in 2007, both somewhat unusual. In June he participated in a live Fakebook event at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul (then the home of Prairie Home Companion) put on by Minnesota indie radio titan The Current to celebrate his then wife Laurie Lindeen's book Petal Pusher. The event was emceed by Westerberg's sister, Mary Lucia, who was a DJ at The Current at the time. Lucia interviewed Lindeen, who also did some readings from her book. Westerberg performed during the musical segments with a band made up of local luminaries and key figures from Lindeen's past. In August he did a private beer company show at First Ave in Minneapolis, hosted by his old pal Warren Zanes and featuring 10 songs that covered Westerberg's entire career, from early Replacements to a preview of 49:00, released a year after this show and still largely unknown to the public to this day despite its masterpiece status.

This beer gig was Westerberg's last known public performance as a solo artist.

Six years later, from 2013 to 2015, the reborn Replacements played 33 shows (and one late night TV appearance), defying all expectations and thrilling fans old and new alike, including many who had never seen the band perform in its original incarnation. The Riot Fest festival provided the catalyst for the reunion and the band (which included Josh Freese and Dave Minehan) ended up doing everything from club shows to huge festivals on a tour dubbed "Back By Unpopular Demand." The final Mats gig of the reunion era was on June 5, 2015 at the NOS Primavera Festival in Portugal. That's the last time Westerberg has performed on stage in public.

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One of the primary goals of this article is an attempt to make sense of Westerberg-related releases following Open Season in 2006, up to the final Dry Wood Garage digital release in September 2017, the last time the world has heard from Westerberg in any meaningful fashion.* This period of underground studio work was also devoid of any significant live solo activity, although Westerberg's public profile was, of course, as high as it ever was when the Replacements reunited from 2013-2015. This (last?) chapter of Westerberg's profesional life kicked off on a high note with 49:00, one of his greatest creations and possibly his best post-Mats release.

* UPDATE: Westerberg designed the artwork for a limited edition 7-inch single that was released in April 2018 in conjunction with Juliana Hatfield's Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton John album.

(any additional info will be updated as needed - last update 7/2/25)

PAUL WESTERBERG RELEASES 2008-2017

Paul Westerberg 2002-06 and
separate Grandpaboy discographies below

comprehensive pre-2008 Paul Westerberg discography HERE

49:00 Of Your ~~Time~~ Life (full length – audio collage – 1 continuous track; 43:55)

01. 00:00 Who You Gonna Marry? (3:57)
02. 03:57 With or Without Her (Kentucky Risin’) (3:00)
03. 06:57 Something in My Life is Missing (3:41)
04. 10:38 Visitor’s Day (3:36)
05. 14:14 Thoroughbred (0:14)
06. 14:28 Devil Raised a Good Boy (3:10)
07. 17:38 You’re My Girl (0:26)
08. 18:04 Everyone’s Stupid (2:37) **
09. 20:42 You're My Girl (reprise) (0:06)
10. 20:48 What Do You Want (0:19)
11. 21:07 Never Coming Back (0:45)
12. 21:52 Goodnight, Sweet Prince (3:55)
13. 25:47 Guess I’ll Be Going Then (0:07)
14. 25:54 Outta My System (3:22) ***
15. 29:16 C'mon, Be My Darling (3:45)
16. 33:01 Down On the Farm (0:12)
17. 33:12 100,000 Pieces (1:12)
18. 34:24 I’m Clean (1:11)
19. 35:35 Your Sister (0:08)
20. 35:43 It’ll Never Die (4:03)
21. 39:46 Cover Medley * (0:55)
22. 40:41 I Think I Love You (1:05) (The Partridge Family cover)
23. 41:46 Oh Yeah! (2:09)

Total time = 43:55

* Includes snippets of “Hello Goodybe” - The Beatles; “Lost Highway” - Hank Williams; “Born to be Wild” - Steppenwolf; “Stupid Girl” - Rolling Stones; “I'm Eighteen” - Alice Cooper; “I'm a Rock” - Simon and Garfunkel; “Rocket Man” - Elton John; “Dandy” - The Kinks

** Also performed live in 2007.

*** Another version with substantially different lyrics appears on the Hot Stove, Cool Music – Volume 1 compilation (2004, Fenway Recordings CD). The song was also remade by the I Don't Cares on the Wild Stab album in 2016. That version has lyrics similar to the 2004 version and may contain elements of that recording. It was also demo-ed in the Mono era (see bonus Grandpa Boy discography below).

Note: Some song titles are guesses that have circulated through fan world. Official song titles were never announced. Track splits were done for convenience; original release was one single MP3 with no track indexes and some of the tracks overlap with each other.

Copyright info (in metadata): Dry Wood Music 2008

Released digitally July 19, 2008 on Amazon Digital and Tunecore. Withdrawn August 1, 2008, apparently due to licensing issues with the cover medley. Currently streaming on Paul's Soundcloud page. CDR promo copies were reportedly distributed. Available on YouTube (minus the cover medley) with 5:05 included at the end.

In a 2016 Spin interview, Westerberg talks about 49:00:

If I drop dead tomorrow, that’s my masterpiece. I’m so tempted to [make a record like that one] again, but I can’t go through it again. It was absolute insanity and I was so frightened when I made it that people would think I was schizophrenic.

Post about 49:00 on the Teenage Dogs In Trouble blog.

Fan art for 49:00

5:05 (1 song; 5:05)

Released digitally August 5, 2008 on Tunecore, 3 weeks after the release of 49:00. The 5:05 apparently refers to the "missing" time from 49:00, which clocks in with a running time of 43:55.

No longer available. Currently streaming on Paul's Soundcloud page. ~~Also available on YouTube.~~ (link dead as of 1/12/25). 5:05 is added to the end of 49:00 here.

3oclockreep (2 songs; 23:32)

3oclockreep (audio collage – 1 continuous track) (20:02)
- 00:00 Tell 'Em All, Go to Hell (2:49)
- 02:49 Mash of outtakes (0:44)
- 03:33 It's Ridiculous, Everybody Wants to Be Famous (2:49)
- 06:22 Only Excuse Is (2:14)
- 08:36 You're Still Mine (1:03)
- 09:39 If Only You Were Lonely (0:45) * #
- 10:24 Studio ramblings (1:56) *
- 12:20 We Know the Night (2:47) *
- 15:07 Lowdown Monkey Blues (4:55) *
  * - recorded 1988 with Tom Waits
Finally Here Once (3:29)

# First appeared as the b-side of The Replacements' first single "I'm In Trouble" in 1981.

Released digitally Aug 26, 2008 on Amazon Digital. Still available from Amazon for streaming and download. Also available on YouTube.

Bored of Edukation (1 song; 4:46)

Released digitally Sept 13, 2008 on Amazon Digital and Tunecore. Still available from Amazon for streaming and download. Also available on YouTube.

D.G.T. (3 songs; 9:33)

Away in a Manger (2:43)
Streets of Laredo (3:14)
D.G.T. (3:43)

Released digitally Dec 24, 2008 on Amazon Digital. Still available from Amazon for streaming and download. Also available on YouTube: Away in a Manger, Streets of Laredo and D.G.T.

PW & the Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys (6 songs; 24:11)

Ghost on the Canvas (3:41) *
Drop Them Gloves (3:44)
Good As the Cat (3:43)
Love on the Wing (5:28)
Gimme Little Joy (4:11)
Dangerous Boys (3:24)

Released digitally Sept 22, 2009 on Amazon Digital and also on CDR (on-demand). Still available from Amazon for streaming & download. CDR no longer available. Also available on YouTube.

* "Ghost on the Canvas" was covered by Glen Campbell and released on his album of the same name in 2011.

Mr. F 45 (2 songs; 5:25)

This Machine (2:49)
Foolish Hand Shake (2:36)

Vinyl 45 released Oct 29, 2010 on Nimbit Music. Artist listed as “Mr. F.” Included bonus digital download (see Grandpaboy's Last Stand). Out of print. Available on YouTube: This Machine and Foolish Hand Shake

Grandpaboy's Last Stand (2 songs; 37:47)

Grandpaboy's Last Stand (audio collage – 1 continuous track) (35:41)
- 00:00 Getting My MBA
- 01:57 Doing Me Wrong
- 03:32 Mystery Train
- 07:41 Love You in Reverse
- 10:45 Anybody Looking For God (aka Save Elrod Puce)
- 16:18 Don't Shoot or I'll Move
- 20:16 Be My Tennis Shoe
- 21:54 Mr. Cigarette (take 1)
- 24:26 Mr. Cigarette (take 2)
- 28:48 Love You in Reverse (disco version)
- 32:23 Grandpabboy meets his maker (dialog)
Grandpaboy's Last Stand (epilogue) (2:06)

Grandpaboy's Last Stand is a purported audio verite documentation of a Grandpaboy “recording session”. Lots of mayhem and general nonsense in between “songs.”

Released digitally Oct 29, 2010 on Nimbit Music as bonus digital content to the Mr. F (aka Paul Westerberg) “This Machine” b/w “Foolish Hand Shake” 45. Out of print. Available on YouTube.

My Road Now (1 song; 3:32)

Released digitally Sept 21, 2012. Originally available as a free download on the I Will Dare blog. Also available on YouTube

Songs For Slim EP [The Replacements] (5 songs; 13:51)

1. Busted Up (Robert Dunlap)
2. Radio Hook Word Hit (Robert Dunlap)
3. I'm Not Sayin' (Gordon Lightfoot)
4. Lost Highway (Leon Payne)
5. Everything's Coming Up Roses (Julie Styne, Stephen Sondheim)

Originally released as a signed limited-edition (250) 10" EP with a bonus poster & photos in January 2013, available only through eBay auction. Subsequently released commercially on a 12" EP in both red and black vinyl versions with no bonus material on April 16, 2013. Reissued on 12" EP in split red and black vinyl in 2023.

On February 9, 2012, Bob "Slim" Dunlap suffered a stroke at home with life-altering consequences. He faced significant health challenges for the rest of his life (he died on December 18, 2024, aged 73) and required long term care.

In 2012 a team of friends and associates headed by former Replacements manager Peter Jesperson formed Songs For Slim, a charitable endeavor to assist Dunlap and his family. The plan was to feature monthly vinyl releases of artists covering material from Slim's two solo releases via eBay auction, with the proceeds going to the Dunlaps. The releases would be limited to 100 copies (except for the first and last releases, which had 250 pressed) and would all be signed by the artists and sport artwork by Chris Mars. New West Records, where Jesperson was then an executive, would handle the label duties. An impressive roster of notable artists was enlisted: Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, John Doe, The Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows, Curtiss A, Tommy Keene, Craig Finn, Tim O'Reagan/Jim Boquist, Jakob Dylan, Joe Henry, Deer Tick, Suicide Commandos, Frank Black, Patterson Hood, You Am I, Lucero, Jeff Tweedy, et al. Everyone volunteered their efforts and Songs For Slim was a great success over 9 releases in 2013. A 2 CD compilation gathered all of the vinyl releases (with the exception of the 3 b-sides on the first release), adding 9 more tracks that were recorded for the project.

Songs For Slim kicked off in January 2013 with the first standalone release of new material bearing The Replacements name since 1991. This came in the form of a bespoke 10-inch, 5 song EP featuring 2 Slim songs plus covers of songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Payne/Hank Williams and a Broadway show tune first popularized by Ethel Merman. "Radio Hook Word Hit" was recorded completely by Chris Mars, presumably at his home studio. The other 4 tracks, featuring a lineup of Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Kevin Bowe and Peter Anderson, were recorded in September 2012 with Ed Ackerson at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis. The plan for the Flowers session was for just the one Slim song but evidently things went so well that 3 additional songs were knocked off in short order. The demand for this inaugural SFS release was intense - the average auction price was over $300 - and a significant amount of money was raised.

The Replacements EP was the only Songs For Slim release that was repressed. Later in 2013 a 12-inch non-auction EP version was released on red and black vinyl without the die-cut cover, the band signatures, the poster or the bonus photo content that all came with the 10-inch auction version. All of the songs from the 2CD Rockin Here Tonight: A Benefit Compilation For Slim Dunlap collection are available on the streaming services and all 5 tracks from The Replacements Songs For Slim EP are available digitally on Bandcamp.

New Slim Dunlap website here.

Down at the Heel / One More Try [The Silks] (2 songs; 5:27)

Released on 7 inch vinyl and digital, May 25, 2013 in a limited edition of 300 copies (220 black / 80 white). (Smash & Grab SAG04)

Produced by Paul Westerberg. B-side features PW on lead vocals and guitar. Cover art by Paul Westerberg.

Recorded by Ed Ackerson at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis (note: Westerberg and The Replacements used this studio in 2006 to record the 2 new songs on the Don't You Know Who You Think I Was? compilation and also for most of the 2013 Songs For Slim EP).

B-side is a cover of an obscure, R&B-ish Rolling Stones song written by Jagger/Richards and originally released on the US version of the Out of Their Heads LP in 1965 (it wasn't released in the UK until 1971 when it appeared on Stone Age, a Decca compilation which the band strongly disavowed).

A-side was also released on The Silks 2013 album Last American Band (CD/LP, self-released) which was recorded at Flowers and produced by PW.

Poke Me In My Cage [The Replacements] (1 song; 24:22)

Released digitally Dec 17, 2014 on The Replacements Soundcloud page. Recorded at Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham, MA on October 28, 2014. Engineered by David Minehan, assisted by Matt Jones. Written by Paul Westerberg & Tommy Stinson & Josh Freese. © 2014. Available on YouTube.

Wild Stab [The I Don't Cares] (16 songs)

1. Back (3:52)
2. Wear Me Out Loud (2:41)
3. Born For Me (4:08) *
4. 1/2 2P (2:44)
5. Sorry For Tomorrow Night (2:41)
6. Dance To The Fight (2:16)
7. Kissing Break (3:18)
8. Just A Phase (3:26)
9. Outta My System (3:40) **
10. Need The Guys (2:27)
11. Love Out Loud (2:14)
12. King of America (3:29) ***
13. Little People (1:42)
14. Whole Lotta Nothin' (3:51)
15. Done Done Done (2:18)
16. Hands Together (6:51)

* Paul Westerberg version on Suicaine Gratifaction & Come Feel Me Tremble. Performed live in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
** Paul Westerberg version on 49:00 - see note.
*** Originally an Eventually-era outtake which was released on a very rare promo CDR. Also performed live circa 1996.

Released on CD and digital Jan 22, 2016. Full length album with Juliana Hatfield on the Dry Wood Music label. Currently out of print.

Dry Wood Garage (12 songs; 38:40)

Hawk Ripping at Your Throat (3:58) – released 7/8/17 #
Got It Made (3:04) – released 7/15/17 #
Feelin' Good (2:44) – released 7/22/17 #
Note: with Tim O'Reagan (bg vox) & Keely Lane (drums)
Dead Sick Of (2:17) – released 7/29/17 #
Someday You'll Call My Name (2:58) – released 7/29/17 #
Note: Hank Williams cover
Oompa (3:36) – released 8/5/17 #
Come Hither (3:42) – released 8/9/17 #
Surrounded by Morons (2:58) – released 8/12/17 * &
What the Gym Couldn't Do (2:08) – released 8/29/17 * &
Country Boy (4:38) – released 9/3/17 * &
Mrs. Beethoven (3:21) – released 9/9/17 * &
September (3:16) – released 9/20/17 #
Note: this song has been performed live at least twice before: Minneapolis November 2004 & Boston September 2005

* paid downloads

# = originally posted on Soundcloud User 964848511 page; still there as of 1/12/25.
& = originally posted on on the Dry Wood Garage Bandcamp page (still there as of 1/12/25) and the Nimbit Dry Wood Garage page (page active at least through 8/28/20; apparently dead now)

DRY WOOD GARAGE NOTES

At first, these were weekly digital releases – usually on Saturday – on Soundcloud from “User 964848511” and were announced on the Dry Wood Garage website starting 7/8/17. Initially, the songs were available on Soundcloud for streaming with no download option. Then starting with “Surrounded by Morons,” the songs were instead offered on Bandcamp (with artwork images) and Nimbit for paid download. Things moved back to Soundcloud on 9/20/17 for the final DWG song, “September.”

The Dry Wood Garage site initially featured embedded links to the Soundcloud songs. When the switch was made to the Dry Wood Garage Bandcamp page, the DWG site included standard links to those songs under a section called “Stuff For Sale.” The embedded Soundcloud links were listed under a section called “Free Stuff.”

Dry Wood Garage website: https://www.drywoodgarage.com/ (UPDATE: apparently dead as of 8/28/20)

Soundcloud User 964848511 (streaming only): https://soundcloud.com/user-964848511

Nimbit Dry Wood Garage page: http://www.nimbitmusic.com/drywoodgarge (UPDATE: apparently dead as of 2/21/22)

Bandcamp Dry Wood Garage page (streaming and paid downloads): https://drywoodgarage.bandcamp.com/

artwork for 1-12

alternate artwork for 3,7,9

DRY WOOD GARAGE UPDATES

UPDATE 11/16/17

As of Nov 16, 2017 the embed for “Feelin' Good” is no longer on the Dry Wood site but it's still available on the Soundcloud page.

UPDATE 8/28/20

Tracks above marked # are on Soundcloud User 964848511 page.

Tracks above marked & are on the Dry Wood Garage Bandcamp page and the Nimbit page.

The Dry Wood Garage website appears to be dead.