PERFECT When Squirrels Play Chicken EP 1996

 

Discogs

 

Perfect Biography

by Greg Prato

After the Replacements' demise in the early 1990s, bassist Tommy Stinson formed a new project called Bash & Pop, which released a single album, Friday Night Is Killing Me. Since the record was written entirely by Stinson in his attic, it wasn't a true band effort, nor a rocking one for that matter, which became apparent when he tried to tour for the album with a newly assembled band. He decided to put his first post-'Mats project to rest, and soon formed the more typically Stinson-like band Perfect. The group came together in August 1995, consisting of Stinson on bass/vocals, Marc Solomon on guitar/vocals, Dave Philips on guitar/vocals, and Gersh on drums.

Perfect began gigging soon after and caught the attention of Medium Cool Records, which signed them after label head Peter Jesperson (an old manager of the Replacements) caught an explosive gig in their hometown of Los Angeles. They opted to release an EP first, 1996's When Squirrels Play Chicken. Produced by Don Smith (Keith Richards, Cracker), the set was a glorious return to Stinson's sloppy roots-rock sound. In 1997, the band went into the studio with producer Jim Dickinson (who manned the boards for the Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me) and recorded Perfect's first full-length album, Seven Days a Week. However, by the time the LP was ready for release, Medium Cool Records was at loggerheads with Regency Pictures, the new owners of its distributing label, Restless Records. Regency shelved the album, and frustration over the record's fate led to the band's breakup in 1998.

Stinson signed on as bassist for Axl Rose's new version of Guns N' Roses and cut a solo album, while Philips worked with Frank Black, Solomon played with Clumsy and Solly, and Gersh opened a drum sales and rental firm. A remixed and resequenced version of Seven Days a Week, retitled Once, Twice, Three Times a Maybe, was finally released by Rykodisc in 2004. Guitarist Dave Philips died on February 22, 2021, due to cancer; he was 52 years old.

 

Tracklist

1. Makes Me Happy
2. Sometimes
3. Alternative Monkey
4. Miss Self Esteem
5a. Don't Need To Know Where
5b. (silence)
5c. Crocodile Rock

GRANDPABOY self titled 1997

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Bart Bealmear

Grandpaboy is Paul Westerberg, singer/songwriter/guitarist and de facto leader of the revered (and now defunct) Replacements. Not exactly a secret venture, but a means for Westerberg to escape expectations and get back to playing devil-may-care, stripped-down rock. He plays all the instruments on each Grandpaboy release and, in keeping with the concept, uses various eccentric pseudonyms.

After two inconsistent and labored solo albums, the tiny Monolith label put out a Grandpaboy single and then an EP in 1997. Both brief releases contained some clever wordplay, while simultaneously recalling the Replacements' reckless spirit. Many fans and critics proclaimed the EP to be his best work in ages. Another, more subtle Westerberg platter, Suicaine Gratifaction, was issued in 1999 on Capitol Records, but as a result of a change in management at the label, his contract was terminated not long after its release. Seemingly disillusioned with the music business, he dropped out of sight for a few years, leaving the zealots to wonder if he would ever return. After so much time had passed, one could've looked back on the playfully cantankerous Grandpaboy as just a fun little diversion for Westerberg while he was between major labels. But in early 2002, he resurfaced, reviving the moniker with Mono, and delighting his fan base with a full-length CD of loose, Keith Richards/Faces-style rock & roll. A short time later, Mono was paired with his fourth solo disc, Stereo (both on the emo-centric Vagrant).

Grandpaboy turned out to be a way for Westerberg to once again harness the unruly, go-for-broke aspect of his personality, which was largely lacking in his work following the demise of the Replacements (arguably due to maturity, sobriety, repeated attempts at more commercial sound, and/or the simple fact that the other Replacements were no longer propelling his songs). At the same time, it reinvigorated the material released under his given name, allowing him to focus on his other strength -- heart-on-his-sleeve narratives -- resulting in his finest solo record to date with Stereo. Perhaps sensing that he was onto a good thing, another album under the alias, Dead Man Shake, was delivered in 2003, as was the fifth Paul Westerberg long-player, Come Feel Me Tremble, which sounded very much inspired by his close personal friend, Grandpaboy. 

 

Tracklist

1	Hot Un	2:30
2	Ain't Done Much	2:46
3	Psychopharmacology	2:36
4	Lush And Green	2:53
5	Homelessexual	2:52

 

CHRIS MARS Tenterhooks 1995

by request

Discogs 

Tracklist

1	White Paddy Rap	3:01
2	Forkless Tree	4:01
3	Mary	3:35
4	Lizard Brain	3:56
5	Hate It	3:18
6	Brother Song	3:19
7	Water Biscuits	3:48
8	E.I.B. Negative	3:26
9	Haunted Town	4:23
10	Floater	2:38
11	Cadaver Dogs	3:53
12	New Day	3:18

CHRIS MARS 75% Less Fat 1993

by request

Discogs

Artist Biography by Chris True

While he would eventually push music aside for painting, Chris Mars would always be best known for his first artistic endeavor, that of being the drummer for the legendary Minneapolis, MN rock band the Replacements. As the Replacements' star rose proportionally with frontman Paul Westerberg's control of the band, Mars found himself further and further alienated from Westerberg, and he made only brief appearances on the group's final outing, All Shook Down. Before the band could tour to promote the record, Mars quit, and joined up with Minneapolis

"super-group" Golden Smog and spent more time focusing on his painting. In 1992, he released his first solo record, a mostly self-made affair -- he not only drummed, but sang and played keyboards and guitars, as well as being the chief songwriter. Titled Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, the LP also included bassist J.D. Foster and featured Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum. Mars' follow-up, 75% Less Fat, released in 1993, featured only himself and Foster, and showed his first attempt at moving away from straightforward rock stylings. His final album, 1995's Tenterhooks, would confirm his intention to move away from rock, mixing jazz, rap, and disco into the mix. He chose not to tour the album, so Syracuse band the Wallmen decided to tour it for him, covering the songs, with a cardboard cutout of Mars standing center-stage. After Tenterhooks, Mars would devote himself full-time to his painting which, inspired by his older brother's schizophrenia, focused on disturbing landscapes and even more disturbing figures and portraits. These images first got showings on his solo records, but would eventually feature in solo exhibitions all over North America. Even though Mars put music aside for his brand of visual art -- he wouldn't even mention music in interviews -- he got together with former Replacements' bandmates Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson in 2005 to record -- vocals only, no drums -- two new tracks for an anthology of the band's work. 

 

Tracklist

1	Stuck In Rewind	4:00
2	No Bands	2:54
3	Weasel	2:56
4	Public Opinion	2:22
5	All Figured Out	3:41
6	Whining Horse	3:02
7	Car Camping	3:00
8	Skipping School	3:06
9	Bullshit Detector	2:39
10	Candy Liquor	3:04
11	Demolition	3:32
12	No More Mud	2:51
13	Nightcap	3:06

 

CHRIS MARS Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 1992

By request
Check out Chris Mars' artwork here

Discogs 

Tracklist  

1	Reverse Status	3:12
2	Popular Creeps	3:04
3	Outer Limits	3:17
4	Before It Began	3:51
5	Get Out Of My Life	3:17
6	Monkey Sees	3:55
7	Ego Maniac	2:34
8	Midnight Carnival	4:17
9	I, Me, We, Us, Them	3:43
10	Don't You See It	3:51
11	Happy Disconnections	3:11
12	Better Days	3:03
13	City Lights On Mars	2:49
14	Last Drop	3:33