SHIT AND BONES
Peter Jesperson on managing the unmanageable: the Replacements.
Touring in a band for the past 10 years, I kept meeting people who comingled with the Replacements. I’d hear stories like “I was working at their label when they came in and stole their master reels,” or “Those guys hung me outside of a window by my ankles in 1987.” Tales of their gigs ranged from “The worst band I’ve ever seen—I saw their guitarist play drunk off his ass inside a trash can” to “Their live show was a spiritual experience."
The band’s legendary manager Peter Jesperson chronicled it all in his book Euphoric Recall, start-ing with singer-guitarist Paul Westerberg coming into Jesperson’s record store with the Replacements demo tape. After reading it, I realized I’m as much a fan of Jesperson’s as I am of the band. He agreed to let me come over to his house and punish him with questions.
