David Minehan is the man who stepped into the (estimable) shoes of Bob Stinson & Slim Dunlap as the lead guitarist of The Replacements on their recent reunion shows/tours. Minehan first came to my attention in 1979 in a band called The Neighborhoods, back when Boston was the center of my Rock & Roll Universe.
The Neighborhoods were – quite simply – one of The Five Best Live Rock & Roll Bands On The Planet That You Never Saw. (The other four – for those of you scoring at home – were: Brownsville Station, Mott The Hoople, Willie Phoenix’s 1978 band Romantic Noise, The Dictators and Columbus’ own Mrs. Children, when Zack Prout was still singin’ lead.) I’m not gonna belabor any Neighborhoods points here, if you wanna read about ‘em, check out some of the entries in my former blog, Growing Old With Rock & Roll. (The Neighborhoods "Cultured Pearls" / Flying To Boston to See the Rock & Roll.)
Click here for the interview in question: Boston Groupie News Interview With David Minehan. You’ll be glad you did.
And - what the hell - why don't we throw in a coupla videos while we're at it.......
Minehan also served as the lead guitarist on Paul Westerberg's first "solo" tour, promoting the 14 Songs record back in 1993.......here's a link to my blog about it from back in Growing Old With Rock & Roll. (And let's face facts: the band in this bonus video is the 21st century touring version of The Replacements with Darren Hill on bass rather than Tommy Stinson.)
ps. There's a fair amount of comparisons that could made between The Neighborhoods and Columbus' own Watershed. Both were hugely popular hometown favorites who never managed to break through to the national rock & roll scene. (The 'Hoods - as they were affectionately known to their fans - from 1979 until their break-up in 1992, just as Watershed was getting big. The 'Hoods reformed in 2003 - with essentially the same personnel - and play on to this day, as does Watershed.) Both were guitar/bass/drums trios playing power-pop rock & roll, though The 'Hoods skewed much closer to pop-punk, particularly in their early days. Both bands hit the road in vans FOR YEARS with essentially no record-label support, scraping by on the skin of their teeth in order to play their guitars in dark, loud bars for all the blue-jeaned boys & girls. (I personally witnessed David & the boys blow local favorites The Toll off the stage one night in 1986 at the old Stache's.) Both were solidly influenced by Cheap Trick, as detailed by Minehan in the interview above, and by Colin in a myriad of places. And both were two of my favorite bands of all time.
pps. Very special thanks to my Neighborhoods buddy Vic from Ann Arbor for sending me the link and bringing this interview to my attention.