Bash & Pop’s Friday Night Is Killing Me reissued

When the Replacements – arguably the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history – broke up in 1991, the band’s guitarist Tommy Stinson didn’t want to give up on playing in a group. Stinson convinced Replacements’ drummer Steve Foley to join his new outfit, along with his brother Kevin Foley on bass and guitarist Steve Brantseg, the foursome becoming known as Bash & Pop.

Working with producer Don Smith (Cracker, Keith Richards) and with guest appearances by musicians like the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell and Wire Train’s Jeff Trott, Bash & Pop recorded Friday Night Is Killing Me. Released in 1993, the album received modest critical acclaim for its energetic albeit ramshackle collection of guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll. Although it paled in comparison with the Replacements’ best work, Friday Night Is Killing Me has since grown in stature, even as the CD has been out of print for over 20 years.

That was it for Bash & Pop for nearly a quarter-century until Stinson put together a new band line-up with friends like Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and Steve Selvidge of the Hold Steady and recorded the album Anything Could Happen, released earlier this year. You can’t escape the past, though, and as Stinson takes Bash & Pop on the road in support of Anything Could Happen, interest in the band’s vintage debut album has only grown, causing the price of buying a used copy of the CD to inch ever upwards.

On September 8th, 2017 the esteemed archive label Omnivore Recordings will reissue Friday Night Is Killing Me as a deluxe two-disc set, adding an 18-track bonus disc with rare singles, home demos, and B-sides to go along with the 11-track original album. The second disc offers 15 previously-unreleased songs as well as rarities like “Making Me Sick,” Bash & Pop’s musical contribution to director Kevin Smith’s 1994 cult film Clerks. The reissue was produced by the Replacements’ former manager Peter Jesperson and Omnivore’s Grammy® Award-winning Cheryl Pawelski and was mastered by the band’s bassist, Justin Perkins. Friday Night Is Killing Me also features rare photos and a new essay by writer Bob Mehr, author of the best-selling band bio Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Bash & Pop's Friday Night Is Killing Me