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about
Bob “Slim” Dunlap is a hero for many reasons. His song “Cooler Then” is a favorite, so when we got the call to cover it for Slim Town Singles, we jumped at it. My brother Dave whirled in with a vision of what our version of the song should be. It was Dave, Steve on drums, and I was playing Karl Mueller’s bass. There was a lot of synergy going on, it was actually the first time Dave and I recorded anything together. Tom Herbers, the engineer/guru on just about every decent Minneapolis rock record you’ve heard (including the original recording of “Cooler Then”) also volunteered. Jim Boquist, though he couldn’t be there for the sessions, helped us figure out some of the guitar intricacies. “Anything for Slim,” he said. We heard that a lot throughout this process. We recorded the drums and bass at Creation Audio in the same room Slim recorded his version. Tom shared a story about how “Cooler Then” came to be: It was a different song, and when it was done, Slim walked into the control room and told Tom to wipe everything except the drum track. He then proceeded to construct “Cooler Then” on that drum track, which is why it has its quirky, unconventional feel to it.
Tom and Dave left town, and Steve and I headed over to Tommy Tousey’s Silver Ant Studios to continue with additional vocals and guitars with Ben Glaros. Glaros absolutely killed it, playing a mid-60’s Les Paul I had acquired from Slim back in 1994. That guitar is a major digression in the story that goes back to when I first met Slim. Fumbling though my fifth year of college, my parents bribed me by offering me any guitar I wanted if I graduated. I wanted a black Les Paul because of Jimmy Page and Slim Dunlap. My folks held up their end by reaching out to our good friend Abby Kane, who said her friend “Bob” was selling a black Les Paul. At the time, I had no idea who “Abby’s friend Bob” was. We drove to a cool little crib in Linden Hills. She rang the doorbell and out walked this familiar, bug-eyed, shaman-looking dude with the warmest smile I’ve ever seen, and he absolutely enveloped her in a hug. Abby introduced me, he shook my hand and said, “yeah, yeah, yeah, man. Come in, come in, come in.” I liked that he said things in threes. We walked into his living room, he introduced me to Chrissie and pulled out the guitar, still in its case. The handle on the case had been cut off and replaced with yellow plastic cord wrapped in duct tape. “That’s a Bill Sullivan special,” he said, pointing to the rigged handle. “That’ll never break.” Suddenly, everything came into focus…Sweet Billy Sullivan was the road manager for The Replacements and Soul Asylum… “Abby’s friend Bob” … was… Slim mother#%$@ing Dunlap. He pulled out the guitar, strapped it on and talked while playing, looking at it like a baby. “Great guitar, never goes out of tune. Try it.” I strummed incredulously and asked a few question of no significance. I asked him how much it might cost. “I have an offer from a collector, “ he said. “But if you promise me you’ll play it, I’ll give it to you for…”. I finished school for that guitar.
Recording Slim’s song for this project, with his guitar, with my brother and friends, seemed like a path with little resistance. Slim’s always been a community builder like that. After our initial sessions, Dave and his engineer George spent a good amount of time drilling down into the track in New Orleans. Mark Chalecki, when approached about mastering, said “I'd be happy to donate my time for Slim Dunlap.” Steve did yeoman’s work on fine-tuning and managing. Throughout the process, the operational phrase was, “we have to be sure that when we present this to Bob, he doesn’t say, ‘what did you do to my song?’”
On a spring day in early May, we went to Bob’s house and nervously played it for him. He gave it a thumbs up. We all hope we did the song--and him--justice. Anything for Slim.
-Paul Pirner
STS-24
credits
released May 28, 2014
“Cooler Then” written by Robert Dunlap
Produced by: Dave Pirner, Steve Sutherland and Paul Pirner
Arrangement: Dave Pirner
The Happy Roosters:
Dave Pirner: Guitar & Vocals
Paul Pirner: Vocals & Bass
Steve Sutherland: Drums
Ben Glaros: Guitar
Engineers:
George Ortolano, Stealth, New Orleans, LA
Tom Herbers, Creation Studio, Minneapolis, MN
Tommy Tousey , Silver Ant Studios, Minneapolis, MN
Mixed by Dave Pirner and George Ortolano at Stealth, New Orleans, LA
Mastering by Mark Chalecki at Little Red Book Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
Slim Town Singles is a cooperative, ongoing musical tribute to Minnesota's hometown musical hero and former Replacements
guitarist Bob “Slim” Dunlap. All proceeds from sales of Slim Town Singles support his care and recovery from a debilitating stroke suffered in February of 2012. Slim has given a lifetime of love, support and music to the Minnesota music community. Now is our chance to give back....more
I knew Bob before he was 'Slim'. Then lost touch. Always followed him musically from Buzz Barker and the Atomic Bums to his solo work. I was never much into listening to live music at First Ave or bars so I didn't really get to watch him play and sing. I did see him open for Roseanne Cash once. Take care Bob! clayb
This NYC quartet channels the anxious, experimental nature of late '90s-early '00s Olympia indie rock in their tense, rhythmic post-punk. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 8, 2016
I love both John's and Dylan's voices. The quality of these songs, the lyrics, the melodies, as well as the way the band performed them and the way the instruments and voices were recorded is just heartwarming. I love this album so much. It just never gets old. Dylan, John and everyone involved with this project, thank you for creating something so special. steveguion