A tour diary of life on the road with one of Minnesotau2019s greatest bands-with nearly 100 never-before-seen photographs u201cDonu2019t bore us, get to the chorusu201d is Bill Sullivanu2019s motto, which will come as no surprise to anyone who opens Lemon Jail. A raucous tour diary of rock u2019nu2019 roll in the 1980s, Sullivanu2019s book puts us in the van with the Replacements in the early years. Barreling down the highway to the next show through quiet nights and hightailing it out of scandalized college towns, Sullivan-the young and reckless roadie-is in the middle of the joy and chaos, trying to get the band on stage and the crowd off it and knowing when to jump in and cover Alice Cooper. Lemon Jail shows what itu2019s like to keep the band on the road and the wheels on the van-and when to just close your eyes and hit the gas. That first van, dubbed the Lemon Jail by Bill, takes the now legendary Replacements from a south Minneapolis basement to dive bars and iconic rock clubs to college parties and eventually an international stage. Itu2019s not a straight shot or a smooth ride, and thereu2019s never a dull moment, whether Bob Stinson is setting a record for the quickest ejection from CBGB in NYC or hiding White Castle sliders around a hotel room or whether Paul Westerberg is sneaking gear out of a hostile venue or saving Billu2019s life at a brothel in New Jersey. With growing fame (and new vans) come tours with REM and X (what happens when the audience isnu2019t allowed to stand?), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Violent Femmes (against their will), and Saturday Night Live, where the bandu2019s televised antics earn the edict Youu2019ll never play on NBC again. Fast forward: Youu2019ll never play Washington, D.C., again. Or Moorhead. Hiding in fansu2019 backyards while the police search the streets and pelted with canned goods at a Kent State food drive, the Replacements hit rough patches along with sweet spots, and Lemon Jail reveals the grit and glory both onstage and off, all told in the irrepressible, full-throttle style that makes Bill Sullivan an irresistible guide on this once-in-a-lifetime road trip with a band on the make.
Show moreA tour diary of life on the road with one of Minnesotau2019s greatest bands-with nearly 100 never-before-seen photographs u201cDonu2019t bore us, get to the chorusu201d is Bill Sullivanu2019s motto, which will come as no surprise to anyone who opens Lemon Jail. A raucous tour diary of rock u2019nu2019 roll in the 1980s, Sullivanu2019s book puts us in the van with the Replacements in the early years. Barreling down the highway to the next show through quiet nights and hightailing it out of scandalized college towns, Sullivan-the young and reckless roadie-is in the middle of the joy and chaos, trying to get the band on stage and the crowd off it and knowing when to jump in and cover Alice Cooper. Lemon Jail shows what itu2019s like to keep the band on the road and the wheels on the van-and when to just close your eyes and hit the gas. That first van, dubbed the Lemon Jail by Bill, takes the now legendary Replacements from a south Minneapolis basement to dive bars and iconic rock clubs to college parties and eventually an international stage. Itu2019s not a straight shot or a smooth ride, and thereu2019s never a dull moment, whether Bob Stinson is setting a record for the quickest ejection from CBGB in NYC or hiding White Castle sliders around a hotel room or whether Paul Westerberg is sneaking gear out of a hostile venue or saving Billu2019s life at a brothel in New Jersey. With growing fame (and new vans) come tours with REM and X (what happens when the audience isnu2019t allowed to stand?), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Violent Femmes (against their will), and Saturday Night Live, where the bandu2019s televised antics earn the edict Youu2019ll never play on NBC again. Fast forward: Youu2019ll never play Washington, D.C., again. Or Moorhead. Hiding in fansu2019 backyards while the police search the streets and pelted with canned goods at a Kent State food drive, the Replacements hit rough patches along with sweet spots, and Lemon Jail reveals the grit and glory both onstage and off, all told in the irrepressible, full-throttle style that makes Bill Sullivan an irresistible guide on this once-in-a-lifetime road trip with a band on the make.
Show moreContents
Get Out of the Basement
Into the Lemon Jail
Love It to Death
Bill Sullivan has been on tour since the early 1980s. After the Replacements and stints with the Del Fuegos and the Cherrybomz, he was tour manager for Soul Asylum, Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst’s Monsters of Folk, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, The New Pornographers featuring Neko Case, Spoon, Syl Johnson, Teenie Hodges, and blues legend Jimmie Vaughan. He was co-owner of the 400 Bar on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota.
"As a guy who has had the privilege of being regaled by Billy's
rock ’n’ roll tales for years, I can attest to the authenticity of
his stories. They may not all be accurate, but they are all true,
which is more important. He is a real link to our punk rock legends
of lore. Any fan of the Replacements or any of the ’80s
left-of-dial bands will greatly appreciate this book."—Conor Oberst
"Reading Lemon Jail makes me think back
to when Spoon would play Bill’s club in the early 2000s:
he’d lay the welcome mat out for us from the moment we got to town,
and we’d always drive off with an extra case of Tecate and a bit of
weed. No one else in the touring world gave us that
kinda treatment. This book is tour story after tour story from
one of the most genuine originals in the game. Bill Sullivan is the
spirit of rock and roll road life."—Britt Daniel "For fans who love
the Replacements, this book is your only opportunity to go back in
time and be a fly on the van wall. Bill Sullivan’s clever sarcasm,
humble anti-rock star attitude, and complete access allow him to
tell the band’s behind-the-scenes story perfectly."—Janet Weiss
"Bill Sullivan captures the spirit and chaos of the earliest and
best years of the band accurately due to the fact that he lived it
right alongside us. A true kindred spirit, a fifth member if you
will, who from the git-go, got what we were about to the point
where it would not have been the same journey without him. Billy
had our backs and represented much-needed comic relief on many
occasions. Lemon Jail should come with a warning: ‘Don't Try This
At Home.’ It's a quick read and, in my opinion, the most successful
book to capture the essence of our destructive, drunken outcast
brigade in all its successes and foibles. Bill’s ever-present comic
sense, woven throughout the book, paints authentically the circus
world that it was. I laughed aloud many times!"—Chris Mars "As
every obsessive fan knows, there's been one essential voice missing
from the recent wave of biographies, oral histories, and
documentaries celebrating the storied and notorious legacy of the
Replacements. This, then, is seriously great news, 'Mats droolers:
Bill Sullivan has finally broken his omerta, and though no book
could possibly contain Sullivan's legendary and seemingly
bottomless trove of yarns—or quite capture his unparalleled ability
to tell a story in person—Lemon Jail is a riotous, channel-surfing
rip through his rubber-legged years with the band, and will more
than tide us over until somebody gives the man the full-fledged
biography his life deserves."—Brad Zellar, author of House of
Coates "Bill Sullivan was right there alongside the band, right in
the thick of it, discussing specific shows, tours, and a million
anecdotes. In addition to his words, Sullivan snapped hundreds of
Polaroids which are sprinkled throughout the book."—Daggerzine
"Although brief in size, the book gives us another view of the
turbulent madness that was the beloved ‘Mats. Tales of road-induced
boredom, which with The Replacements always led to property
destruction and dizzying hangovers, are of course recounted; but
beyond the goofs lived people who for a brief moment created
essential, meaningful art—which is why we continue to read about
it, to try and recapture those moments."—The Big Takeover "Lemon
Jail is a must-read for any Replacements’ fans; it’s deeply
personal and a fun ride."—NeuFutur "Lemon Jail is at its best in
moments that perfectly convey the state of pre-internet underground
music in America, where house parties, college radio, and
photocopied fanzines could propel a small hometown band into
legend."—Pitchfork "Old tour passes, disk camera photographs, notes
and scraps of paper with art from drummer-turned-artist Chris Mars
are just a few of the things Sullivan collected on the road. The
book is filled with these physical memories, which provide context
and insight to the premier “college rock” band of the
1980s."—Columbia Missourian "Sullivan’s entertaining book,
published by University of Minnesota Press, is a glorified tour
diary full of sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll, more drugs, and a story
about Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson defecating in an ice
bucket and sending it down a hotel’s dumbwaiter."—Boston Globe
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