Jan 062011
Will Your Mystery Date Be a Dream or a Dud?
Yep, Bob Stinson actually lent his bizarre, energetic, sloppy, interestingly failed hard rock chops to another band following The Replacements. Static Taxi, a local Minneapolis band led by Ray Reigsted, recorded 2 albums’ worth of material in the late 1980s-very early 1990, prior to Stinson’s death in 1995. I forgot Stinson lived that long! The title of the Mystery Date song was “FAFA.” Here’s a more tuneful one, “Max Factor,” also from the band’s second posthumous album, Closer 2 Normal. In some ways, I can better enjoy Stinson’s playing in this band. There’s less for him to step over; more for him to “make interesting.”
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Static-Taxi_01_Max-Factor.mp3|titles=Static Taxi, “Max Factor”]
Wow, this was the first time I got a Mystery Date “right” and I don’t even comment on them very often.
Mr. Mod, next time someone asks you if you like The Replacements, you should reply, “Actually, I prefer Static Taxi.”
Yeah, that would totally elevate my Rock Snob game!
Geez — I grew up in Mpls and never heard of this band! My MPLS hipster cred take a big blow!
Wow. This really sucks. Of course, to be fair, the main problem is the singer. And uninspiring songwriting. The guitar is fine, I guess.
“Yeah, Static Taxi are good, but I only like their earlier stuff.”
Drat, I missed out on one I probably would have gotten. That said, the 2nd example sound more like early Replacements than the Mystery Date. But congrats on acquiring the CD. As someone who owns Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars solo stuff I always figured Static Taxi was just not widely distributed.
Yeah, I was going to play the reveal track first, but then I thought it was too obvious a connection.
Oh, and nice getting to meet you in person tonight! Sorry we didn’t get more time to talk.
Nice to see you and andyr and confirm that Nixon’s Head can still bring it. I enjoyed the Donuts as well – very crisp set.