Sorry about your friend Tommy

From The Rope:

Just got a bulletin from "All Over But The Shouting" scribe Jim Walsh. Seems Steve Foley passed away this past weekend. My most sincere condolences to his friends and family.

Here's the bulletin:

Steve Foley passed away over the weekend. The last time I saw him was a few weeks ago at the off-leash dog park by Lake Of The Isles. For an hour we sat in lawn chairs, watched the sun set, and talked about how much we loved watching our dogs run wild. He talked about some personal problems, but he seemed to be on the other side of them. Peaceful. That's how I'll remember him. Last year when I was writing a book on the Replacements, he was very helpful. This is part of what he told me:

I started drumming in bands in 1979. My first band was the Overtones. I played with Things That Fall Down, the Suprees, Wheelo, Routine 11, and Curt [iss A] every Wednesday for ladies night for a decade. I've been in so many bands, I'm probably forgetting some.

I was playing with Pete Lack and Jimmy Thompson in Wheelo at the time. I was with my brother Kevin and another guy, Paul Miller, on a Saturday morning, and we went to the Uptown [Bar] for brunch like every other swingin' dick in town: you'd go up there for a big old breakfast. But it was too packed, so we went over to the CC Club.

And we're sitting there, it was pretty empty, and Paul and Tommy walked in. They sat in a booth behind us, and my brother Kevin is like, "God, Steven, your ears are burnin'. They're talking about you. They keep looking over here."

So I got up and went to the bathroom, and I said, "Hey, guys. Love the new CD." And Paul's like, "Really? Wanna join the band?" I'm like, "What do you mean?" And he's like, "Well, Tommy's got his black book out and he's running back and forth to the phone, trying to find a drummer." I think he was calling Clem Burke and all these other guys. So I was like, "Fuck, yeah. Are you kidding?"

Paul said, "No. We've got a CD obviously that's just come out, and we're going on tour. We're gonna have to audition you."

So we finished the meal, got in my car, and I had just bought a copy of All Shook Down, and I just had it cranked before I went into the CC, so when they got into the car and turned on the ignition, I think it was "Bent Right Out Of Shape" just blasted out of the stereo. Perfect. It was pretty good. They both looked at each other and went, "You're already in."

Compared to all these other bands who've made it? I mean, these bands are a joke compared to the Replacements. I'm just glad to have been part of it. Some days I walk down the street and go, "God, I was in that fuckin' band?" Unbelievable. It is. It will always be a treasure in my mind.