I wrote “Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings” after spending time with Paul Westerberg, lead singer of the Replacements. It was another short-lived liaison. He had apparently been admiring me from a distance for years. Sometimes when I was playing shows at joints like Al’s Bar or Raji’s or the Troubadour in my early days in L.A., the Replacements would be on the same weekend bill as me. I remember going to see them play at the Palace in L.A. and they were loud and drunk and awesome. Then, a few years later, somebody gave me Paul’s solo album 14 Songs and I absolutely fell in
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