MINNEAPOLIS — The Replacements were one of the biggest groups to come out of Minnesota in the 80s and now fans of the band are getting the chance to own a piece of their music history.
The family of Bob “Slim” Dunlap, who was a guitarist for the band, is holding an estate sale to help cover his ongoing medical care.
From the music itself to the guitars he used to play it, fans are getting a rare chance to see the personal collection of a rock star.
"I totally fanboyed out. I was like what? Slim Dunlap?” longtime fan John Isackson says.
How the sale came together is an interesting story in itself.
Isackson said his girlfriend runs Parlour Antiques and she was contacted by Slim’s family to host an estate sale.
"Charlene said I'm super busy, I can't do it,” Isackson says.
But then she heard the family was referred to Parlour Antiques by a former customer of theirs, so she decided to squeeze them in, and then she learned who the sale was for.
"She called me and I was just like whoa. We gotta do this," Isackson says.
So, they got to work, pulling pieces together that would bring people in.
"We have guitar stands and picks and guitar cords. Also, on the ‘All Shook Down’ tour, the last tour of The Replacements, they played Grand Park in Chicago they had these road cases and we got one of the road cases,” Isackson says.
They also found a few extra musical artifacts the night before the sale.
"Last night I was in the garage and there's a garbage bag and I picked it up and I looked it was full of lyrics of songs he had been writing and journals he had been writing. It was so cool and it has been so much fun,” Isackson says.
But possibly the best piece is this sports jacket Dunlap wore on one of their album covers.
“It’s a really cool item,” Isackson says.
The sale started at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning and Isackson says about 50 to 60 people were lined up on the sidewalk ready to shop.
Paul Metsa was one of the first fans to stop by Friday morning.
He’s a friend and fan of Slim’s music and is also an accomplished musician himself.
"There was a lot of history in there. It was sort of like the Graceland of Linden Hills Minneapolis,” Metsa says.
"When I heard about this I had to be here. Slim Dunlap is one of my favorite guitar players not only in the Twin Cities but the world."
Metsa said Slim’s guitar playing is highly regarded in the music industry and among fellow musicians.
"From sweet to sour, from rock to, he could put a baby to sleep with that guitar, but when he was rocking, nobody rocked harder than Slim Dunlap,” Metsa says.
“He played a telecaster through, I believe it was two concert amps and he had them hooked up in stereo and I would try to quiz him to try and figure out exactly what that was, but I never quite figured it out myself, but at least I got to experience it live through Slim.”
Slim only performed with The Replacements for a handful of years, but Metsa says the music the band created during that time is still inspiring musicians to this day.
"If you walk into any bar and hear a young band in a club in America tonight, you'll hear a little bit of The Replacements. They were hugely influential and if you caught them on a good night it was one of the greatest rock and roll shows you'd ever seen,” Metsa said.
“But Slim in many ways for me was much more than just The Replacements, because he only did that for a handful of years. He was really a great part of the music community and a really great, kind soul, really generous to young musicians.”
Organizers of the sale said the proceeds from the sale will go directly to the family to help pay for Slim's ongoing medical bills.
The sale is located at 4006 Washburn Ave. S, in Minneapolis. The sale will run from Friday, July 14th from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, July 15th from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, July 16th from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
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