"Don't ask why," Paul Westerberg sang on the Replacements' first record, and he apparently is thinking the same thing when it comes to his band's first shows in 22 years.
At press time, Westerberg had yet to say a peep to the press about their three-gig reunion stint with the RiotFests, the first of which is Sunday in Toronto (followed by Chicago Sept. 15 and Denver Sept. 21). The Minneapolis group's only other remaining original member, bassist Tommy Stinson, also didn't say much when interviewed by Rolling Stone just after the June announcement.
"The universe seems to be trying to put us together to do our thing," Stinson said. "It was just the timing and the aligning of the planets."
A week ago the guys were kind enough to give their hometown newspaper the scoop on the new Replacements: drummer Josh Freese and guitarist David Minehan, both of whom toured with Westerberg in the early '90s. Freese also played with Stinson in Guns N' Roses and on two new Replacements tracks for a 2006 anthology.
That answered one big question. In lieu of the guys themselves talking, we thought we would try to answer some of the other unknowns.
Why now?
The "aligned planets" that Stinson referred to are: His own schedule away from GNR and solo gigs; Westerberg's willingness, after nine years away from touring; the cool appeal of the RiotFests, and the sad circumstances that brought them together in the studio last fall. They recorded four songs that became the "Songs for Slim EP," a benefit for their former guitarist Slim Dunlap, who replaced Tommy's late brother Bob in the band in 1987 and suffered a severe stroke last year.
"They initially got together to help their friend, then ended up having so much fun and everything felt so good, they just decided to go for it," said former Replacements manager Peter Jesperson, who spearheaded the ongoing "Songs for Slim" series as vice president of New West Records.
There might be a now-or-never aspect to the timing, too, said Memphis music journalist Bob Mehr, who is writing an authorized biography of the band ("Trouble Boys," due next year on Da Capo Press).