In an interview before his show next Friday at First Avenue -- his first local gig with his own band in about five years -- Tommy Stinson let it slide that Paul Westerberg had a hand in the making of his new solo album. Unfortunately, it sounds like that hand mostly got severed.
"I sent him some demos about two years ago, and he made some overdubs and sent them back," Stinson said, calling Westerberg's part "a background line, sort of a counter melody" to the song's hook. "Unfortunately, he actually sent his part back on the demo [laughs]. So there was no way to actually overdub it. Logistically, it just didn't work, unless I was willing to put out the demo as-is. So I had to re-record it."
Anyone who's heard the basement-stained style of Westerberg's download-only recordings over the past few years probably isn't surprised by the technical gaffe. The best part of the story is the song that brought the former Replacements mates back together on record is one coincidentally called "Match Made in Hell."
"Yeah, the irony of that is not lost on me, either," Stinson said with a hard laugh.
Tommy just finished the "rootsy and upbeat" album and plans to release it in August. Next week's First Avenue show and accompanying dates in Chicago and Milwaukee are a warmup to its release, as he's road-testing a band that will include guitarist Mike Gent of the Figgs and two fellas from Milwaukee group Limbeck. You can read more about the album and get a free download of the presumed title track, "One Man Mutiny," for free at his new site. He still has Soul Aslyum and Guns N' Roses gigs on the books for the year, too.
