Gunslinger

Gunslinger
Written and Recorded 2011

This one was written in the first few weeks of being back in the Milwaukee area after 4 years in Whitewater and 2 years in Baraboo. Why I wrote a tune that sounds like I'm in Arizona? I don't know. But I have always loved that signature, western twang that a guitar can deliver. I tried to keep with my same "Crantson" rules, by having two guitars, bass, two midi keyboard instruments, but I decided to add in a wee bit of harmonica and maraca.

• This isn't my best song, but it's one of my sleeper favorites. There's something about the B section that keeps me engaged. 
• It's a simple A B form, but I tried to play with building and layers. That's a tool that I have always appreciated and love working with. I could have done more though.
• The image that I see in the beginning is the lone gunslinger, dressed entirely in black, entering a dusty old town, ready to go!...I'm a sucker for the Old West...
• The harmonica and maraca are really there for texture. I really felt that they added that little bit of organic, real instrument to give some authenticity to the track.
• It's no coincidence that this was one of the last of these instrumental tracks that I've created and that it broke my rules. At the same time that this track was created, I was starting to discover how much I craved real instruments. When recording in Baraboo, I basically rejected anything acoustic and worked with a lot of MIDI, effects, and keyboards. Acoustic instruments were missing in my life and I've come back to them in a big way. But I wouldn't have appreciated it without that time to explore. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.