Biography Members: Walt Cronin, Marty Beal, Rene' Miller Location: AMERICA NORTH: USA: California (CA) Influences: John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle,... Genre: Folk-Rock URL:http://www.thegousters.com
Quote: "Tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is becoming quite rare."
An engaging collection of folk rock tunes, Walt Cronin's The Gousters is a homespun and charming effort. Warm, earthy sounds envelope the listener as Cronin delivers work that is solidly written with a compelling sincerity. Many of these songs are about war, often sounding like the contemporary answer to the folk protest songs of 1960s artists like Pete Seeger.
Penned by Vietnam veteran Cronin in relation to his personal experiences, the themes of his music still resonate in today's world. "Flowers In Her Hand " is the story of a young war widow, while "The Rift" narrates Cronin's own inner struggles dealing with his experiences as a Navy Corpsman. Regardless of the listener's personal views, we all acknowledge the human sacrifice that war entails. While there are obviously political themes on here, for the most part these are intimate, personal recollections based on his own life.
The sweet, almost naive sensibilities of the music is juxtaposed to the stories Cronin tells about the aftermath of war; this sad contrast evokes a feeling of innocence lost. But Cronin's underlying optimism and hope is a thread throughout the album â?? and this is ultimately a story of healing, and of love prevailing. And love does prevail: "You Are The Light" is a gentle, romantic ballad that ends the album on an uplifting note.
These are tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is becoming quite rare. Cronin shows his craftsmanship for twangy, down-home rock on cuts such as "Like A Day Like Today" and "The Rift," my two favorite cuts from this record. Cronin has a lot of stories to tell, and I will look forward to hearing more of them in the future.
On his own this time (as far as songwriting goes), Walt generates another strong piece of Americana/folk for us to listen to. His deep plain voice doesn't grab you right away, but as the CD goes on you find yourself enjoying it a lot. There are several really nice songs here. You can find Walt at http://www.thegousters.com
The Gousters debut CD did extremely well for a debut album released without a record label. I am in the studio recording 12 new songs that I will be releasing as before to internet radio stations.
Walt Cronin, half of the duo named The Gousters and the principle lyricist, displays an infectious enthusiasm about his music. Scattered across the web are numerous postings, blogs, notes and comments from him that celebrate, in a surpised kind of joy, the independent success of his self-released album. He seems thrilled that anyone even noticed The Gousters. But then again, how could you not notice them?
The energy of Walt, the perfectly loose composition of the songs, the stark poeticism of the lyrics and the fact that the other half of the duo is Zander Schloss, made famous by his founding of the seminal punk band The Circle Jerks and less famous by his role in the cult film Repo Man, would seem to make this point moot. And, in the interest of coming full circle, their rapid climbing of the music charts without a label, promoter, publicist or manager seems to prove the point.
As for the music itself, Walt loosely defines it as alt-country, with the caveat that the term has become a catch-all description, like jam or indie rock. Listening to it at a distance, it reminds me of the gritty folk of Neil Young (Trickle Past), the deadpan somberness of Leonard Cohen (Only Eighteen) and the tumbling melodies of the classic 60s folk groups (If It All Goes Well).
Listening to it up close and personal still reminds me of those artists but also helps give a sense of, mainly, who Walt Cronin is. His experience as a combat medic in Vietnam, love, lost friends and the realities of living a rough life permeate the songs that are strummed on an acoustic guitar, frantically picked on a mandolin and tapped out on a small basement drum kit.
From the beautifully rough and tumble rockabilly-tinged Make Me A Kinder Man with its straightforward tribute to a loved one, the down home picking of Bottleneck Confusion and its yearning for a simpler life to the melodic folk of Showered in Blue with its CSNY-esque vocal harmonies and the Civil War tale built into the rollicking country rock of Wheatfield Walt and Zander create music that sounds like wood, dead leaves, oil, dirt, tears and a just a bit punk.
It is an album that deserves the notice it is receiving and worthy of many more accolades. So lets all keep surprising Walt Cronin and spread the word about The Gousters around the scene.
Dave Terpeny
Kynd Music
Hi Folks:
The Gousters have moved up to the 28th Spot on Roots Music Report ! Weds April 12, 2006
Roots Americana Country
http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/2.0/charts.php?name=tradcountry
An eclectic blend of traditional country, country, rock & ballads in the alternative genre
