Hi everyone,

oh my, the Gunslinger world has been rocked since you last heard from me. I had to recruit a whole new band yet again. The last gig the short-lived last version of the band played, was in March. After that, the band disbanded.

To tell you the truth, the split wasn't all amicable. Michael, the guitarist, and I just couldn't agree on the musical direction we wanted the band to take. One day he gave Coldplay or U2 as shining examples on how we should sound, the next week it would be Tim McGraw. None of which appealed to me. Consequently, rehearsals became a very strained affair with endless discussions - most of them unproductive. Michael and I have parted ways. I'm glad we've been able to talk since March and overcome any hard feelings.

Amid all this turmoil, rehearsing and being in the band wasn't much fun for the others. Stefan, the bassist, got an offer to join a cover band and decided to take it. He's a good guy and a very talented musician and I hope to see him play in an original band again soon.

Leonardo has moved to Berlin in the meantime, trying to make a living as a professional drummer there. With me having to find a new guitarist and bass player anyway, we agreed that it would be better for both of us if I started looking for a new drummer as well. It would've been almost impossible keep rehearsing with him on a regular basis anyway with him living a four-hour car ride away. Most probably, you'll still get to hear his drumming on a bunch of songs on the next album. He has already laid down a bunch of hot tracks.

Fortunately, Patrik has been a loyal gunslinger and will continue to add various flavors to our songs, playing mandolin, accordion and a mean slide guitar.

The new band members are introduced in the "band" section of this site. Let me just say that we've been rehearsing very hard and concentrated over these past couple months and we're getting ready for our first gig on June 22nd at Würzburg's finest open air festival, the Umsonst & Draussen. We'll preview a whole bunch of new songs and newly arranged nuggets from the first three albums. Musically, this new incarnation of the band is just as strong if not stronger than the other line-up and luckily we're all focused on making this band work, keeping it together and making the best music we can.

Work on the new record has been stalled by these goings-on but we'll resume working on the album after the U&D-festival.

Check the band section for your introduction to the new guys. There are also a bunch of new confirmed gigs this fall in the "live dates" section. We'll add more dates soon.

See ya at the U&D,
Markus