User:Joe33kiowa/The Gousters

Walt Cronin met his song writing partner Zander Schloss when working on a now cult film called “Repo Man” by Alex Cox. His friend Peter McCarthy from Chicago was one of it’s producers. He had just moved to Los Angeles and helped out videotaping the auditions with his first interest in video production just beginning.

Zander Schloss played “Kevin” and went on to pursue his true passion of music, writing some of the songs for soundtracks of Alex’s other films, "Sid & Nancy,"& “Straight To Hell” as well as acting in them. He is the bass player for one of L.A.’s founding punk bands “The Circle Jerks” still on tour after these many years.

Zander Schloss, originally from St Louis moved to California as a teenager. Having become friends while working on “Repo Man” in 1984, Cronin reunited with Schloss when he rented him the studio apartment in 1999 over Cronin's garage. This old Spanish home built in the 1920s had what is very uncommon in L.A. “A basement”

This is where they spent countless hours recording analog tracks on an eight track reel to reel. After a year of recording analog, Cronin and Schloss brought their tapes to Brian Susko's recording studio In Santa Monica, CA.

It was there, that editing, mixing and dozens of more tracks were added digitally over the next year or so.

Cronin then moved to Crestline, CA in the San Bernardino mountains and bought a cabin on an acre of land. He was seeking some peace of mind having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. Cronin had served as a navy corpsman (medic) with a marine platoon in Vietnam in 1970.

After the wildfires in the mountains, Cronin returned to urban L.A. finally mastering the CD which had been sitting dormant for 2 years. This CD called "The Gousters" was the term Cronin referred to his self and his friends as of the way he dressed while growing up in Chicago in the 1960s based on black street slang on the south and Westside. He thought of it as similar to the "grunge" look.

Since the release of their debut album ‘The Gousters” in 2005, Walt Cronin and Zander Schloss have gone their separate ways. This new CD written and sung by Cronin has many of the elements of the first CD. “It is definitely in the folk americana tradition,” says Marty Beal, the producer and arranger of Cronin's CD from the Racketroom in Santa Ana, CA where all the recording took place. Beal wore many hats in this musical composition playing most of the instruments while guiding with his invaluable feedback. Cronin, the singer / songwriter on this, his self-titled CD has created his own unique individualistic style that is the result of many influences mainly from 60’s folk music with a contemporary folk rock feel.

Many of the songs reflect Cronin's experiences as a medic with the marines he served with in Vietnam and it’s aftermath. Staying true to the folk history of societal woes with some bright new tunes finish off this eclectic blend of strong lyrical content and melodies.

www.thegousters.com www.myspace.com/gousters http://www.radiosubmit.com/rs/bands/361/