Butch Walker built his reputation with hard-hitting, self-produced rock albums marked by a bright, polished sound. When he set out to make Afraid Of Ghosts, an LP partially inspired by the death of his father, he decided to forget about perfection and aim for a more visceral, acoustic feel. The songs on Afraid Of Ghosts were written over the course of a year, then recorded with Ryan Adams and his band in a four-day burst of creativity. It’s the first time Walker worked with an outside producer. Walker will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on him.
Walker: OK, this is a touchy one for people. I may be one of the few “left wing” gun lovers out there. I’m not to be lumped into the lot of folks that sit around saying, “They’re trying to take away our guns!” No, buddy, the guns they wanna pull from your cold, dead hands are fucking AR15s or .50 calibers, etc. And to be honest, they can have those. I mean, do you really need one of those sitting on the porch of your home? I’d say those are a little overkill for home protection, and you clearly only want those to impress your friends. I collect mostly vintage revolvers, semi-auto pistols and shotguns. I don’t use them to hunt like I did with my dad growing up. I am more about using them for sport shooting, target, clays and self-protection. My dad and I grew up shooting, and he left me a great little collection of pieces, including the first gun he ever gave me that was his father’s (a double barrel, over/under Savage 22/.410 shotgun). I have some Beretta 12 and 20 gauge shotguns (Perennia SV10s), some Smith & Wesson pistols (.357 magnums and .45 Colt long, and a few old .380s, 9MM and 1911 semi-autos. To me, they are works of art. I agree that they’re dangerous. Obviously. But it’s more about the person with it. A car, motorcycle, knife or TIG welder can all kill you or someone next to you if you are an idiot with them. Just like firearms. But I will always strongly believe that the mind of a person is by far the most dangerous potential killer of all, and that is why being educated on the subject as well as how to use them safely will always be important. This includes having a giant safe to keep them in, locked away from kids or idiot cousins.
