ABC/Ida Mae AstuteFor Garth Brooks, Gunslinger isn’t just the title of his new album that comes out this Friday — it’s how his ongoing world tour has made him feel.
“It’s fun. You get to shoot from the hip, you know, and what’s fun is, you go in with some pretty good ammo,” he tells ABC Radio. “Because they treat every song like each one is their favorite one. So you can pull out any song at any time of the night and it becomes a party. And that’s what touring life should be. I just didn’t think it would get to be this way this late for us.”
Garth says he’s also been pleased to see a lot of new faces in the crowd, even though he wasn’t always sure that’s how it would be.
“That’s why you feel like a gunslinger. You’re up there and you feel like you’re brand new, and at the same time, you’re brand-new with music that has been tested over time. So there’s nothing more fun that going ‘Okay, which song are we gonna play next that all these people are gonna know the words too and they’re gonna sing it back louder than I’m singing?’ That’s a joy right there, and a great gift!”
Garth adds, “You see the faces you hoped you’d see again, and then the other half of the arena [is] kids that were either not born yet or were babies when we toured last time.”
After three dates in Greenville, South Carolina this weekend, Garth and wife Trisha Yearwood take a break from the road for the Thanksgiving holiday, before heading for their first shows in Honolulu, Hawaii starting December 8.
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