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Gun Smoke     When a band called Gunfighter names a disc High Noon, it seems to be a fairly self-explanatory gesture. However, for some pot-rock aficionados, discovering that this disc isn't packed with bottom-heavy, plodding odes to the sweet leaf might be a disappointment rivaling the time The Simpsons' Otto stormed out of a Pottery Barn-style establishment called Stoner's Pot Palace. This misconception about the band's sound was fueled by Gunfighter's appearance on the weed-friendly compilation Inhale, and local buzz has it that the group thought it was contributing its previously unreleased "Anti-Hero" to a metal-themed compilation called In Hell.     Not so, claims vocalist/guitarist Jason Blackmore. "I knew that it was Inhale and that it was geared toward the huh-huh dope-smoking crowd, but I didn't know that they'd push it as such." After Blackmore received his complimentary copy, he discovered that the disc's full title is Inhale 420, The Stoner Rock Compilation. "Don't you think," he says, "they could stop at Inhale?"     Gunfighter's recent creative output did not stop with contributing to discs with psychedelically enhanced leaved adorning the covers. Coming just months after the self-released Pro-Electric, High Noon (which contains tunes from the Electric recording sessions) marks Gunfighter's first album on the Dallas-based Idol Records. Erv Karwelis, who runs Idol, worked at Sony during Blackmore and company's previous stint at Epic, when they were known as Molly McGuire.     Initially, Gunfighter planned to have copies of High Noon on hand for its gig at The Hurrican with Q and The Engineers on Friday, March 23, but those hopes were shot down when the release date was pushed back a month. But even without new product in hand, Gunfighter's appearance merits some attention, since it's the group's first show in the six months since Blackmore departed for sunnier skies in San Diego.     "I'm enjoying my life," Blackmore reports. "The weather's pretty rippin'." In addition to working on his tan, Blackmore still conducts Gunfighter-related business; securing label support for distribution and promotion tops his list of priorities. He's been making contacts - if not signign contracts - but the latter might follow if Gunfighter manages to impress the label reps who are likely to be in attendance when the group's upcoming ten-day tour swings back to the West Coast. Blackmore's bandmates plan to rejoin him in San Diego for a more substantial road run in late May, which will include an all-ages show at Recycled Sounds - unless Blackmore is just blowing smoke.

Pitch Weekly (Kansas City, MO)