Fred Hostetler’s new single ‘A Man in Black’ is an interpolated song about a song. “It is about the writer of that song and about a mother pleading with her son: “Don’t take your guns to town”. It also refers to Johnny Cash’s memorable 1971 album ‘Man in Black’ and thepowerful statement it made,” explains the longtime singer-songwriter with a loyal fanbase and a resume recording and playing with rock luemiaries including legendary producer Jack Douglas (Aersomsimth, John Lenon), who prodiced a record by Hostetler’s previous band, LA stalwarts, Blue By Nature.

  “Now in 2026 after watching millions of lives lost or injured in wars and countless attacks on civilians around the world, ‘don’t take your guns to town’ takes on a new resonance and traction that rings continuously in my ears. In these times of worldwide protests it is a clarion call for people to forgo violence wherever and whenever possible for everyone’s safety,” adds Hostetler. “The rise of oligarchs and authoritarians who care only for themselves has caused worldwide hardship and suffering. In the midst of an ocean of helplessness there is a need to speak out before we are all shipwrecked and isolated from each other. Mothers around the world cry for their lost or wounded sons and daughters. My native country has been turned inside out and upside down into a violent place with shootings and the perceived need for carrying firearms for protection.

   “This is where the American icon, Johnny Cash, the Man in Black returns. He dressed in black explaining “it was for those who didn’t have a voice: the poor, the imprisoned, the soldiers sent into war, and the marginalized who lived outside the spotlight,” says Hostetler. “Cash had the audacity to deliver a powerful message about guns to nation obsessed by them. He came to be identified as a truth teller. Bearing these things in mind, a little-known indie artist tries with a little help from an American icon and his sing to cast a glimmer of liight into the dark gloom of the human condition, hopin every day people can return to their lives in peace.”

Artist: Fred Hostetler

Genre: Indie singer-songwriter, Roots,

Folk Rock, Americana, Alt-Country

Mastering engineer: Robbie Cribbs

Self-produced, recorded & performed

Writer: Fred Hostetler (ASCAP)

(interpolated from Don’t Take Your Guns

to Town by Johnny Cash)

Release Date: 10 April 2026

Mukthiland Records

The Genesis of this Recording

A Man in Black (F.Hostetler_interpolated – Johnny Cash)

The man in black laid it down

He sang how mamma cried

When her son walked out the door

And left her there to cry

And the words she said

And the words she cried…

Don’t take your guns to town…please,

Don’t take your guns to town son

(Please) Leave your guns at home,

Don’t take your guns to town”…

She said, “Don’t take your guns to town”

Leave your guns at home

Please don’t take your guns to town

Don’t take your guns to town son

Leave your guns at home

Don’t take your guns to town”

Johnny Cash had a long back coat

The words he spoke had the ring of truth

He sang how Billy Joe died a wasted youth

And he said…

Don’t ya do it…Don’t do it

Don’t ya do it

Don’t break my heart

Don’t ya do it

Don’t take your guns

Take your guns to town

Don’t take your guns to town son

Leave your guns at home

Don’t take your guns to town”

And the words she said

And the words she cried…

Don’t take your guns to town

Source: dougdeutschPR