Tommy Castro
Castro gets to
By John Berger
the soul of blues
Special to the Star-BulletinThe Blues. Is this a stylized tradition-bound genre in which new artists are judged on how well they duplicate the work of past masters? Or is the field still open to new techniques and new ideas?
"That's a very complicated question when you get down to it," says guitarist Tommy Castro, while on a tour break. He was dealing with a problem that gives many the blues -- his van wasn't running well. Fortunately, his mechanic had several phones.
"In the blues world you do have to deal with purists," he said, "and I understand where they're coming from 'cause I like to listen to the same stuff they like. I listen to all the old cats and the traditional blues and soul guys and draw my stuff from them, but I'm not them and I put it together the way that suits me. We like a high-energy live show and there's a certain kind of edge that comes along with that.
"It's possible to do traditional blues and come up with new songs and still have some creative input, but I consider my music a combination of traditional blues, early '60s Stax-Volt soul music, and a bit of rock 'n' roll. I've had my fun with some of that rocked-up blues thing, but the album that comes out in January is going to be pretty much all soul and blues. We like the stripped-down basic attitude."
The Tommy Castro Band will perform music from its two Blind Pig albums -- "Exception to the Rule" and "Can't Keep A Good Man Down" -- at the Beaux Arts Costume Bash Saturday at Honolulu Zoo. The band -- Castro, saxophonist Keith Crossan, bassist Randy McDonald and drummer Billy Lee Lewis -- can also be seen regularly as the house band on NBC-TV's "Comedy Showcase."
Castro creates his sound with traditional equipment. His guitar of choice is the classic Fender Stratocaster played through a 1965 Fender Super Reverb amp without effects pedals or modern electronic gimmicks. What's innovative is that way that he and Crossan create riffs reminiscent of a Stax-Volt horn section.
"I'm sometimes playing along with him as part of the 'horn section' and sometimes he's playing with me as part of the rhythm section. Not just any old sax player could do this, but it works, and it's given us a different sound. It came out of the idea that we couldn't afford too many guys in the band. It was keyboards or sax, and the best time we had was when Keith was in the lineup."
Like many members of his generation, the fortysomething Castro discovered the blues as something played by white artists like Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter. When Castro read that Bloomfield credited B.B. King as his inspiration, he began collecting albums by King, Albert King, and other blues masters.
Castro formed his band in 1991 after years of singing and playing guitar as a sideman-with-a-day-job. He and the band worked as much as possible, sometimes for "exposure," sometimes for tips, more than 350 gigs a year when they were getting started.
The gamble paid off. Castro concentrated on originals rather than remakes, and his ability to flavor his music with touches of guitar rock and classic soul won him a loyal following. The Tommy Castro Band twice won "Club Band of the Year" honors in the Bay Area Music Awards (a k a the Bammies). Castro received Bammies in 1997 as the Bay area's "Outstanding Blues Musician" and for "Outstanding Blues Album."
He and the band start work on a third album when they return to the Bay area next week. "We've worked hard to get to this level, and we'll be working hard to get to the next level. We're going to Greece, France, Switzerland and England next year, and with the new record coming out Jan. 15th we'll be doing a lot of touring of the United States. I'm lucky as hell to be doing this for a living!"
The facts
On stage: Tommy Castro Band at the Beaux Arts Costume Bash
