Thu 19 Nov 2009
Blues Music Award Winner for 2008 Entertainer of the Year was Tommy Castro. You will be hearing Tommy talk about how he got started in music as well as songs from his new Alligator Record Hard Believer.
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The first day I was to interview Tommy Castro he was just getting ready to go pick his kids up from martial arts classes. Tommy apologized for not being able to do the interview so we rescheduled for another day. He was in a very happy fun mood and talked like we were old friends. Tommy said his kids really liked taking martial arts classes and were doing real good in it. He joked that this was going to pay off because his daughter was getting near her teens and those boys won’t know what hit them. So my first interview went a little short but boy what a cool guy I thought as I hung up the phone . Our phone interview ended up being a few days later while Tommy was at a blues festival. As he walked around he told me about what was going on there till some rain started and he went inside. One thing I really noticed about Tommy is how much he enjoys life. I don’t remember interviewing anyone who laughed so many times while we were talking.
I’m not going to give you a history of Tommy Castro here because all you have to do is listen to the show. Tommy does a good job of explaining how he got to where he is today. The new Tommy Castro record Hard Believer is his first one for Alligator Records. It starts off with horns blowing then you hear Tommy’s soulful voice and an all too short scorching guitar solo from Tommy. “The Definition of Insanity” starts you off with a bit of an upbeat soulful Latin sound. Followed by another upbeat song called “It Is What It Is”. It is the song all radio stations should be playing. The title track “Hard Believer” slows things down a bit with Tommy doing a soulful blues song. Tommy co-wrote five of the twelve songs with “Monkey’s Paradise” being the only one he wrote by himself. It may not have you swinging from tree to tree but you will probably be singing along with Tommy. Fellow Alligator Record’s artist Rick Estrin from Rick Estrin & the Nightcats co-wrote the song “Backup Plan” with Tommy. It kicks off with a cool intro then moves into a smooth blues with Tommy giving a good vocal delivery. Tommy Castro’s version of Bob Dylan’s Grammy award winning song “Gotta Serve Somebody” is the best cover of a Dylan song I’ve heard. Oh wait, Jimi Hendrix did “All Along the Watchtower” ok let’s just say Tommy does a really, really good job on “Gotta Serve Somebody”. The songs “Trimmin’ Fat” and “Make It Back To Memphis” are both good songs and covered in the show. Like most of what Tommy has done in the past this is a very good record that you should be hearing a lot of on the radio these days. Actually this is a record you should be hearing a lot on your CD player or iPod, hint hint.
Songs played in this weeks show:
Backup Plan
Trimmin’ Fat
Make It Back To Memphis
It Is What It Is
Buy Tommy Castro’s Hard Believer from his website
Check out some of the other fine artists on Alligator Records
like Tinsley Ellis, JJ Grey & Mofro, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats,
Buckwheat Zydeco, Eric Lindell & Michael Burks
Thanks to Aigars Lapsa for the use of all his great photos of Tommy Castro.
Thanks to Tommy Castro for taking the time to do the interview during his Blues Festival. Thanks to Bruce Iglauer for setting everything up.
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Blues Music and Interviews
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by A1 Mark