Castiglia finds comfort in blue

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Castiglia finds comfort in blue
May 7, 2009
By Don Thrasher
Dayton Daily News

Albert Castiglia (pronounced “ka-STEEL-ya) spent most of his life in Miami, Fla. hearing Latin music and classic rock, but it was the blues that finally captured his fancy.

“I wasn’t a very popular kid, and I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Castiglia said in a recent telephone interview. “The blues seemed to speak to me. I thought I could relate to what they were saying even though looking back on it, things probably weren’t as bad as I thought they were. As a kid the man-against-the-world type of message the blues guys had really spoke to me. I could relate to it back then but I relate to it more now.”

Although he was turned onto the blues by the music of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, Castiglia says hearing Muddy Waters convinced him to become a bluesman.

“That was the godsmack I got,” he said. “It was the eye-opener where I knew I wanted to do this for a living. When Muddy’s booming voice came up in ‘Mannish Boy’ with that tough groove and really raw energy that came out of that band, that opened my eyes and made me want to play blues for a living.”

Castiglia’s latest album “These Are the Days” is loaded with tasty blues rock numbers such as “Bad Year Blues,” which was nominated for song of the year at this year’s Blues Music Awards. He also branches out on the roots rocker “Celebration” and R&B-flavored “He’s Got All the Whiskey.”

“The philosophy for this record was to mix it up as much as possible and push boundaries with the blues,” Castiglia said. “I love the old stuff, but I don’t like getting caught up in doing other people’s styles of blues. I just want to try to expand on it and mix my other influences.”

Castiglia, who is on the road with his band, Steve Gaskell (bass), Susan Lusher (keyboards) and Bob Amsel (drums), performed at The Trolley Stop in the late ’90s when he was backing Sandra Hall. He makes his first Dayton appearance as a band leader when he performs at Gilly’s on Wednesday, May 13.

“I miss being on the road,” Castiglia said. “We haven’t been out since last August, we’ve just been playing around Florida, so the band is really itching to go out. We’re really looking forward to it. We’ve been a little too comfortable at home so we’re ready to head out. My wife is ready for me to go too.”