RIGHTEOUS SOUL - AN INTERVIEW WITH ALBERT CASTIGLIA

Albert Castiglia, a seasoned blues guitarist and vocalist, is a force to be reckoned with in the contemporary blues scene. With a career spanning over two decades, Castiglia has earned a reputation for his soulful voice, blistering guitar solos, and deeply emotive songwriting.

His music is a blend of traditional blues roots with modern influences, reflecting his diverse musical upbringing and experiences. Albert’s latest album showcases his growth as an artist, capturing the essence of his live performances and showcasing his unique approach to blues and roots music. In this interview, we discussed his musical journey, influences, and the making of his latest album, offering insights into his creative process and the stories behind the music.

WORDS: Colin Campbell PIX: Savas Mallotides

SO, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO PRESENTLY?

I’m getting ready to play a festival in Switzerland in a couple days, meet up with Zito and Sugaray Rayford, do a few shows there, and then I’m coming home. I just bought a new house near Orlando, it’s so much quieter than Miami. The cost of living is cheaper and I’m nearer to my daughter and my grandkids, it’s just a lot of a quieter existence. My life is crazy enough. When I get home from the road, I don’t want to deal with more crazy! Living in the city is just too crazy over here. I’m getting old, man, things don’t thrill me like they used to.

ALBERT’S BACKSTORY

I started playing when I was 12 years old, and I’m 54 now, so I’ve been doing it a long time. I got my big break playing with Junior Wells in 1997, and that’s when my touring life began. Then in 2002, I broke out on my own, I’ve put out about 11 albums so far. I got a new album coming out, I hope to be in the UK in November, things are going well.

TALK ABOUT THE NEW RELEASE, RIGHTEOUS SOUL

We were able to find a window of time, although there wasn’t a lot of time to prepare for the album, because I’ve been on the road with Mike Zito for so long. I didn’t have a lot of original material. Mike suggested that we make it a special guest album. The first call we made was Joe Bonamassa then Danielle Nicole, Kingfish Ingram, Kevin Burt, Monster Mike Welch, Ally Venable and my daughter Rayne all joined in. I dug up the first four songs I had written, the rest were covers. We recorded it in December at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in California, what a great experience.

RECORDING PROCESS

Compared to the Blood Brothers productions where Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith stacked the tracks from the ground up, when we recorded a song. It always began with a scratch vocal and Josh playing acoustic guitar, and then we’d overdub everything over it, until we had the song completed. It was an amazing process; I’d never done that before. With Kid producing this one, we went in there as live as possible. We laid down the basic tracks with the band. Kid is an amazing producer; he really has a great ear and has great ideas. Getting to work with him was quite a joy. We had some good musicians on it. Jerry Jemmott played bass, the most recorded bass player in music history! DeMar, Rick Estrin’s drummer, Jim Pugh on keyboards, and Johnny Otis’ son on percussion. Kid played rhythm guitar and bass on this also. It was a great set of session guys, so tight with great ideas.

TRACK TALK

Mama I Love You: The seeds of that song were planted when I was watching an African American gentleman die on television. That’s exactly where it came from. The last words he said were ‘mama, I love you,’ begging for his life. It fuelled my emotions. I wept, then became angry, and wrote these lyrics. The song addresses the absurdity of racism and people hating each other based on their skin colour. When I write songs, they come from extreme emotions; very happy, very sad, or very angry. The idea a novice in the studio, his daughter Rayne “showed up right when he started singing.” Although following Kevin’s powerful performance would have intimidated many, “she went in there and followed Kevin and kicked ass and did a great job on it.” Reflecting on the recording session, Albert shard, “I was worried that, her listening to Kevin, would rattle her cage a little bit. Her life hasn’t been that easy, but she took the challenge head-on.” Facing hardships like “not knowing who her father was,” she proved her strength. “This was like, not a big deal to her,”

BEST MUSICAL ADVICE

The best advice I ever got was from Pat de Leon. He was a tough character on the local scene in Florida and played in Bobby Keys’ house band at Woody’s on the Beach, a nightclub owned by Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones. Not a lot of people know who he is, but he was an amazing guitar player who rubbed elbows with the Rolling Stones. Despite his intimidating reputation, De Leon had an amazing voice and was incredibly tasteful. His advice helped me get a job playing with Junior Wells. He said, “If you don’t have a good vibrato when you play guitar, then you’re never going to make it in blues.” Emphasising the importance of vibrato, Albert recalled how they tirelessly practiced, leading to their job with blues legend Junior Wells. Years later, at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago, a candid conversation revealed, the only reason why you got that job was because of that vibrato. Despite exchanging harsh words initially, the artist appreciated the critique, admitting, “It made me feel really good. It was kind of a backhanded compliment.” Reflecting on joining the Junior Wells band, he recalled the 1997 Ultimate Blues Cruise with legends like Bo Diddley and Irma Thomas. Junior asked, ‘What do you want to do with your life? I said, I’m just going to keep playing with you.” Junior advised, “Keep your mouth shut, and your eyes and ears open, you’re going to need to carry the torch for future blues.” Despite initial resistance from some band members, Albert heeded Junior’s wisdom, focusing on learning and understanding the bigger picture: “to keep this art form alive. I’m still learning. You never stop learning in this business. In my 20s and 30s, I really didn’t get to sit down and appreciate those lessons. Now, I appreciate them and share them with you and with other people. I hope that these insights will resonate with younger artists. For further details see website: www.albertcastiglia.net