February 25, 2005

Tommy Castro is back with a new album of original songs, his first in four years. Not that he's been away entirely. He just got sidetracked for a while.

Over the last few years, the San Rafael blues singer/guitarist spent longer than he probably should have trying to establish his own independent label, Heart and Soul Records, before realizing that it was not the best use of his time or talent.

"It's history now," he said this week with some relief. "It was a bad time in the music industry to start a record label. So it was not a good idea. And it took longer and was may more involved than anyone anticipated. It took us away from our usual path."

The new album, "Soul Shaker," marks Castro's return to Blind Pig Records, the San Francisco-based independent label that released four of his previous CDs. "Soul Shaker" made its debut at No. 2 on Billboard's blues chart, sandwiched between George Thorogood and Eric Clapton.

The song that's getting the most attention, "Wake Up Call," veers away from Castro's classic blues/rock/soul sound into fresh musical terrain with the spicy addition of some Latin rhythm and percussion courtesy of new drummer Chris Sandoval, an alumnus of Jorge Santana's band, Malo.

Sandoval replaced Billy Lee Lewis, who recently married, wanted to start a family and thought he couldn't do that given the Castro band's grueling concert schedule, Castro explained.

In the past, Castro prided himself on having the hardest-working blues band in the Bay Area, playing as many as 350 dates annually, almost one a day. At age 49, he no longer keeps up that killer pace but still plays a demanding 250 shows a year.

"We're a local band, but we're never here, " he said. "We hop on our bus and we tour around the United States. We're on the road 60 percent of the time."

A track on the album, "Take Me Off the Road," was written with bass player Randy McDonald as the band barreled down the highway, headed for the next town and the next gig. "We spend so much of our lives on the bus that we miss out on a lot of stuff that goes on at home," Castro said. "But we know that this is what we're supposed to be doing. That's unshakable. There's no question in our mind that we're doing the right thing, what we're meant to do. But, at the same time, there's a price you pay for not being around."

Separated from his wife, Castro lives in a San Rafael condo and spends his precious time at home with his two children, a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.

This week, with his kids' school closed for ski week, he had time to take them on day trips to Muir Woods, the Exploratorium and the movies at Northgate.

"What do they mean, ski week?" he laughed.

"I never heard of that, not when I was a kid growing up in San Jose. Only in Marin County is there a thing called ski week. It's kind of hilarious."

Thirteen years ago, I first saw Castro at a benefit show in San Rafael with a host of local musicians. He was just starting out, a new guy on the scene, and he charmed and wowed everyone with his musicianship and charismatic personality.

"This is the person who has the voice, the sound and the right intentions to touch everybody's heart," Carlos Santana said.

Over the past decade, Castro has been hailed as "an up-and-coming blues phenomenon" and "the next blues rock hero." His 1999 album, "Right as Rain," stayed on the Billboard blues chart for eight weeks and was voted "One of the 40 Best Blues Albums of All Time" in a readers poll by Blues Revue Magazine.

Over the past decade, he has toured with B.B. King, one of his childhood heroes, as well as John Hiatt and John Lee Hooker. He plays a blues-themed cruise ship every year with Delbert McClinton, with whom he recorded a duet of the old Sam and Dave song "Don't Turn Your Heater Down," which Playboy magazine called "the best Sam and Dave since the original."

Known as one of the good guys of the music business, Castro commands loyalty from his band. Bassist McDonald and saxophonist Keith Crossan have been with him from the start. On the new album, Crossan contributes a tune called "Crossanova," playing flute against a catchy guitar lick.

"We operate as a band," Castro said.

"It's not just about me."

Castro hasn't achieved the crossover success of a Bonnie Raitt or a Robert Cray or a Stevie Ray Vaughn but he isn't done yet. He believes the blues has been in a recession, but thinks it may be headed for another revival. In any case, he's a long way from getting off the bus.

"We started out enjoying a heyday of the blues," he said.

"It's much more difficult now. But it's still alive and kicking, and my personal quest is to try to do my part to keep the integrity and quality of the music at a level where it always has a chance at mainstream appeal, to own its spot in pop culture."

Paul Liberatore (Email)
(c)2005