MUSIC Bluesman Tommy Castro creates a unique style

The singer and guitarist's love of playing comes across in his albums.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
While the rest of us have been adding layers of clothing to our daily wardrobe, Tommy Castro was relaxing on a cruise in the Caribbean last week.
If it helps take some of the envy away, the blues musician took part in a working vacation, the 10th edition of the Delbert McClinton Sandy Beaches Cruise. The excursion also featured McClinton, John Hiatt, Marcia Ball, Jimmy Hall and successful songwriter Bob DiPiero, formerly of Liberty.
Still, the extreme change of temperature from the Atlantic Ocean to a snowy Pittsburgh, where Castro called Monday to conduct a phone interview, doesn't dampen the spirits of the San Francisco Bay artist.
"It's great! Growing up in California, we didn't have all four seasons. I kinda like it. I was just walking in the snow, went down to get a bite to eat down the street. Kind of enjoyed it."
It may seem ironic to hear of a bluesman being in a good mood, but Castro's version doesn't wallow in troubles. His energetic vocals and guitar-playing style shake listeners out of life's bad situations without looking back, only forward as the good times roll on and on and on ...
"It's not a conscious thing. It really comes down to what your intentions are. I got into this accidentally. It was always the thing that saved me as a kid. I wasn't good at sports and I wasn't very smart in school. Those are a couple of areas where other kids take their energy. I found music. So, I was just playing it 'cause I loved to play."
Two latest albums
That feeling is exhibited on "Triple Trouble," which unites him with Hall, Lloyd Jones and Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughn's rhythm section. Based on a suggestion by a Telarc records executive, Castro got together with some of his contemporaries to put together a selection of tunes that give the impression of a good night out on the town.
A little more serious, but just as raucous, is Castro's seventh solo album, "Gratitude," which came out nearly a year ago. It features cover versions from many of his influences including John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Ray Charles, James Brown and Sam & amp; Dave. Typical of what he does with his own compositions, the tunes combine the different styles of the blues.
"The natural combination of traditional blues and classic soul music and the roots rock 'n' roll were all the things I liked. When you put it altogether we have a sound of our own that doesn't really sound like other blues bands. We don't sound like a rock blues band or a traditional blues band or a soul band. There's elements of that going on all the time, and that's what sets us apart, without any conscious intent."
'In a real great place'
After releasing those two albums last year and sustaining a constant touring schedule that will include another blues cruise several weeks from now as well as European dates, Castro is already looking ahead to a round of songwriting in order to record his next studio release. He views the future results as being the best work he's put out so far in a career that's been slowly building in spite of early acclaim that dubbed him the next blues hero.
"I'm in a real great place at the moment. The main thing that's happened in most recent years, since that bit of hype happened for a little while, our audience has actually grown in more areas of the country. We've been able to establish ourselves on the East Coast, which took a long time."