Monday, November 19, 2012
By John Benson
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” was the first 45 single blues artist Tommy Castro can remember buying at a young age.
Now, many decades later, the award-winning singer-guitarist is finally putting out his own 45 single as a sneak peak to his latest band, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers.
“How cool is that?” Castro said. “This is the first time I ever actually cut one. All of the years we’ve been doing this, it never dawned on me that was an option. We were talking about getting a little buzz going about the group. We have a new lineup and a new sound, just part of the natural progression of the Tommy Castro thing.”
The single tracks include A-side “Greedy,” which Castro describes as a social commentary about corporate greed. As for B-side “That’s All I Got,” Castro said it’s cutting edge and unlike anything he’s ever cut before. This leads us into the idea behind creating new band Tommy Castro & The Painkillers.
“Stylistically, I have a lot of musical influences,” said Castro, 57. “It’s pretty broad. Mostly, it’s R&B, rock ’n’ roll, soul and blues. But the last few years, I had a big band with horns; we leaned more toward the R&B sound. Now without the horns, it’s a little bit more of a guitar-driven sound. I’ve been listening to some of the new acts — Gary Clark Jr., Derek Trucks and The Black Keys — on the scene. Some really cool blues-based music with a little bit of edgier sort of approach. That’s what’s kind of going on with this.”