Del Castillo set to invade Second Street Live!
by March 24, 2010 9:37 am 62 views
Editor’s note: The “second” grand opening performance of the new Second Street Live! center in downtown Fort Smith features Del Castillo. The Austin, Texas-based band is expected to hit the stage at 7:30 p.m., March 25, at 101 N. Second St. Tickets are $40 each.
review by Peter Lewis
Del Castillo began on little more than a whim almost 10 years ago. What has transpired in the intervening years seems almost to have been guided by Serendipity herself.
Coming from a musical family, Mark and Rick del Castillo had always played music, but they wanted to do more than just play rock. They wanted something with which their family could connect. Joining forces for the first time in their careers as musicians, they began to play flamenco inspired Latin rock tunes. Their friend, Alex Ruiz, began penning lyrics for the songs and a band was born. The innocence of the project blossomed into something truly special, earning them recognition far and wide for their compositions and performances.
Escaping definition as easily as they inspire fans, this Austin, Texas, outfit is a crowd pleasing, cross-cultural melange of music not to be missed. From their break out record, “Brothers of the Castle” to their most recent self-titled album, Del Castillo has lived in that indefinable space between genres, conjuring diverse images with their unique sounds.
Along the way, Del Castillo has won a few notable fans from the ranks of Hollywood. Members of the band have frequently collaborated with director Robert Rodriguez on several projects. In addition to this, songs by Del Castillo have been featured in several soundtracks, most notably Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” project.
While their songs may have won fame from the famous, it is their live performances that have won the hearts of the masses. With pulsing percussion leading the way, soulful and rhythmic jams unfold. Songs delicately weave around one another as the band passionately carves out a spot in the heart of music lovers.
Del Castillo is not quite soul, it’s not quite Tejano and it’s not quite rock. Quite simply, Del Castillo is a Venn diagram, they never truly exist in one realm or another. This is not a hindrance, instead it allows the band to easily pass through borders, picking up fans to take along for the ride. They don’t honor borders, they simply exist to move the audience, to create a melting pot of emotion and joy in those that hear their music.