Interview with as if guitarist, ungrateful person Albert Castiglia. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How exactly did your adventure take off? When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?

Albert Castiglia: – I grew up in the suburbs of Miami. My uncle used to jam with his friend at my grandparent’s house when I was a kid. That’s when I first became intrigued with the guitar. I was around 11 or 12 years old. My uncle taught me three chords then I learned the rest myself. I was pretty much into the same stuff my uncle was into, which was classic rock, Beatles, Stones, Allman Brothers, Etc. When I was around 15 years old, I bought an Eric Clapton album called “Just One Night”, a double live album. About half of the material was blues. It was then that my curiosity for blues began. I started buying the real deal blues after that. At about the age of 16, I bought Muddy Waters’s “Hard Again” album. It was that album that solidified my path as an artist.

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JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?

AC: – As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been working other elements into my style like rock, R & B, funk & soul.

JBN: – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?

AC: – I woodshed by going on Truefire and learning from other artists. It’s a great website for learning new things and opening up creativity.

JBN: – Have you changed through the years? Any charges or overall evolution? And if so why?

AC: – You have to change if you want to survive in life and the music business. My style has evolved to a more outside the box approach. My songwriting has evolved as well. The discovery of my daughter four years ago definitely had a major part in that.

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JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

AC: – There is a balance to a certain degree. The intellect part gets you through the writing and arranging but if you don’t have the soul to convey what you’re saying and touch the listener then it all falls apart. While there should be a balance, the soul drives the train.

JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?

AC: – I’m more than ok with it. I became a fan of the blues and was inspired to play it because of the artist’s ability to give me that emotion. Luther Allison did it for me as a concert goer and Junior Wells did for me night after night as I stood behind him onstage. Delivering the emotion to the audience is essential.

JBN: – How can we get young people interested in blues when most of the standard tunes are half a century old?

AC: – By any means necessary. The blues is a wide tent. Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, Hill Country, Piedmont, West Coast, Texas, Blues Rock, the spectrum is quite vast. We have to expose them to it all because there’s a lot to love. I also truly believe there needs to be at least two blues courses in college curriculum all over this country. The blues is the foundation of American music. Why it’s not being taught in college music programs I will never understand.

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JBN: – John Coltrane once said that music was his spirit. How do you perceive the spirit and the meaning of life?

AC: – I just think your spirit is what fulfills you. In my case, it’s music and family. That’s what it’s all about for me. As far as the meaning of life, my credo is this: Life is too short to change who you are for anyone. Too often in my life, society, relationships, and family members wanted me to conform to what they wanted me to be. Screw that! You only have one life and you have to do what makes you happy. If there are people that allow you to live by that rule, then they’re worth keeping in your life.

Interview by Simon Sarg

Note: https://jazzblues.eu/2023/03/19/useu-jazz-blues-association-festivals/ You can express your consent and join our association, which will give you the opportunity to perform at our Jazz and Blues festivals, naturally receiving an appropriate royalty. We cover all expenses. The objectives of the interview are: How to introduce yourself, your activities, thoughts and intellect, and make new discoveries for our US/EU Jazz & Blues Association, which organizes festivals, concerts and meetings in Boston and various European countries, why not for you too!! You can read more about the association here. https://jazzblues.eu/2022/11/19/useujba/