The Sound of San Francisco Blues

The Blues……….. It’s embedded in every note Daniel Castro plays. And he’s spread the gospel all over — from festivals like the San Jose Fountain Blues Festival and Sonora Fire On The Mountain to the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in Washington State and Bitterroot Smokin’ Blues Festival in Montana. He has shared the stage with legends like John Mayall, Joe Lewis Walker, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, The Staple Singers, CJ Chenier, Long John Hunter, and Tab Benoit.

Beloved by fans and musicians throughout the West Coast, Daniel Castro is fiercely loyal to them all. “He’s got that real deal feel — Daniel Castro is a great musician and entertainer,” says San Francisco Bay Area blues legend Elvin Bishop, which explains why blues aficionados habitually revisit Castro’s expanding circuit of venues. They crowd into upscale showcases like the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the Fox Theater in Redwood City, the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, and the State Theater in Modesto, as well as legendary blues clubs like The Saloon in San Francisco, the Torch Club in Sacramento, and JJ’s in San Jose.

“Daniel Castro is one of the most dynamic blues guitarists performing on the West Coast — the club is always packed when he comes to our city,” says Willie Brown, president of the Sacramento Blues Society. Rick Nagle, booking agent for the West Side Theater in Newman,California agrees, “Daniel Castro is a skilled guitar player and a pleasure to work with. Audience members always appear to enjoy the show, and their feedback has been very positive.” And following the band’s riveting appearance at the 2010 Blue Wing Blues Festival in Upper Lake, California, booker Bernard Butcher enthusiastically exclaimed, “Daniel Castro and his band stole the show.”

With two CDs of potent blues in his portfolio — 1999’s No Surrender and 2003’s Live At The Saloon — Castro draws from a deep well of material comprised of both originals and covers that guarantee packed dance floors and absorbed listeners at every show. Funk. Shuffles. Rumbas. Second line. Slow blues. They’re on every Castro band set list — but it takes more than clever chord changes and melodies to draw fans night after night.

Castro is a consummate bandleader, guiding his tight four-piece through dramatic dynamic changes and sharp accents every night. He’s also an entertainer at the microphone, crooning soulfully during songs and cracking jokes between tunes. At these moments his eyes scan the audience, reading their reaction, judging their mood. And when he sees something in the crowd that calls for action, he turns and, using the slightest head and body cues, directs his band with the skill of a conductor into some new territory to the delight of his fans.

But during a guitar solo, Castro’s eyes are trained on his hands — not necessarily staring intently, but fixed in meditative thought. His fingers move delicately on the fretboard, belying the often-ferocious sounds spilling from his amps. You get the sense that he is calculating ratios, rethinking the relationship between notes, envisioning alternative chord inversions, searching for something perfect — something that translates into sound the pain and passion he feels so deeply in his heart.

Fate plays no role In this case. Every move he makes at every gig he plays is culled from decades of experience on stage. It’s an education in the blues that money simply can’t buy.