It's dinner time in the doghouse,
and Albert Castiglia is first in line!
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| PRE-RELEASE ORDER LINK |
Meet Albert Castiglia.
After five acclaimed albums and
decades of blazing blues-rock shows, you might argue that you’ve already made
his acquaintance. But by the Florida bandleader’s own admission, Big Dog is the first release to truly
get under his skin. “I
just wanted to make a record that best represented who I am, as a musician,
singer, guitarist and live artist,” explains Albert. “With every
release, I’ve come close, but this time, producer Mike Zito helped me nail it.
He and label boss Thomas Ruf wanted me to make a raw, rocking blues record.
That’s what I’m about. That’s who I am…”
Under the Ruf Records label, Big Dog confirms that
Albert is a different breed to the lightweights and arrivistes who dominate the
modern music scene. At 46, he’s slugged his way into contention the
old-fashioned way: writing from his heart, bleeding into his performances,
eating up the road. “I have no illusions about what kind of guitar player and
singer I am,” he states. “My style is raw, unadulterated, crude and heavy. I
don’t have the technical proficiency of other players, but I play what’s in my
heart and what I feel at that moment. When I write songs, they have to
mean something.”
Recorded at
Dockside Studios, Louisiana, there’s not an ounce of fat on Big Dog’s eleven tracks, with Albert
darting between self-penned originals, cherished covers and co-writes with some
of his closest compadrés. “You could smell the mojo in the sweet Southern
air,” reflects Albert, “and you could feel the mojo in the recording studio. We
had a studio-savvy band with an incredible amount of soul, and Mike’s role as
producer was the wildcard.”
Albert describes Big Dog as a “driving along the highway with the top down kind of
record”, and “Let The Big Dog Eat” sets
the pace (complete with breakneck riffing and improvised barks). Other
foot-down cuts include the call-and-response “Don’t Let Them Fool Ya”, the
searing “Where The Devil Makes His Deals” (written with Graham Wood Drout) and
the observational wit of “Get Your Ass In The Van”. “That song was a response
to all the poor, pampered souls,” grins Albert, “who think that music is one
big American Idol episode.”
Some songs cut
deeper. Co-written with Royal Southern Brotherhood’s Cyril Neville, “Somehow” addresses
the plight of the homeless and displaced in modern America. “The poor are
commonly used as tag lines in speeches by politicians seeking
public office,” points out Albert, “but when the cameras are off, they are
often ignored and scorned. The song reflects a sadness, yet hopefulness,
on how we as a society treat these people.”
Another
poignant moment is “Where Did I Go Wrong”.
A soul-drenched slow-blues with harp from Johnny Sansone, it’s taken from
the iconic Junior Wells’ You’re Tuff
Enough album, and in many ways, brings Albert’s story full-circle. Born on August 12th, 1969, in New York – before
moving to Florida aged five – Albert made his professional debut in 1990 with
Miami Blues Authority, but truly hit the international radar after Wells
invited the young bluesman into his solo band for several world tours. “It was an incredible adventure,” remembers
Albert. “Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a Chicago bluesman. Junior
opened the door for me to do that. He recorded his last studio album, Come
On In This House, at
Dockside Studios. What a sign!”
The
gig was a shop-window, and though Wells died in 1998, there was no stopping
Albert, whether he was joining the great Atlanta vocalist Sandra Hall for
national tours in the late-’90s, or holding his own in onstage jams with
everyone from Pinetop Perkins to John Primer. Nobody’s sideman, his own
triumphant solo career began with 2002’s Burn,
followed up by 2006’s A Stone’s Throw,
2010’s Keepin On and 2012’s Living The Dream.
In
2014, Ruf debut Solid Ground was
declared “smoldering and intense” by The
Blues Magazine. Now, Big Dog ups
the ante, offering eleven new songs to get your teeth into, and supported by a
full international tour that promises bark and bite. If you thought you knew
Albert Castiglia, you don’t know the half of it. “I think this album is a major
game-changer for me,” he says. “No matter what happens after Big Dog’s release, I’ll always be proud
of it. When we tour this album, you can expect a balls to the wall, rockin’
blues show. Expect to get
what I’ve always given you – my 100%...”
May & June, 2016
Florida shows:
5/6- Funky Biscuit - Boca
Raton
5/7- Maguires Hill16 - Ft Lauderdale
5/13- AcesLive - Bradenton
5/14- Buckingham BluesBar - Ft Myers
**5/20- CD RELEASE PARTY
@ Maxwell Room - Ft Lauderdale**
5/21- TitanicBrewery - Coral Gables
6/10-6/12- GreenParrot - Key West
6/17- Ale &Witch - St Petersburg
6/18- BradfordvilleBlues Club - Tallahassee
Booking: Leo Gale
561-818-4335
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