CASTILLO
Interviewed by: Angela

Who is in your group and what do they play?

There our four members in Castillo and they are, Oscar Castillo lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Frank Sanchez lead guitar and back-up vocals, Matt Anoche drums and back-up vocals, Roman Martinez bass guitar and back-up vocals.

How did all of you meet?

We have all been in the local San Diego music scene for a while so it was only a matter of time before our fates crossed and led to the creation of Castillo. Frank was still in high school when he met Oscar through mutual friends and they played in an original hard rock band for a few years. Sometime afterwards, Oscar teamed with Matt and together they collaborated with a few other bands for a couple of years but couldn’t seem to find a successful formula. After many attempts, Oscar and Matt put together their own band and then recruited Frank on guitar in the summer of 2004 and then Roman in March 2005.

How long have you been in the music industry?

Oscar, Matt and Frank have been playing locally more than 15 years in primarily English-speaking bands. Roman has 7 years playing with Spanish Rock bands.

Where did your name originate and what does it mean to you?

The band name resulted from an accident that happened when the duplications of Oscar’s first personal recording were getting done. There was no artists’ name given for the cd’s artwork, so when the person doing the duplication ask for the name of the band he simply settled for Oscar’s last name which is Castillo. The technician thought it sounded pretty good so the name Castillo stayed. Castillo translated to English means Castle which is fitting because it symbolizes for us: strength, the power of positivism, and hope.

Do you see the band still together playing and going strong in 5 years?

Yes! We are thankful that every time we play in any venue, people have a positive reaction to our music and that is what’s keeping CASTILLO going. It’s because of their support and the support of radio and magazines that cover local music like INDIE STREET LATINO MAGAZINE that we have a local scene to thrive in. We’d really like to thank all of you!!

Where is your main fan base?

Our main fan base is in SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA, however we are achieving notoriety in other areas such as Las Vegas NV, Los Angeles CA and Tijuana MX.

Do you have fans outside of the USA?

Do our proximity to the Mexican border, we are garnering fans in Tijuana Mexico and through exposure over the internet, we’ve gained some fans in regions of South America. Right now we are trying to look for a record company that will help us with our CD and put us on a tour with other bands so we can spread our music across the globe. We know that when people see us LIVE they will love our music

Do you classify the type of music that you play as Rock en Español?

Yes! What we love about the genre is that it is truly limitless! We are able to incorporate classic rock and new rock influences as well as punk rock and popular Latin music styles (primarily Mexican music) from the past 5 decades. Our influences sometimes come out in our music and that’s ok with us.

Do you play music other than Rock en Español?

Yes, we play some music in English and we try to experiment with all kinds of other music styles.

Is your music exclusively in Spanish or do you have English songs too?

Our original music lends itself very well to the Spanish language so much so that the language itself has become a part of our sound. In the future we may incorporate some English songs into our sets but we have no present desire to be anything other than true to ourselves.

Where can people go online to listen to your music?

WWW.CASTILLOESROCK.COM and WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CASTILLO

Is there any new albums, demos, videos or anything else scheduled to be released in 2005?

Yes there’s a new album coming out soon and we believe It will be done by end of September. We are thinking of doing a video next year we are really exited about the future of CASTILLO.

Do you have any clubs or events that you normally perform at?

Where? Two of our favorite places to play in San Diego are the Brick By Brick club and Café Sevilla, which is located in the heart of downtown. We try to do 4 shows a month and we’ve concentrated our performances to four areas… San Diego, Tijuana, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We are hoping that with the help of (INDIE STREET LATINO MAGAZINE) we can play in a lot more cities!

Have you been on tour yet?

Our own four city tour but hopefully that will change and became a world tour!

If so, who did you go with or was it a tour on your own?

So far it’s been on our own but everything has worked out good.

Who are some artists you have collaborated with?

We haven’t collaborated with anyone famous yet. A good friend of ours that has helped us in the past is Andy Quinn who is the touring and recording guitarist for the up and coming star FRANKIE J. Andy helped with some of the riffs on the first Castillo album which people can listen to at our web-site WWW.CASTILLOESROCK.COM

Are there any artists who you would love to work with in the future?

SHAKIRA, CHRISTINA AGUILAR I would like to do a duet with either one, so make sure you tell them when your magazine interviews them!!

Are you guys single?

Two guys in the band are married and two are single… I'll let you guys guess.

Influences?

Anything with feeling and melody that’s creative and passionate.

Can you describe what it is like to be an up and coming musician?

It requires a lot of hard work, sacrifices, and a lot of praying but when you’re on stage and people are singing your song back to you, all the hard work has paid off. The satisfaction we feel in our hearts is amazing.

Is there anything else you want to say to your fans and other up and coming musicians?

I want to thank all our fans everywhere for making us strong and for all the support you are giving us. CASTILLO knows that without you the FAN, CASTILLO is nothing so we are eternally grateful. To other up and coming musicians, remember to work hard and enjoy what you do and always be true to yourselves. Well, thank you to INDIE STREET LATINO MAGAZINE for this opportunity. Until next time, we are CASTILLO and we are trying to conquer the world with our music one fan at a time.

Shout outs!

Well first we like to give a shout out to our homey up in the heavens. Also to our families for all the true support as well as our fans and friends everywhere. We thank you all for letting us live our dreams, no matter what happens in the future we LOVE YOU ALL.