Story and photo by Gareth Kelly
Photos courtesy of Damon Castillo
Working away at his small studio on Laurel Lane in San Luis Obispo, 40-year-old musician Damon Castillo is a man clearly doing what he loves for a profession. His latest album Mess of Me is one of over 10 albums he’s either put out or worked on and, this time, features mixes he put together in conjunction with nine-time Grammy winner F. Reid Shippen. The album also features some drums by Aaron Sterling of John Mayer fame as well as Castillo’s longtime band mates Larry Kim (sax) and Kristian Ducharme on keyboard.
“I have a twin brother Dominic,” said Castillo. “Mom didn’t really play an instrument but growing up she played the stereo really well. One Christmas she bought a jukebox filled with 45’s with all sorts of music. At age seven she bought us both guitars and we’ve pretty much stuck with music ever since.”
Having worked with world-renowned producers and songwriters as well as having written songs for other performers, Castillo is enjoying simply being, well, Damon Castillo.
“I feel rather liberated these days,” said Castillo. “When you’re in a studio and signed to a label there’s a lot more pressure. The studio costs money, the producer costs money and you have to get tracks laid down. I recently paid a producer to work on one of my own tracks only to realize I didn’t like it. I went back to the original and ended up producing it myself.”
However, Castillo also acknowledges when you have your own studio it can take longer to produce an album because the ability to do so is “always there” resulting in many sessions of procrastination. As for the future this performing artist sees a bright future for not only himself but also other local artists.
“There’s a really good vibrant local music scene,” Castillo said. “Bands like Proxima Parada and the Night Riots are doing really well. These days it doesn’t matter so much where you’re from and with the Internet it’s so much easier to get your music out there. SLO Brew not doing music is going to be a blow as far as venues go but it’s always been a bit up and down with venues over the years. There’s something special about performing live, connecting with the audience. I even met my wife at a gig.”
Clearly in love with teaching music, writing songs and performing, this musical jewel of the Central Coast can be found at venues all around the area. ‘Mess of Me’ is the follow up to ‘Live at the Mission’ and 2009’s ‘Laurel Lane’ albums. To find out more about the man and the music you can visit his website at www.damoncastillo.com
Gareth drank two cups of English tea while writing this piece. What keeps you going throughout the day? Gareth would love to hear about it. Email him at [email protected]
