Big Dog Albert Castiglia

• 1 Let The Big Dog Eat 03:28
• 2 Don't Let Them Fool Ya 04:25
• 3 Get Your Ass In The Van 03:49
• 4 Drowning At The Bottom 04:32
• 5 Let's Make Love In The Morning 05:38
• 6 What I Like About Miami 02:28
• 7 Easy Distance 02:50
• 8 Where Did I Go Wrong 03:48
• 9 Where The Devil Makes His Deals 03:17
• 10 What The Hell Was I Thinking 03:21
• 11 Somehow 06:16
• Total Runtime 43:52

Info for Big Dog

Erinnert ihr euch an Albert Castiglia? Nach fünf erfolgreichen Alben und jahrzehntelanger Bühnenerfahrung ist er in Deutschland doch vor allem durch die Tour mit dem Blues Caravan 2014 bekannt. Sein neues Album Big Dog ist nun aber das erste, das ihn zu 100% widerspiegelt. Ich wollte eine Platte machen, die mich als Musiker, Sänger, Gitarrist und Live-Künstler repräsentiert, erklärt Albert. Mit jeder neuen Veröffentlichung kam ich dem näher, doch diesmal hat mir mein Produzent Mike Zito geholfen, genau das zu schaffen. Er und Labelchef Thomas Ruf wollten, dass ich eine authentische, rockige Bluesplatte mache. Genau das wollte ich auch. Denn so bin ich…

Genau das zeigen die elf Tracks auf Big Dog, die in den Dockside Studios in Louisiana aufgenommen wurden. Es ist eine abwechslungsreiche Mischung aus eigenen Songs, Covern und Songs, die er zusammen mit einigen seiner engsten Freunde geschrieben hat. Man konnte die Energie im Studio beinahe greifen, erinnert sich Albert. Wir hatten eine erfahrene, erstklassige Studioband, die viel Seele in die Aufnahmen steckte, und Mike als Produzent war natürlich ein Joker für mich.

Big Dog – das sind 11 Songs, in denen ihr euch festbeißen könnt und denen er bei zahlreichen Konzerten auch live Charakter verleihen wird – diese Tour verspricht Biss zu haben! Ich denke, dieses Album wird für mich ein Wendepunkt sein, sagt Albert. Egal was nach dieser Veröffentlichung passiert, ich werde immer stolz auf dieses Album sein. Wenn wir mit diesen Songs auf Tour sind, solltet ihr eine Vollgas-Bluesrockshow erwarten. Rechnet mit dem, was ich euch immer gegeben habe – meine 100%...

Albert Castiglia, Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Mike Zito, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals, Percussion
Scot Sutherland, Bass
Rob Lee, Drums
Lewis Stephens, Piano, Wurlitzer, Organ
Johnny Sansone, Harmonica (on Tracks 8 & 9)

Albert Castiglia
(pronounced “ka-STEEL-ya”) is Keepin On – and much more. With the release of Castiglia’s 5th CD Keepin On, August 2010 on Blues Leaf Records (his third CD on this label), Albert is doing exactly what the title of the CD suggests. Having opened for ZZ Top, Elvin Bishop, and The Radiators, he’s quickly becoming a favorite high energy performer at festivals across the country.

Castiglia’s history is as colorful as his home town of Miami, Florida, going back to 1990 when he played in a local Miami Band, The Miami Blues Authority, and won awards locally for “Best Blues Guitarist.” He got a big break after meeting the legendary Junior Wells in 1996, and soon became Junior’s lead guitar player before Wells died in 1998. Albert toured the U.S. and Europe with Junior and then found himself in Chicago when Junior passed. Soon though, he was touring again with Sandra Hall.

He returned to South Florida after deciding to launch his solo career and went to work on his first CD, Burn (2002), a self-release, collaborating with his long time friend, Graham Wood Drout of Iko-Iko. Drout’s visceral, yet literary songs became the perfect vehicle for Castiglia’s soulful vocals. In 2006, he released A Stone’s Throw, his second album and first release for Blues Leaf Records, which included two of Drout’s insightful songs, “Big Toe” and “Ghosts of Mississippi.” Castiglia and Drout also released a live CD together, titled The Bittersweet Sessions, in 2005.

His 2008 CD, These are the Days (Blues Leaf Records), contained five original Albert Castiglia songs, including a tribute to his mentor Junior Wells, “Godfather of the Blues.” The cover songs from These are the Days paid tribute to a wide range of styles and artists from Bob Dylan, Nappy Brown and Fenton Robinson. These are the Days earned him a Blues Music Award nomination for “Song of the Year” for his original, “Bad Year Blues.” Castiglia was nominated again by the Illinois Blues Blast Awards and this time walked away a winner for “Song of the Year” for “Bad Year Blues,” as well as being nominated for the “Sean Costello Rising Star Award.”

Most of his new CD release, Keepin On, was recorded live with very few overdubs. He enlisted five session musicians to help on the project, including harmonica master Sandy Mack, who played on “I Could Not Ask for More,” a Peter Green song. Mack had played on “Ghosts of Mississippi,” a track from Albert’s A Stones Throw album in 2006. According to Castiglia, “He kicked butt then and he picked up where left off on this session. ”Keepin On features five new original tunes, plus other covers of songs by John Lee Hooker, Mack Rice, T-Bone Walker, Robert Nighthawk and Bob Dylan

“I did two acoustic songs and enlisted dobro genius Toby Walker for them,’ says Castiglia about the new CD. “Toby is world renowned and has even taught at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch in Pomeroy, Ohio, a number of times. Toby came in originally to play on a song I wrote called ‘Sweet Southern Angel.’ That went so well and quickly, that we wound up doing another number for the hell of it, Robert Nighthawk's ‘Murderin' Blues.’ I can honestly sum up those two tunes with one word, ‘Magic.’ He did a great job and I hope we get to work together again.”

The result is a fascinating journey into what Albert feels is his best work to date. Listen for yourself.

Booklet for Big Dog