Del Castillo

I know, the videos I am linking to are getting longer. But, that should only be seen as a good thing; especially here. The Del Castillo brothers represent a pinnacle of technical abilities, songwriting chops, and performance magic. They are so good it almost seems unfair to the rest of us.

I first heard Del Castillo on a music compilation CD made by the film director Robert Rodriguez. I then found a portion of the video linked here and was mesmerized by what I saw and heard. It wasn’t the speed of playing that caught my attention, at least not completely; it was how the music embraced the guitar skills into something you wanted to hear over and over. There are a lot of guitarists who can play fast, but that doesn’t always translate into pleasing music. If you are unfamiliar with Latin influenced music, you just became a fan, guaranteed. I should also mention that they play sitting down, on classical nylon stringed guitars where they use a pick. I feel so validated.

This video shows a live performance of several songs played by the band Del Castillo. In partnership with the two guitarist brothers (Rick and Mark Del Castillo), are a drummer, a percussionist, a bass player, and a lead singer. The full sound is amazing. I don’t need to say too much to get you to watch the whole video, the first song will accomplish that. I will say that near the middle of the video is a blues solo by older brother Rick that may be the best solo I have ever heard. Near the end is an amazing duet where each brother plays single line melodies that harmonize. Their timing is something to behold.