Interview to..... Josè De Castro

Interview by Roberto Guarnieri

When did you start on playing guitar?
"I started to play classical guitar when i was 10 years old, but until 17 i didn-t start with electric guitar."

Is there some particular album which has influenced you?
"They were Dire Straits albums that were the really influence on me, i would like to play like Mark Knopfler, but when i was 14 i started to listed guitarrist as Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, etc, that influenced my way of see the guitar world"

Metal, blues and fusion, is this your music idea, and in which order ?
"When i started to play, noway about metal, when i started to study modern harmony, fussion; but i like all this in a blues tone in the music."


How is the scene of instrumental guitar in Spain?
In Spain there aren't musical scene out of flamenco. as i know, only 5 or 6 people have run the risk of have a instrumental CD. with this you can have an idea of how is
the spanish scene in instrumental guitar."


You have a great tradition for flamenco, is there a new talent in this scene?
"There are a lot and new talents playing the flamenco guitar in Spain, all the time new young guitarrists appear and with a very good level."

6)Tell me something about your band.
"The members of my band are:Alex Garcia (bass), Manu Rey (drums), Denis Bilanin (keyboard).The three are professional musicians that work in the musical spanish scene since a few years in tours, records,etc. The most important is that we are all good friends and they are really involved in this project, although this don't have many repercussion out of the instrumental scene.
As other times there are not budget, not always i can count with them, and the most of my clinics i have to play only accompanied with the bases of my CD."

Do you have a particular method of study?
"I don't have any special method of study, but i have been all my life studying and practising and i think that the best way of learning is playing a lot in live, recorder,etc. This is the truth school if you try to be a professional musician."

You have obtained a great sound of guitar in studio, which effect do you have used?
"I recorded all the guitars with ENGL amps, a microphone Shure sm57 and no other effects until the mix up, where I add some reverb and any dely to get the final result."

What is your opinion about the " shred " scene?
I think that is an scene that is still giving interesting results although of the years i have been listening it. I think that it is the most level of domain on the instrument."

" La Mejor Casa " seems to me picked-up from Pat Metheny'sound...
"I thought that Pat Metheny took this kind of sound of their spanish music influences and i'm spanish, that is, it is a sound take of my own roots."

Do you think that internet has subsituted the major labels?
I think that also is soon to know it, but of course that who
play this kind of music have found a good way to distribute.
By Internet, my CD is selling in quite places of The United
States, Taiwan, Italy, and soon, Japan.

Your projects for the future.
I work as session music in different records, to television,recording Cd to other musicians, etc. As tour musician to differents spanish artists. This is, with the classes that i
teach in the School of Modern Music Ritmo & Compas, the way of earn's my live.About my project, what i am most interested in, is to move to reach more distributors around the world and that thepeople can know my music.To the next year i would like to record my second album, of about i have already had compound some songs of it.
"