With the midnight release of the new cd, 404, just hours away (and already available in the South Pacific and other parts of the world on the other side of the International Date Line), I just wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that they can “test the goods before you buy” in the form of our new media player located at the top of the web page. Just look at the top of the page, and click on the play button, and you are ready to rock out to 404.. Also, please keep in mind that “Ignition” is only 26 seconds long, and is the intro to “Too Fast”, so just give it a second to sink in, and  ENJOY! After you get a taste,  please head over to www.cdbaby.com or iTunes to buy our new CD!

Riot On….

Castro

The story is that John Bonham, the legendary drummer of Led Zeppelin, and arguably the greatest rock drummer in history, had 2 rings made: one emblazoned with an eagle, and the other emblazoned with a dove. He kept the dove for himself, and gave the eagle to Buddy Miles, a drumming legend in his own right who played with Jimi Hendrix. Bonham kept the dove because he considered himself more of a peaceful family man. After meeting and spending some time with Miles, Bonham felt compelled to pass his eagle ring to Buddy, as he considered him a true warrior behind the drum kit.

In the late eighties, while attempting to make a musical comeback, Buddy Miles befriended my father. My father did a great deal with Miles in an attempt to help him resurrect his career. As he was struggling to make ends meet, Buddy Miles was unable to pay my father. But my dad did so much for him that Miles felt he had to do something to repay my father for his selfless generosity. He considered giving my father one of the ‘60s era Stratocaster guitars that had been given to him by Hendrix, but those were TOO precious to part with. He was, however, willing to give him a certain silver eagle emblazoned ring.

My father accepted the gift, and on my 18^th birthday, he in turn presented it to me. When he gave it to me, he told me the secret of the ring that Buddy had told him: Only wear this ring when you are on stage, because it gives you power when you play. Now this whole  ”John Bonham power ring” thing could be a bunch of baloney that my dad made up when he gave me the ring. Or, maybe this was a story Buddy devised as a way to make my dad believe the ring was valuable.

I really don’t know the truth, and i haven’t ever really tried to verify the ring’s true provenance. Either way, it definitely came from Buddy Miles, and he was definitely one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. Of more importance to me, though, is the fact that this was a gift from my late father, John “Soulman” Castro. It’s something to remember him by. I know when I wear this ring, I always have a reminder of him on stage with me.

At this point, the ring is like Dumbo’s feather – just as he could fly without it, I’m sure I could play just fine without my ring. I do, however, truly believe that it gives me just a little something extra whenever it’s on my finger.  Put it this way, I guarantee I will be wearing it at the next gig!

Riot….

Castro

DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM!!!! GREETINGS ME AM CASTRO, AND ME FEEL GOOD TODAY!!!! THIS IS FIRST DAY OF REST OF CASTROS LIFE. AS DRUMMER FOR RIOT INSIDE ME AM FEEL MEGA POWERFUL AS ME PREPARES TO GO INTO PLACE FOR JAMING MUSIC INTO SILVERY DISK THINGY. ME HOPE YOU BUY SILVERY DISK THINGY WHEN COME TO RIOT INSIDE SHOWS, CAUSE IF YOU DON’T ME AM SMASH YOUR HEAD INTO DRUM KIT!!!! SORRY ME GET WORKED UP SOMETIMES!!!!

JUST THE OTHER DAY WHEN JOINING OTHER DRUMMERS FOR MAMMOTH HUNTING, ME REALIZED SOMETHING. ME, CASTRO DOES NOT LET HIS FEELINGS OUT, AND SO ME TAKE IT OUT ON DRUMS AND SURFER BOY BANDMATE STEFAN. BUT NOW ME FEEL LIKE LETTING OUT FEELINGS. SO ME WENT TO HEAD DOCTOR THE OTHER DAY, AND HE TELL ME HOW ME NEED TO RELEASE ME FEELINGS MORE OFTEN, AND STOP DRILLING HOLE IN SKULL TO LET DEMONS OUT. NOW ME WILL LET OUT MY FURY ON NEXT RIOT INSIDE ALBUM. ME HAVE NO IDEA WHEN IT COME OUT, BUT ME WILL BE LAYING DOWN TRACKS THIS WEEKEND AT RAX TRAX STUDIOS. NOW ME MUST GO BUILD FIRE FOR GREAT FEAST. DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM!!!!!!!!!

ME NEVER KNOW WHAT TO PUT HERE,

CASTRO

As a drummer in the studio, I’m trying to get a big full sound. While a lot has to do with the drummer, the room, and the engineer, a great deal has to do with the drums themselves. I plan on recording with the same kit I use live, a 6 piece kit featuring Pearl Masters Custom drums and an Ayotte Keplinger stainless steel snare drum. The Pearl portion of the kit features 6 ply maple shells, while the snare is approximately 3mm thick stainless steel and weighs (literally) about 20 pounds! (Needless to say, it has some real cutting power). I’m a pretty aggressive player, and I like to hit hard, so this kit really accommodates my style.

The other half of the sound equation is the drum heads. For the toms, I’ve actually found that Aquarian Response 2 (coated) heads really bring out the fullness and depth of my drums without sacrificing tone. I recorded with those heads on the first EP, and plan to use them again. I know some people feel like a 2 ply head might not allow the toms to really resonate, but like I said before, I’m a hard hitter, and really like the tone I get from those heads. I use Aquarian Hi-Frequency for my resonant heads on the toms.  On the kick, I use an Aquarian Superkick 2. That head sounds amazing on a kick drum, especially for rock players. I use an Aquarian Regulator for my resonant head (with a custom design from www.DrumArt.com). On the snare, I use an Evans HD dry (vented) head AND a dampening ring. Again, I know that might sound excessive (as the HD dry has an interior dampening ring built into it), but that  really helps control the overtone. That Kep really has  great crack on the loud end but can handle subtle touches and ghost notes on the quiet side. This drum and head combo maintains the tone and personality of the drum. I use an Aquarian Hi-Performance snare-side head on the bottom.

So that’s a look at the drums and heads I am going to use when we go into the studio this weekend. I’m looking forward to working with Rick Barnes at RaxTrax (our producer and engineer) to achieve the best drum tones possible through a combination of recording techniques and gear that is up to snuff. Until next time..

 castro

But outside of those things, I think the BIG news is that as of today, we are OFFICIALLY in pre-production for our next EP. So consider this the official press release, and your source for all future information and details about our next recording project.  I can’t really give too many details about the project or the process right now, except to say that we’ve spent the last month or so looking at studios all over the city and interviewing a number of producers and engineers.  I will also say that this is still going to be an EP project, rather than a full length “album” (or cd, or download, or whatever the kids are calling it these days!), and that we are hoping to start the actual recording process in November.

We plan on posting a lot of updates, news, blogs, and even videos as we go through the recording process this time around, so check back often… you never know when we might post some bootlegged hot new track…

castro

castro

For some reason, it’s always 75 plus degrees in there, so we always feel like we are getting a good work out (near stage conditions temperature wise). Nobody is ever drunk (or stoned or whatever else), and everyone is focussed. We write as a team, usually working off of a guitar riff or a drum beat or even a hummed melody. Hell, Lew and I laid down the basis for Suffer when the other boys took a potty break, and Gary (upon leaving the room) said “write our next hit before we come back”.. so Lew Jones busted out that main riff and i came up with that opening beat, and we went from there. When the others returned they liked what they heard and “Suffer” was born.

So, once we establish a main idea, we work to build at least a frame work which will flesh out the rest of the song -i.e we try ideas and think “that might make a good intro”, or “man, that could be a killer bridge”. We like to set up those basics and add detail from there (well, stefan likes to focus on every detail every minute of practice – he’s a music major, go figure)…. and the next thing you know, we go from a song skeleton to finishing up with a phrygian scale (steffan), and “putting some Lew Jones on it”, and the next killer Riot Inside song is complete.