Del Castillo w/ Mighty Orq & Lance Lopez October 24, 2008

DEL CASTILLO has become a symbol of the cross-cultural power of music with their eclectic blend of Flamenco, Rock, Latin, Blues, and World music. In late 2000 Rick and Mark del Castillo decided to put together an album of Latin/Flamenco-style songs for their parents and friends in their hometown of Brownsville, Texas. The brothers, who had always played electric guitar in separate rock bands, had never played together and for the first time ever they began collaborating on songs on acoustic guitars. Their good friend, vocalist/guitarist Alex Ruiz, began adding lyrics to the brothers’ instrumentals, and soon after, the other band members joined them. They began writing material fusing many styles and influences, all the while retaining a solid Latin element, and in late 2001 played their first show in Austin, Texas, and released their first CD, "Brothers of the Castle." Both the performance and CD received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Encouraged by the immediate response and acceptance, they started playing regular shows in Austin and quickly built a following. In March of that year, they received the first of what would be many awards that would follow at the Austin Music Awards during South By Southwest – “Best World Music Band” and “Best Mexican/Traditional Latino Band.” During that time, the band had met filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and he was now studying guitar with Rick. He invited Rick to contribute guitar on the soundtrack of his film “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over,” and at the premier of the film in Austin in 2003 the band performed live with Robert joining Rick and Mark on guitar. By 2003, Del Castillo had become one of Austin’s most popular bands and they swept the Austin Music Awards that year, winning seven awards including “Band of the Year” and “Album of the Year” for Vida. They continued to work with Robert, and Rick, Mark, and Alex contributed music on his next film, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” In addition to the music, Alex appeared in the film. The premier for the film was held in New York that year and Del Castillo performed live, joined on stage by Robert, Antonio Banderas, Cheech Marin, and Patricia Vonne. In early 2004, Quentin Tarrantino used a Del Castillo song in “Kill Bill, Vol. 2”.

Official Website: http://www.meridianhouston.com