Albert Castiglia

Albert Castiglia earned his blues cred as a member of Junior Wells’s band, but at this stage of his career, such résumé details have become irrelevant. His incendiary guitar work and his strong, raspy, and emotive vocals, combined with the skills of a fine tunesmith, have brought Albert to the point where, after six acclaimed albums and decades of blazing blues-rock shows, he’s now been nominated for two 2017 Blues Music Awards.

Albert performs between 150 and 200 shows on the road annually and has become very discerning about what he uses as his touring gear.

[LEWITT] How’s it going for you this year?

[Albert Castiglia] It’s going great – I just signed with Intrepid International, which is one of the biggest blues music agencies in the world, and they’re keeping me very busy. Right now, I’m getting ready to go out on the road for another 10 days after having already toured for the last three months. So it’s been great getting the music out to the people, and it’s been a great ride.

[LEWITT] Just a few months ago, you were nominated for two Blues Music Awards. How did that feel?

[Albert Castiglia] It felt great, and the list of nominees was pretty amazing. You know, as musicians, we don’t really create music to get nominated for awards. But it certainly means something when it does happen and when you get recognized for what you’re doing – it’s the icing on the cake!

[LEWITT] What kind of gear are you using on the road?

[Albert Castiglia] As far as guitars go, I have a handful of Gibson Les Pauls, and I also play one by Delany Guitar out of Texas … Mike Delany personally builds all of them by hand. I’m using an Ohlinger amplifier – Ohlinger is an amp manufacturer in southeastern Ohio – and I also have a Sterling amp from Oyster, Massachusetts.

As far as my mic goes, I use the MTP 550 DM by LEWITT – and it’s been holding up great on the road. It’s a wonderful-sounding microphone, very clear and crisp. The first time I used it in the studio was at Don Odell’s Legends – I actually hadn’t even heard the videos from that session until last week, and it’s been a year since we played for them, but it instantly reminded me why I use the mic – it’s a great mic to have!