Lost

“Don’t Go Alone” was written sometime in 2006 or 2007.  I came home from school one day and for some reason was messing around in my oldest brother Chad’s room.  He was in a band then (Doubletop) and his lead singer and guitarist gave him some sort of machine that he was able to record with.  I’m imagining he wanted Chad to write basslines to some of the songs he had written.  Anyways, what I saw in front of me was a way to record music and I instantly became stoked on recording something.  I listened to a few of the tracks that they had recorded and then decided in that very moment that I wanted to record a song of my own.  Instead of playing something I had already written for my own band (Rest Assured) I managed to string these chords together and also layered some guitar over it.   There was a pen and paper there with some lyrics Chad had written for a song he had written (Ruby Slippers) so I turned the page and penned down the lyrics to this song.   That’s it.  This song was written in about thirty minutes ten years ago.  

I do really like the song, but the sad nature of it didn’t quite fit with the music that my band was making at the time.  It sounds better as an acoustic song anyways.  To be honest, the song has no deep meaning behind it.  I just think it has a mysterious feel and the lyrics I wrote complement the song well.  I will say that the lyrics, “my backwards love of art direction” are a sentiment of me being frustrated that most of the people I knew were focused on partying or football, and I felt left out because I was focusing on music.  Yeah, I was a nerd.  

So thanks again for listening/reading.  I promise next weeks song will be a bit more cheerful.  Hope you all have a good week and whatever you do, don’t go alone

Don't Go Alone

I’m actually pretty proud of this week’s release.  It’s a song that is very fun to play and sing, and unlike my other releases this song was actually written this decade (2015).  “The Moon” began as a recording on my phone.  When I’m jamming or messing around on my guitar in my room, sometimes there will be a riff or chord progression that I’ll stumble upon that has the potential to be an actual song.  When this happens, I’ll pull out my phone and record a video of me playing the riff so that I can remember what I’ve written.  If you write music, this is a tip that I would highly suggest or even something you could use if you have any sort of spontaneous idea in your head.  It’s important to capture that initial inspiration.  Anyways, on some of these videos I’ll kind of “freestyle” a melody and some words while jamming to the freshly written chords.  This gives me an opportunity to hear what the chords sound like with a melody and from there I can see which direction I want to take the song.  More times than not, I’ll keep the melody that I “freestyled” over the chords and write lyrics around that melody.  That’s exactly what happened with “The Moon”, and in the end even some of the original lyrics made it into the song.

	The lyrics to this song are about three things simultaneously.  First off, this song is about the relationship between the Earth and the Moon, both literally and romantically.  No matter what we do to our planet or whatever happens on earth, the moon will continue to orbit its planet.  Secondly, this song is about the relationship between two people.  It’s actually more specifically about the relationship that one of my good friends got into around the time that I wrote this song.   He was going through some hard times personally and when he met his new girlfriend he became a better and more well rounded person, and his life changed for the better.  Lastly, this song is about (and dedicated) to my niece and goddaughter Camryn Castillo.  It’s about the connection that a parent can feel for their child, the realization that it’s not only about yourself anymore.  It’s about the sacrifices that must be made to make any healthy relationship work.  At its core, “The Moon” is about unconditional love and loyalty.

The Moon

The Moon (Acoustic)

This week’s song was written during the summer of 2012.   2012 was a breakthrough year for me personally, as I had just gotten out of a year and a half relationship and I was single in college for the first time in my life.  I hesitate to say that 2012 was the best year of my life but it was definitely a year where I got to experiment and have a lot of different experiences because of my newfound freedom.  This, coupled with recently turning 21 made for quite an interesting year with many great memories and some that are actually quite painful as well (we’ll hear more about that in another song).   Anyways I spent most of this year single and not tied down, until, once again, I met a girl who was not like all of the others.  

Now it seems to me that in (almost) every courting stage of a new relationship a specific question gets asked.  This question being, “how many exes do you have?” or “how many people have you been with?”  I don’t know if its just human nature to ask or if its tied to some deeper insecurity, but this question was posed in this new relationship I was involved in.  One day soon after while playing guitar in my room I fell upon some chords and decided to write a song that downplayed the importance of these questions.  At the time, I don’t believe that her and I were officially dating.  This song helped solidify the feelings that I had for her and also helped me to make light of these questions.  That’s pretty much it.  “Number Four” is about enjoying the thrill and happiness that can come from starting a new relationship.  It’s about not getting caught up in pettiness and jealousy of the past, but rather celebrating the time that you do get to spend with your significant other in the present.   It’s also the fourth song that I’ve released thus far and I thought it would be a very opportune time to release this particular song.   Once again, thank you all for listening and reading, and I hope you enjoy “Number Four”

Number Four

Number Four (Acoustic)

God's Plan (Drake Cover)

A lad from Arizona who plays music as a hobby.

Clark Castillo

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