A fusion of Mid-Century American Rock n Roll, with influences ranging from Jump Blues and Jazz to Rockabilly and Surf! Summa Bumma is The Screamin' Rockets debut single, originally written summer of 2019, recorded and released fall of 2020. An "Anti-Blues" tune that fuses "down-and-out" lyrics of The Blues with the carefree, upbeat, warm tone of Surf Rock.

Summa Bumma

"Come On Angels!"
music/lyrics by Joe Castro (©2020 mightyjoetunes)

You don’t have to worry about nothin’
when nothin’s all your ever gonna amount to
my pockets were empty and on fumes I was runnin’
runnin’ down those dotted white lines to you

because I wanna be more tonight
than just background noise in my own life

So come on Angel
and pour the whiskey
come on Angel
sing it with me tonight

My head was a school bell that was constantly ringing
we slid off the bus in Baltimore 
steel eyed and determined to pick up where we parted
as peanut shells on the bar room floor

were gonna crawl that neon mile
until the crack of the cue ball breaks your cemetery smile

So come on Angel
and pour the whiskey
come on Angel
sing it with me tonight

your call for surrender’s an empty prayer
well, I must be out of practice ‘cause I’ve forgotten how to care

So come on Angel
and pour the whiskey
come on Angel
sing it with me tonight
_______________________________________

MIGHTY JOE CASTRO vocals, guitar
DALLAS drums
H00V3R doghouse bass, backing vocals
MIKE STINGLE guitar, backing vocals
_______________________________________

Recorded at Miner Street Recordings, Philadelphia
Produced by Brian McTear
Engineered and Mixed by Matt Poirier
Mastered by Ryan Schwabe

Written by Joe Castro Brevoort
Copyright ©2020 mightyjoetunes (BMI)

All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication
is a violation of applicable laws.

"Come On Angels"  - Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen

005: GRATITUDE

000: UNITY (interlude)

004: UPRIZING

000: PROTEST (interlude)

003: REVOLVER

000: QUARANTINE (interlude)

002: SUPREME

001: BREATHE

000: VIRUS (intro interlude)

Mighty Joe Castro is an accomplished Philadelphia based collage artist, musician(Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen), songwriter and designer.  

He was the guitar player in several bands including Nero / OPF (Newark, Delaware. 1994-1997), Swingline (Newark, Delaware. 1997-1999)and the critically acclaimed The Situation(2001-2006).  Formed in 2001 with singer-songwriter Christopher Tucker, The Situation signed with Elephant Stone records in 2004, releasing "The Reece Nasty EP", followed by their self titled full length in 2006. Both garnered critical praise from Pitchfork, The Big Takeover, Skyscraper and Magnet. The band toured the states, and opened for bands such as The Strokes, The Libertines, Nada Surf, BJM, The Make-Up and Arthur Lee & Love. Their music has been featured on shows for both MTV and Fuel TV. The group disbanded in 2006. Christopher Tucker passed away in 2008. The remaining members of the band reformed as The Lift Up (2012-2015) releasing the album "Without Dreams, We Are Only Sleeping"

Based out of Philadelphia, PA, Ameripolitan rockabilly outfit, Mighty Joe Castro & The Gravamen is the latest musical project from accomplished collage artist and musician Joe Castro (ex-The Situation, The Lift Up). Influenced by 50’s Rock and Roll and infused with post modern Easter eggs cribbed from old episodes of MTV’s 120 Minutes, Mighty Joe Castro takes a modern, lyric driven approach to songwriting while The Gravamen layer on Jesus and Mary Chain-cover-Link Wray guitar atmosphere, booming doghouse bass and swinging beats. The quartet lurks at a crossroads where Sun Records and Creation Records meet.

According to Joe Castro: “Our goal is to play original rock-n-roll, in the style of the pioneers, but update it lyrically and sonically. Take what we’ve learned, everything great that’s come after and go apply it to that original sound. What if Buddy Holly had access to a stack of effects pedals and some Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds records? That’s the ethos of the band.”

The Gravamen were formed in 2017 after doghouse bassist H00V3r reached out to Castro about working together. H00V3r enlisted Dallas, his band mate in Philadelphia punk rock stalwarts Thorazine, to play drums and later found hot-shot lead guitarist Michael Stingle floating around Mount Airy. The full band held its first practice together in January 2018 and shortly after recorded their debut EP, Wake Up, You’re Rockin’! in May 2018.  They released their debut full length album, “Come On Angels” on July 31, 2020. It was recorded at Miner Street Recordings and produced by Brian McTear (Sharon Van Etten, Dr Dog, Dead Milkmen).

"Come On Angels" - Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen

Mighty Joe Castro

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