GILBERT CASTILLO-part one

It’s a convoluted journey from playing the cello in grade school to singing in a dance cover band. I actually “came out of the shower” in 2001 thanks to Sharon Ankiewicz, the wife of our keyboard player, John. We were part of group of store managers in Tucson for OfficeMax that traveled to Phoenix for quarterly meetings. The bar near our hotel hosted karaoke and she talked me into singing a duet with her – I was petrified. I survived, worked up the nerve to start singing solo and after a few more outings Sharon asked if I would be interested in singing in her husband’s band.
John extended an invitation and I met the gang in Khang’s (Nguyen, our bass player) garage. After a tentative start, I worked my way from background harmonies to lead vocals. Ironically, Khang was playing bass in my church’s band, mentioned that the band needed a male singer. I attended a rehearsal and was asked if I could handle a solo. The following Sunday I sang “professionally” for the first time in public – 950 eyeballs watching me – I thought the karaoke was tough.

GILBERT-PART TWO