Some Del Castillo Days

It's been a good long while since I sat down and wrote about these guys, and it's too bloody hot outside to be doing much else. On the desk in front of me are nine CDs of pictures from the Whitewater gig and about 8 or 9 rolls need to go in for developing from the gig at Sam's here in town ;ast weekend. The spirit within the band has just been so high lately it is difficult to catch in words. There is a level of happiness among the guys that is contagious. One of the reasons if Rick's pending marriage; I've hestitated writing about it, as it is no one else's business, and he himself has not chosen to annouce it. Rick is a very friendly guy off stage, but intensely private. Let me just say that I have seen these two together for about two years now, and this is a good thing for both of them. It can be a hard wait for the right one, but the near constant smile on his face these days tells me the wwait was worth it for him. Congratulations, my brother.

The first gig was at a lovely place out near Canyon Lake, north of San Antonio. I wasn't sure about the gig, but looked up the place and figured it would be worth the trip. I am really glad I went- it ended up not being quite as hot as I expected, the crowd was mostly newbies and a wide range of ages, and Melo was back! I was surprised to hear Melo was sitting in for the evening- it is apparently not a permanant thing, but Mike likes the interplay with a percussionist, and he and Melo just fit together. http://www.whitewaterrocks.com/

Whitewater has a stage area that can hold Lyle Lovett and his big band, with about 3000 capacity for the audience. DC however played the smaller stage, which was behind the "skybox" seating. It was an advantage in my book as we got more shade more quickly, making the whole event more tolerable to me. I was sorry that more people hadn't bought tickets, so the guys could play the big place, but the intimate setting ended up being a great thing. Lots of new fans by the end of the evening!

(figured nearly a year later it was time to publish this! ;p )