GROUNDBREAKING BAY AREA ROCKERS
CASTLES IN SPAIN
PROMOTE SONIC AGENDA OF TRIBAL RHYTHMS,
LUSH CINEMATIC VIBES AND A MIDDLE EASTERN EXOTICISM ON THEIR NEW RELEASE AGAIN
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Led By Charismatic, Multi-Ethnic Lead Singer/Songwriter Biachi, CIS Cuts a Wide Swath, Doing Regular Gigs At San Francisco Hotspots The Pound, 12 Galaxies And Red Devil Lounge,
In Addition To Numerous Dates In L.A., San Jose And Las Vegas
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Castles In Spain To Host The Fifth Annual Women Who RAWK , Which Was Launched By Biachi To Raise Funds And Awareness For The Breast Cancer Funds And Includes Performances By Numerous Female Fronted Bands
Visionary artists like Biachi , lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the popular Bay Area based band Castles In Spain , frequently have a hard time trying to describe their music to industry reps who would love nothing more than pigeonhole them. But after three previous, critically acclaimed independent recordings—and gearing up to release the band's eagerly anticipated fourth collection, Again —she knows her art well enough to find just the right words to sum up CIS's edgy but ethereal, cool but otherworldly brand of modern rock.
“We have a unique sonic agenda, incorporating everything from tribal rhythms, cinematic and atmospheric vibes and even some Middle Eastern flavors into a style that's very soulful,” she says. “My lyrics go deep into a lot of emotional issues as well. When I was younger, I listened to a wide range of artists… Annie Lennox, U2, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, The Cure…and I was moved by a lot of different styles of music. When I'm at songwriting conventions, for better or worse, I'll say CIS is Triple A or Modern Rock, but our songs aren't in one particular genre. “Sometimes, on the more ambient songs start very ethereally and then get heavy halfway in,” adds Biachi. “There's a lot of acoustic guitar stuff which I write on the twelve string before transferring to my Les Paul. Then I have a lot of material that stays on the acoustic & the band also has acoustic instrumentation both on the strings and on percussion. I especially love African percussive instruments like the djembe and the udu drum. I myself bang on a brasilian surdo drum on certain songs. My first instrument as a kid was drums, so when I write, I do it from a drummer's perspective, starting with the groove.”
Like all ambitious indie bands these days, Castles In Spain is building a solid following on MySpace.com. Its homepage digs even deeper into the uniqueness of the band and Biachi's irrepressible spirit: “Listening to Castles in Spain is like sipping red wine, smoking hashish, and drinking a shot of espresso. The music is an opiate, which transcends life's trials, delivering solace and the possibility of salvation. With a certain Castilian/Moorish flavor, Castles in Spain takes you on a spiritual field trip through the darker recesses of the soul. Dirges darken catacombs while wine cellar skeletons buried long ago surface to see the light of day. Hope, warmth, and then back down again. Don Quixote meets Edgar Allen Poe.”
Castles In Spain fans have been hounding their heroes for a handful of years at San Francisco hotspots like The Pound SF (a metal club), 12 Galaxies (which Biachi describes as a “mini Fillmore”), Red Devil Lounge and Slim's. With the release of their projects Capture , Castles In Spain and Numero Tres , the band—which currently includes bassist Josepe Birtola , guitarist Derek Richmond and drummer Anthony Verdier —has extended its reach down the coast to San Jose (Cactus Club), the college town of Chico, Los Angeles (from The Derby and The Dragonfly to Santa Monica's 14 Below and the Cat Club in West Hollywood) and even in Las Vegas.
While quickly building a loyal fan base, Biachi and Castles In Spain have been using their brilliant but hard to peg music and powerful performance style to benefit others. This year, Biachi and CIS will be hosting the fifth annual Women Who RAWK event in San Francisco, which brings together 5 or 6 female fronted local bands to raise both funds and awareness for The Breast Cancer Fund . The BCF gives out literature about breast cancer at these shows, which, according to Biachi, is especially important as a local issue because the breast cancer rate in Marin County is among the highest in the nation.
Now back to the funky adjectives. No one can turn an adjective-laden phrase like a rock critic on the Bay Area music scene. The San Francisco Bay Guardian describes CIS's music as: “Bombay Zeppelin. Imagine Jimmy Page and Robert Plant riding through the desert, kicking up dust and camel shit at some Cairo bazaar, where Chrissie Hynde is sitting in with Jane's Addiction, playing Black Sabbath and middle-eastern folk music.”
Just as the Oceanside, California born Biachi's love for rock developed from the first drum set her father gave her at age seven, the singer comes by her swinging exoticism very naturally. Her mother was a famous professional singer, percussionist and belly dancer in her native Bombay, India, and Biachi first performed with her mom onstage when she was four. “I idolized my mother for her amazing talent.” Biachi's dad was a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton when she was born, and Biachi moved around a lot with him after her parents divorced.
“My dad met my mom when he was stationed in Bombay, at one of her gigs, and I was basically raised by him,” she says. “He was the one who bought me the drum set and who encouraged me to sing along with playing sports so I would build confidence. He's mostly Italian, a quarter spanish and my mom is Greek, Portuguese and Indian. I actually enjoy being a mutt. I'm not allergic to anything and I never get sunburned!” Later my father remarried & my step mom was very influential in my life as well. She was there for me in so many ways. All of my parents are superstars to me!”
Despite the numerous ups and downs during her childhood, and all of the struggles that being an indie artist building a life and career in San Francisco entail, the title of the song “Gratitude Adjustment” on Again pretty much sums up the lyrical spirit of the project. “It's a reflection on where I've been emotionally the past few years,” she says. “I was at a low point in my life a couple years ago, and I came to realize that it wasn't too late to start living my life in a more positive way. It was up to me if I was truly going to live again. I thought, well, life in the music business can be such a hard road and a test of ones patience, also struggling to pay rent, bills, basic living expenses in one of the most expensive cities in the nation is a true challenge, but I have all my limbs and I am blessed that I don't have any major health issues. It's never too late to pursue your dream, especially when you have a handful of supportive friends and ya know, I've always thought that if you can count your closest friends on one hand… then you're a lucky SOB! IF you need more fingers to represent your closest & most caring friends, then consider yourself damn fortunate, and most of all, rich in life itself.”
“With songs like ‘Gratitude Adjustment' or ‘Look In Her Eyes,' which I wrote about a friend's mother in law who had just had a stroke, I don't mean to preach, but I'm just saying I'm damn lucky to be here, alive and making the music I want to make. When I look in the mirror, I laugh at myself every day. That gives me a sense of utter joy. One of our fans told me that going to a Castles in Spain show is like going to therapy, that people feel cleansed after hearing our music. The feeling is really mutual.”
