Hometown Musician Shares 'Egyptian Blues' Sound

Vocalist, drummer and bassist Kyle Castellani performs his bluesy lyrics throughout Los Angeles, often taking Montrose stages at or . 

Castellani’s melodic folk rock ablum Pseudo Romance keeps him playing from Montrose to West Hollywood, where the 25-year-old will perform at on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m.

Patch talked to the La Crescenta local and found out what inspires his music:

How'd you get into music?

I grew up surrounded by instruments. My dad is a musician and he always had guitars, flutes, xylophones, violins, ukuleles, etc. lying around the house. I don’t know if there’s a music gene that you pass on, but all I know is my life has revolved around music for as long as I can remember.

Describe your sound.

Before I recorded my most recent [album] “Pseudo Romance,” I was jamming the songs with a friend who described my sound as Egyptian Blues. If you listen to any of my solo music, I think he nailed it. I’m a singer before anything else and I tend to make that the focal point of my songs, but I also explore and experiment with chords and key changes to keep things interesting.

Do you play at local venues?

I’ve played at Blue Moon, which is also in Montrose, twice now and I‘d love to play there more. There’s an open mic at The Old Towne Café in Tujunga on Commerce Avenue that I frequent too, but most of my shows have been in Hollywood. I’m looking to play here in town as often as possible though.

What's your favorite track off your new album?

The song I always end up skipping forward to is Forever Young. All the songs on the record are pretty mellow but I consider that one the ballad. I was really happy with how it turned out.

What inspired the album's name, Pseudo Romance?

Pseudo Romance is "the break-up" song on the record. It was the last song I wrote before recording the album and it summed up all the other songs for me perfectly. All the songs on the record are like different pictures taken in different moments in time that capture the way I felt when I wrote them. I can play those songs now and it's like revisiting those moments and feelings, but they belong to relationships that didn’t work out. That doesn't make the feelings any less real, but it's a reminder that I had convinced myself that what I had was love when in reality it was pseudo romance.

Have you played in any other local bands?

I played in a local band called Nural for 10 years. We toured the country a few times and even Japan and England. I can't give away too much right now, but I can say that members of Nural, including myself, will be embarking on a musical journey soon.

Kyle Castellani plays at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 at Red Rock, 8782 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. The show is 21+ and tickets cost $10.