This edition of "Student Spotlight" is on a very up and coming musician, Collin Castillo. He has been playing guitar for 5 years and has been taking lessons from me since October 2010. Collin got into playing guitar because he saw someone playing and really liked it. His Mom and Dad , at one time, sponsored a band. The band was called " The Fifth." He thought what they did was awesome and wanted to jam. His parents thought it was a phase at first but 5 years later it was no phase! Collin is a 7th grader at River Side Middle School. He plans on going to college for 4 years and hopefully getting to do some music while there. His favorite band of all time is Alice in Chains. He says Alice is one of his dads favorites and that's how he got into listening to them. He doesn't really have a guitar he wants or a "dream" guitar. He plays no favorites with them. He just loves guitars. He has been to a few concerts in his young life too. The best and favorite one he has seen has been Alice In Chains. His mom took him to Atlanta to see them. Seeing that concert is what made him want to be in a band. If Collin could play guitar for any band, new or old, one that is still around or will never be around again, that band would be 90's king's of grunge, Nirvana. He says they are a cool band and he loves all their songs. Collin is currently the guitar player in his church band at Alder's Gate church. They practice every Sunday and Wednesday and play a gig 1 or 2 times a month. Being in this band landed him his first ever real gig. It was about 6 months ago and Alder's Church band kicked some butt! if he could play any gig anywhere in the world Collin would play the Super Bowl.Why? "It is the biggest gig you could ever have and everyone would get to see me play!" Some of Collin's favorite guitar players are Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Perry and Jerry Cantrell. Collin comes from a somewhat musical family. His Aunt Cindy plays everything- piano, guitar, ukulele to name a few. His Great Granny played piano. His uncle by marriage is a heck of a musician, Noel Brown.Noel is an Augusta legend! His mom and dad are huge musical fans and have gave him all the support a young music man could dream of. Why did he start taking lessons? He said "I really like guitar and thought it would be a cool fun thing to do. I really loved it once i started. It's my time to get my escape and have fun." What has been the thing he has got the most use from from lessons? Collin said " You showing me all the chords and their different shapes and learning all the notes on my fretboard." Collin Castillo is a great kid with a huge enthusiasm for music. He is bright and an all around good person. He works hard to be a good player. He continues to impress me week in and week out. He is gonna do great in life when he grows up, as a person and a musician. So here's to you Collin........Keep Rockin'.........Keep Playin'.........and keep Having Fun!!!
