Today we’d like to introduce you to CJ Ballesteros.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve played drums, guitar and sang in bands for about 12 years, my current project being Trash Castle, which I describe to people as slacker rock. I moved to LA about five years ago and played in a band called birdluck before starting Trash Castle about two years ago. Basically, every band I’ve ever played in has been pretty DIY so Trash Castle has always been a pretty self-sufficient effort, I recorded our first EP and our bassist Lexi does most of our photography. The last thing that we did with the project was a couple of singles we released called House Party and Wild West right before the pandemic (boo).
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would never describe playing in a band as a smooth process. There’s always obstacles. You’re always trying to find places to play, trying to find time to practice, trying to sort out merch/recording/social media stuff. Even before the pandemic, it’s always a struggle to get four working adults into a practice room together to learn a new song. But aside from the logistical issues, there’s always the struggle of trying to figure out what you like, what kind of songwriter you are, sorting out what you really want to say. I think every artist has to go through those growing pains.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Trash Castle is definitely a departure from some of the bands I’ve played in in the past. Most of the bands I played in when I was younger had king of an emo/shoegazy type of vibe. Trash Castle is a little angrier and slightly less woe-is-me (but don’t worry there’s still some woe-is-me vibes.) The new music I’ve been working on has taken a lot more influence from garage rock and has a sort of vitriolic self-awareness to it, which has definitely been influenced by the current state of things in our world right now. As a band, we really thrived off of playing live, and we really loved playing live. However, the pandemic has definitely forced me to take a step back and take a closer look at the recording process and how to present my songwriting in that way.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My family always had great dogs growing up. Shout out to Gallery, Hobbes, Luna, and Willow. And shout out to my current pup/sidekick Hank.
Contact Info:
- Email: trashcastlemusic1@gmail.com
- Instagram: @trashcastlemusic
Image Credit:
Lexi Bonin, Sydney Marquez, M.Haight, Mary Sette
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