6/16/06 — Jason Castro is a very busy young musician. He is the drummer for a Dallas-based rock band called Keeping Lions and is becoming somewhat of a TV personality.
Regular watchers of MTV can catch the new reality series “Cheyenne,” which follows the career of the young singer/songwriter Cheyenne Kimball.
Keeping Lions had the opportunity to perform at Kimball’s birthday party and developed a friendship with the artist, which resulted in some opportunities for both Castro and his band.
“They fly me out to be on the show every now and then,” Castro said. “I’m getting to be somewhat of a regular.”
He was also chosen to play a part in a music video.
“I was just in her first music video,” Castro said. “I played a little part. I was kind of the love interest in the video. There were two parts. In one scene we’re just hugging and stuff. Then there’s a scene where I’m climbing a hill and she’s at the top of it.”
Castro has high marks for his musician friend Kimball, who is also a North Texas native from Little Elm.
“She is a work in progress,” Castro said. “When she was 12 she won the ‘America’s Most Talented Kid’ competition on NBC. She’s just about to release her first record. She doesn’t even have anything out yet. Last Wednesday was the premiere of her show on MTV. It comes on every Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. She’s just getting bigger by the minute.”
In fact, Kimball will be performing tomorrow at Southfork Ranch for the Kids Count Expo. Keeping Lions will be the opening act.
“I’ve heard there’s going to be about 2,500 people there, but I don’t have a lot of details on it,” Castro said. “That’s at 7:30 p.m. It’s a big deal for us because there are going to be some people coming out from a label to take a look at us.
“Then we’re going to go down to Deep Ellum to do a show at the Curtain Club. That one starts at about 10:30 p.m. We had booked that show before (the one at Southfork Ranch) came up. It’s going to be a busy day for us, but we’re just going to go and do it.”
Keeping Lions has the same manager as Kimball, Eddie Hill, which facilitates a lot of the shared opportunity. In their own right, Keeping Lions is making a name for themselves.
“We’ve been playing together for two years as of this August,” Castro said. “It’s really my first band. I’d been in one little band before that was just some friends that played together, but this is the first serious one. The other members of the band have come from groups that have enjoyed some success. The lead singer had been signed before to an independent label.
“Since we started playing we’ve just been very focused on what we were doing. We pretty much take care of everything ourselves here locally while our manager spends most of his time dealing with the labels. He lives in McKinney but spends a lot of time going back and forth between L.A. and New York.
The recent opportunities represent a payoff for a lot of hard work. Castro is a 2005 graduate of Rowlett High School and attended Texas A&M; University.
He would drive from College Station every weekend to practice with the band and ended up moving to Rockwall, where he attends Lakepointe Church.
A lot of opportunity has come his way, but he is aware that there is a lot of work still ahead. In the meantime, anyone wanting to sample the sounds of Keeping Lions can check them out online. The band has a selection of songs available for review at www.myspace.com/keepinglions.
Features
Related Photos
-
Courtesy photo
Discussion
Starting on a high note
Rockwall resident making strides in music industry
- Features
-
-
Local man selected for Night of Superstars recognition
Brandon Maya will be greeted by hundreds of people when his limo arrives at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas Saturday night.
-
Tuesday was a ‘Romans 8:28 kind of day’
Cameron Knight called Tuesday a “Romans 8:28 kind of day.”
That’s the day a tornado ripped a path through part of Rockwall County, -
Veggie delight
Rockwall is full of places to get a nice size slice of beef, a half-pound pork chop, or three pieces of chicken slathered in barbeque sauce. Veggie House is not among them.
-
Specialized Sounds
Music is a language that crosses all boundaries. No matter where a person is born, or raised he or she will have some involvement with tunes, tones and sound. Adding more instruments to the symphony of life is Peghead Guitars owner Raymond Jowers.
-
Patriot Paws fund raiser called success
“Capp is absolutely amazing to me!” Mike McHale said to a packed house Sunday. “He knows over 250 commands and words. He goes everywhere I go. If I’m in the shower, he is right there. If I am at work, he is there, too. He can open the refrigerator or ice chest and bring me water, a coke, or beer.” Several times in the conversation, Mike repeated,” He’ll bring me beer!”, as he laughed along with a more than cheerful audience.
-
Square features new kitchen store
A new kitchen-themed-shop called Enjoy will be tempting Rockwall residents to think outside of the box but inside the square.
-
Scented greatness
Scent is commonly the forgotten sense. We as a people are always using our eyes, ears, mouth and hands to experience the world. Scent is just a second nature by product of being completely healthy and alive. Despite a typical lack of appreciation for scent Candles by Carol owner Carol Leal has found on a way to profit on pleasant smells.
-
Kensley Jones celebrates first birthday in hospital
Little Kensley Jones’ first birthday on Feb. 15 was marked with a party that featured cake, balloons and gifts.
-
Hunting for homes
The world of habitation is changing. It used to be people moved into an apartment in their 20s and would go out into the world for entertainment. This trend has changed and complexes like The Rockwall Commons are offering residents entertainment with their leases, allowing them to spend less money on a night on the town.
-
Taking stress levels down on Valentines
Every year men and women are forced to come up with new and exciting ways to please their significant others on Valentine’s Day. It is downright stressful. Given that this holiday is supposed to be about loving the one you’re with and not stressing over those irritating questions, where do I get flowers and a gift? Where should we go to dinner? These two questions plague most on this day; so here is some humble information that may help in creating that perfect evening.
Sabrina’s Flower and Gift Shop owner Kay Uhlig said life is very hectic over the next week, but that’s OK because it gives her a chance to do something truly special.
- More Features Headlines
-
Raw Video: Deadly Bombing at Yemen Parade Preps
Professor: Chinese Activist's 'Spirit Is Good'
Ring of Fire Eclipse Seen in U.S., Asia
Golden Gate Bridge Celebrates 75 Years
G-8 Seeks Unity on Euro-debt Crisis, Iran
Prosecutors: Trio Planned to Attack Obama's HQ
Obama: G8 Unified in Stance on Iran, Syria
