Entertainment
EMBRACE THE CRAVING
Armed with a guitar, sometimes a drum machine, the help of local musicians and good friends, and a trio of cassette tapes and records emblazoned with psychedelic imagery of anthropomorphic pizza slices eating other regular pizza slices, David Castillo has developed a reputation for penning some of the most infectious rock and roll tunes of the entire Burger Records catalog. Although Castillo has recently decided to retire the Pizza Time name and instead move towards a new project, entitled Panaderia, his obsession with food themes continues and his ideas remain ambitious as ever. Recently, CULTURE had the opportunity to catch up with David and hear all about Pizza Time, Panaderia, the influences of his music and his feelings about cannabis legalization.
Tell us about how Pizza Time developed its sound?
David Castillo: Well really, it just sort of revolves around whatever I might be listening to at the time, because that will carry over into whatever song I write. And it’s been hard because sometimes I’ll have people come up and tell me, “You’re not like the faster, garage rocky stuff.” They think the pop stuff is cool, but they’re not quite as into it as my more garage rock sounding songs.
“I think in a way [cannabis] kind of helps me focus. If I have a lot of things to do in a day and I get stoned I don’t get so distracted or overwhelmed.”
I know you’re now also releasing music under the name Panaderia while sort of retiring Pizza Time. What do you see as the primary difference between the two projects?
Literally, it’s just the characters and the name. I just didn’t want to pigeon-hole myself as this pizza caricature for my music because my music keeps changing. For example, none of my songs are about pizza and sometimes that’s disappointing to people. So I decided to change the name to Panaderia for a few reasons. I’ll probably make one more album so there will be three Panaderia albums, and then I’ll probably move on to a different moniker.
I know a lot of Burger Records’ bands and affiliates have a great affinity for cannabis. How do you feel about the national movement for legalization going on right now?
Well, I mean, being here in Denver I guess I got to see what it was like here pre-legalization and then see what it’s like now. I can definitely see the positives. I got to see a lot of business develop, like watching the grow operations move into local warehouse districts back when the warehouse rent was really cheap.
Is cannabis something that helps you creatively?
I think in a way [cannabis] kind of helps me focus. If I have a lot of things to do in a day and I get stoned I don’t get so distracted or overwhelmed. I mean, I can still be creative and get stuff done if I’m not stoned, but I do enjoy smoking things and doing things while I’m smoking weed.
I know you just released the newest Panaderia album, Genial. Are there any plans to release any comics or videos to accompany it similar to what you did with Pizza Time?
I actually finished Season 1 of the Panaderia video series last summer which is 13 episodes long and up on YouTube right now. Some are only five minutes long, some are up to 20 minutes. Basically, it’s the zine idea for Pizza Time, but in video form where I cut together animations I made with footage of shows I’ve put on or been to. So I have a second season of that planned, except for this one I’m collaborating with some friends to make puppets.
