We had the good fortune of connecting with Joshua Castro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joshua, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
The Great Gatsby. This Side of Paradise. The Beautiful & Damned. Pretty much anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It inducted me into the Jazz Age and really enthralled me. I love almost everything having to do with the Roaring Twenties. Particularly the fashions and dances but especially the music and comedy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m an author/writer who also dabbled in poetry, and for the past decade launched myself into songwriting. The shift then led to live performances at open mics and variety showcases across Los Angeles, and for the past four years I’ve recorded my own songs and released them as full jazz/ragtime/musical albums.

I love jazz because of the mad 1920s. I was first exposed to the Jazz Age when I saw the films The Great Gatsby (1974) and The Color Purple (1985) my junior year of high school. I commune with the Vaudeville masters like Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Ethel Waters, Al Jolson, etc through their music, films, and Youtube documentaries. The first jazz record I bought was The Roaring Twenties: Hits of 1920, back in 2009 when I was just 22 years old. My advice to new listeners is to forget all you know about the 21st century and just dive right into the joys of early 20th century music: ragtime & jazz. That era of entertainment truly makes me happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
What’s a best friend? *sad violin* *2003 emo hair flip*

Anyway, my favorite places in Los Angeles, like my church essentially, is Musical Mondays in West Hollywood at the Abbey, The vintage jazzy Cicada Club in DTLA, and the LGBTQ showcase PLANET QUEER at Akbar in Silverlake.

When I’m at any of those places, I’m in Elysium.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband John. And my family, both nuclear (sister & mother), as well as extended (aunts and cousins).

Website: Www.Joshua-Castro.com

Twitter: Www.Twitter.com/JCastroAuthor

Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/JCastroAuthor

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnStg4LOA6UItfaaCSfhdEQ

Other: Www.TikTok.com/@JCastroAuthor (Don’t judge me.) https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/joshua-castro

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