Stompin' Ground

Stompin’ Ground is a nostalgic mash-up of California-bred blues, rock, and Latin soul that pays tribute to the San Jose of Tommy Castro’s youth. While some tunes are fuzzy snapshots of loving family memories—check out the horn-clad ballad “My Old Neighborhood”—others re-create the sweat and fire of the singer/guitarist’s early club days, including “Soul Shake,” a greaser boogie jam punctuated with ivory-splintering piano, and the growling “Rock Bottom,” in which Castro trades stinging licks with imposing blues rocker Mike Zito.