Unable to perform live during the Covid-19 pandemic, Chris Castino of The Big Wu decided to make the Bluegrass album he always wanted to make. Teaming up with long time friends Jordan Kroeger and Ryan Ogburn of Chicken Wire Empire, along with bandmates Ernie Brusubardis IV and John Peik as well as album producer Adam Greuel (Horseshoes and Hand Grenades) and engineer Ryan Young (Trampled by Turtles) the group hunkered down one cold January weekend to record the backbone of the Bunyanesque bluegrass album Fresh Pickles. Nine months later the album would be finished and feature special guest performances by bluegrass legends and heavy-hitters such as Sam Bush, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien, Nick Forster, Keller Williams, Vince Herman and Andy Hall. After capturing the energetic initial recordings the story takes an unexpected turn when not all of the group decides to join as they begin to perform the album for an eager summer festival crowd.
Paris Harley-Davidson was the place to be in Paris on Saturday, as hundreds turned out on a hot, sunny day with a toy during the Christmas in July toy collection
You could say that Chris Castino is a writer of dance music. Not the kind you hear at any club. It’s the kind you hear at a Dead show, or festivals, when the crowd moves together spinning and bouncing like an ocean of blissful and emancipated souls. Chris is the primary songwriter for his longtime popular Minnesota-based rock’n’roll jamband The Big Wu.