Guitarist Tommy Castro stopping in Salt Lake on his 'wild trip'

When Bay Area guitarist Tommy Castro started his solo career in the 1990s, his goals weren't outrageously high.

"I just wanted to be able to support myself somehow by playing locally," Castro said during a phone call while running errands near San Francisco. "For me it was recreation. It was for fun. Some guys play softball or soccer or play cards. For me it was music that was my thing.

"I tried to make a living doing other things and never found anything I could tolerate. Then it dawned on me that I was constantly trying to find day jobs that wouldn't get in the way with my weekend band stuff. So it occurred to me that I should play music.

"Little by little I adjusted my goals for the next thing higher."

Well, Castro, who was in the band the Dynatones in the late 1980s, learned to adjust his goals to the point where he was winning Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies). In 2001 and '02, Castro was asked to open B.B. King's summer tour, and in 2008, he became the Blues Music Award's "Entertainer of the Year."

"It's been a wild trip," he said.

Last year, Castro released "Hard Believer," his 10th studio album.

"Yeah, I think it's my 10th," he said with a laugh. "I mean there's a lot of stuff on my merchandise table when I tour."

The CD is a combination of Castro originals, two covers and a couple of songs written by his friends.

Recording CDs takes a lot of time, he said.

"You have to be a self-motivator," he said. "I suppose I'm pretty good at that. But I'm not the greatest. I'm not jumping out of bed and going to the guitar and tape recorder first thing in the morning. I need to be inspired — or (at least) have a deadline."

Castro said another motivator is getting to know and working with good songwriters.

"I become a better songwriter by working with those cats," he said. "I love writing songs with talented people and working with my band on interesting arrangements."

Castro recruited John Porter to produce the CD.

Porter, who worked with B.B. King, Elvis Costello, Buddy Guy, Keb' Mo' and Billy Bragg, to name a few, kept things relaxed in he studio.

"He's such a down-to-earth nice guy," Castro said. "He has an easy way in the studio. No one feels too much pressure, but when something needs to be done, he puts his foot down and makes a point.