WT550 / WT550 / D215XLT

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Johnny Castle started out playing drums for sock hops and school dances in the early 60's. He switched to bass in 1966, fronting high school rock bands in Texas and Oklahoma until arriving in D.C. in 1968. In the early 70's, Johnny helped form the legendary rock group Crank, opening arena and stadium shows for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds, Allman Bros., and Grand Funk R.R.

In the mid 70's, Castle did a complete genre change and joined Eddie Adcock's II Generation, a seminal "New Grass" group. 1979 found Johnny making another change, thumpin' the bottom with notorious D.C. "Psycho-billy" legends Tex Rubinowitz & the Bad Boys. The Bad Boys soon morphed into Switchblade, with Johnny doing most of the writing and lead singing in this pop/rockabilly band that featured Ratso (Kinky Friedman) Eddie Angel (Los Straightjackets) and Steuart Smith (Eagles, Rodney Crowell) on guitars.

Johnny has toured or recorded with Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Arnold, and Joe Maphis (Bluegrass & Country) Screamin' J. Hawkins, John Lee Hooker, Elvin Bishop, and Catfish Hodge (Blues) and even D.C. legend Root Boy Slim. For twelve years, Castle performed with Washington Area Music Hall of Famers Bill Kirchen (Hot Rod Lincoln) and Too Much Fun, playing bass, singing lead and background vocals, as well as contributing his songwriting skills. They were nominated for a Grammy in '02. In 2001 he, Bill, and drummer Jack O'Dell recorded and toured as half of the Twangbangers, with "Superpickers" Redd Volkaert, Dallas Wayne, and Joe Goldsmith.

When Kirchen moved to Austin, Texas, in early 2004, Johnny got a call from longtime friends, and Washington Area Music Hall of Famers, The Nighthawks, and now performs and records with the band, logging over 200 dates annually across the US and internationally. You can also hear him most Thursdays at the Sunset Grille, Annandale, Virginia, with his band, the Thrillbillys. Johnny also teaches bass in Columbia MD, where he loves to blast off into the countryside on his '95 Softail custom Harley Davidson.

Johnny uses our WT550 and WT405 heads as well as our D215XLT cabinet. He says his Eden rig "has enough punch and low end to tickle listeners' gonads. After four years of live gig abuse, my WT405 has never let me down. I've also used my eden heads direct in the studio and love the tone."