Author Archive: Patty Castillo Davis

Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories
Celebrating Women Who Tell Our StoriesBy Patty Castillo Davis Decades after my Grandmother Lorenza Rombout, aka “Little Grandma,” passed away, an interesting narrative of her social life came to light. One of my maternal aunts unabashedly spoke of my Grandma working in a cantina as an entertainer. My Grandma had a mischievous grin and a […]

Arts and Humanity
ARTS AND HUMANITYBy Patty Castillo Davis Last month I was fortunate enough to attend two 50th Birthday celebrations back to back in one weekend. Both were filled with music and fellowship. It was frenetic, exciting, nostalgic and brought to mind how much we have all been through and how much we rely on one another […]

SongwriterView: There Is A Harmony in Autumn…
SongwriterView: There Is A Harmony in Autumn… By Patty Castillo Davis It’s time. Can we get a break from this heat already? I know, last month, I was singing the songs of the Summer. I’m ready for Fall. I’m all over it. I’m picturing a very nice stroll through the downtown Modesto Certified Farmer’s Market. […]

SongwriterView: When They Listen
SongwriterView: When They ListenBy Patty Castillo Davis I’ve been a musician my entire life. I started humming melodies and making up lyrics by the time I was two years old. I started writing poetry and singing in organized musical groups in elementary school and started to refine my work in middle school. When I started […]

SongwriterView
LOUD, VOWED, PROUD and WOWED was the CROWD By Patty Castillo Davis Never mind that the weather here is unpredictable and seasons get left out of the year. June insinuates itself in however it arrives, unsettling, unsavory, unabashedly odd but it’s our version of Summertime and we freaking love it. A lot. June in our […]

SongwriterView: Creatives Spring Into Action
Creatives Spring Into ActionBy Patty Castillo Davis Last month I had the pleasure of seeing Melissa Etheridge live at our Gallo Center for the Arts. It was a frenetic rocking night of music filled with sensual lyrics, tight, rhythmic melodies and ballads almost too personal for public consumption. I was thinking about what kind of […]

Women Are Essential
Women Are EssentialBy Patty Castillo Davis The 2022 Women’s History Month theme is “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope”, is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout […]

SongwriterView: The Good Listener or Please Tip the Musicians
SongwriterView: The Good Listener or Please Tip the MusiciansBy Patty Castillo Davis If I had a dollar for every time I was asked about the rules for tipping live musicians, I would have an overflowing tip jar. Tipping in any industry, profession and even country can be a nuanced topic. Music is about as subjective […]

SongwriterView: Hopin’ For A Safe Reopen
SongwriterView: Hopin’ For A Safe ReopenBy Patty Castillo Davis 19 is a fool’s errand. Not wearing a mask is a fool’s behavior demonstrated by this country’s previous administration which put us in this predicament of mistrust, misinformation and remaining in the Red Tier indicating that we have a consistent substantial spread of the virus in […]

SongwriterView: Keeping Their Composer
SongwriterView: Keeping Their ComposerBy Patty Castillo Davis Some say that Songwriters are a bit like historians, “concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race.” I say we are seeking to catch something universal by crafting melodies and threading prose-developing and advancing the art of the song. […]

SongwritterView: Tears for Tiers
SongwritterView: Tears for TiersBy Patty Castillo Davis Spring Fever AND Cabin Fever.We haven’t had the opportunity to live life as normal and continue a sense of well-being that comes from a healthy social circle -you, like me, might be ready to run screaming. Health experts say that guessing at a reopening timeline is no easier […]

Equal Voice Equal Rights #sheinspires
Equal Voice Equal Rights #sheinspiresBy Patty Castillo Davis Kamala Harris becomes the first woman Vice President in history.A descendant of slaves presiding as second in command in a house built by slaves-what a time to be a woman!On the heels of a year that sought to discount and destroy the achievements, freedoms, prosperity and powers […]

SongwriterView: I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
SongwriterView: I’ll Have to Say l Love You in a SongBy Patty Castillo Davis Ahhhhhh, February.A month which brings to mind African American history, valentines, presidents and groundhogs. We are also nearing the grim anniversary of California’s first cases of the Coronavirus which led to Governor Newsom initiating a statewide order to shelter at home. […]

SongwriterView: Hindsight in 2020
SongwriterView: Hindsight in 2020By Patty Castillo Davis The past year has been full of paradigm shifting moments, too many to count. January was ushered in with velocity and literally set the tone for 2020 when it found the U.S. creating a substantial initiation of force in the President’s authorized assassination strike against Iraq’s Gen. Qasem […]

Songwriting View: Alternative- The 90’s and Living during COVID
Songwriting View: Alternative- The 90’s and Living during COVIDBy Patty Castillo Davis A pivot in the times has forced us to adapt. By this time we should have a new routine in place for living or coping with this health crisis. I’d like to give you some hope for the future of live in person […]