Amidst the crop of country acts hailing from the Lone Star State, J.R. Castillo and his band Unwound have been making a strong impact on the revved up country scene in and around Texas. From the small South Texas town of Green Acres, J.R. & the boys have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the live country music circuit. The success of their 2004 studio project Its All About A Girl has also been influential in winning over the country radio masses and a new corps of fans the world over.
J.R. has been in and around music circles all his life. His Dad, in paying tribute to J.R.s uncle who died before he was born, put a guitar in J.R.s hands at the tender age of seven. His mother further perpetuated his love of music by filling the Castillo home with her own renditions of her favorite songs, while encouraging her young son to sing along. "In a sense, she was my first ever duet partner and background singer" claims Castillo.
"My parents are the sole reason I do what I do. Dad grew up listening to my Uncle Neto sing and play guitar on my Grandmothers front porch and that served as a huge inspiration to him. When he passed away while in the Navy, my Dad, in trying to preserve his brothers memory, picked up the guitar and taught himself to play a few chords. He vowed that if he ever had a son, he would put a guitar in his hands, too. And so it goes.