By Natasha Barbieri
Micheal Castaldo is not just your average classical crossover tenor. When we spoke I was struck by his knowledge of music, culture and his own ancestry. He is someone committed to embracing his entire history and sharing his story in a very authentic way. “I was born in the region of Calabria Italy, which is the tip of the toe of the Italian peninsula,” he says at the beginning of our interview. He describes it as the final frontier of Italian tourism. “It’s a poor region so many of the Calabrians ended up immigrating to look for work and a better life. Many moved either to northern Italy, northern Europe, Canada, the USA or Australia.” He describes his father as the ‘nomad’ of the family, a man who risked the unknown to settle in Toronto, Canada and begin a new life. Micheal and his mother joined their father soon after he was settled. Despite being a long way from his native country Micheal grew up very much saturated in the Italian culture.
“Toronto is the sixth largest Italian speaking city in the world,” he says. “There are four ‘little Italy’s’… I was constantly surrounded by Italian neighbors and the Italian radio station was on all the time. There was TV, tons of publications, festivals and street fairs.” He remembers speaking Italian at home and maintaining a close relationship with his family back in Italy. “My mother tongue was still a big part of me based on my environment and upbringing.” Micheal feels that Canada was especially embracing of multi-cultural backgrounds which encouraged him not only to remain true to his roots but to also consider himself a “proud Canadian.”
Music was always a part of Micheal’s life. “Italians and music go hand in hand.” He proudly shares some of the contributions of Italians to the music world. “The piano was invented in Italy, music notation was invented in Italy, the best violins (Stradivarius) are made in Italy, Opera was invented in Italy and some of the finest composers and conductors, musicians and singers, hail from Italy. So it is a big part of the Italian lifestyle. The first pop music was the ‘Neapolitan’ song… The influence that Neapolitan music has had on contemporary pop music is incredible.” It had a special influence on Micheal as well. “It was played in our home all the time and music was constantly surrounding me.”
Micheal’s musical career began in a very traditional way. “I got my start singing in a church choir. The priest had singled me out to sing a solo. The praise and accolades I got afterward were wonderful.” The experience had a profound influence on the course of Micheal’s life. As he grew older he began playing guitar and singing popular songs. “At that age, it’s all about getting the girl,” he says. After this, he began expanding his knowledge with piano, trumpet and percussion instruction. Micheal studied in Canada until his college years. “The last year of high school my music teacher had suggested that Berklee would be a good school for me.” He researched it and found that although Berklee is traditionally known as a jazz school, they were expanding their programs and opening their doors to a variety of different musicians. For Micheal, it was a chance he had to take.
“When the time came for me to study for the audition at Berklee, rather than doing just a few jazz standards I decided to audition with a liturgical song I used to sing in church all the time.” The piece was ‘Panis Angelicus’ by Cesar Franck. Micheal knew it would make him stand out from the crowd. “I wanted to try something different for the audition. They’d either hate me or love me.” They ended up loving it and he received a scholarship to study at Berklee.
After graduating, Micheal did his research before choosing a place to settle down. “I went to check out all the centers of entertainment and music in New York and Nashville, and settled on New York.” He’s been there ever since.
It seems fitting that Micheal, who sang a liturgical piece to audition for a famous jazz school, would end up finding his way into the classical crossover genre. He looks up to Andrea Bocelli as the “pioneer of classical crossover as we know it” and also credits Mario Lanza and Elvis Presley for their role in bringing the genre to life. “The major American rock n roll pop singer goes to Germany, hears Italian songs and records the English version of ‘O Sole Mio’ (known as ‘Now or Never’) and ‘Torna A Surriento’ (Surrender) and he makes Italian music popular.” He also brings up Roy Orbison, another rock n roll singer of the 1950’s-60’s, for his “vibrato and operatic styling in his singing style.” For him, a defining moment in the genre was the release of ‘Con Te Partiro.’ “It’s a song that you feel you’ve heard before – it has that vintage sound. People finally realized it was a new song. It was a moderate hit but became a huge hit when recorded with Sarah Brightman.” Again Micheal’s background played a major role in becoming the singer he is today. “Unofficially, Italian is the language of classical crossover… When the time came for me to figure out my next move, based on my training and the language, it was pretty obvious I should pursue recording and writing in the classical crossover genre.” Six albums and several singles later, Micheal’s instincts have clearly proven correct.
Micheal has built a loyal following and made a career for himself without the help of a record label. What are the advantages to indie artist status? “The short answer is that as an indie artist you are in complete control. And if you succeed you succeed based completely on yourself and your team, and if you fail it’s also based completely on yourself and your team.” A daunting thought for many artists but one that resonated well with his personality. “It’s always been my spirit to be completely independent and call the shots. Whether I am successful or not, the buck stops with me – doing as I wished.” Micheal will be the first to admit that he pursued label interest. “Absolutely, every musician does,” he says honestly. “But sometimes it might be your music, your story or that particular time of what’s going on in the world that labels don’t see you as something they want to invest in… so if that doesn’t happen and you really love what you do, and you have a story to tell, then you have to do it on your own.”
Micheal credits his career to his family. “The success I have is because I come from a business family. Being organized and knowing how to create a service or a product, how to present it and sell it and hopefully create a revenue stream to sustain yourself, kind of comes naturally to me.” He admits of course that since his family was not from a music business background he has made his share of mistakes. But the important thing is that he kept going. “I never gave up. I had to live and learn as I was making my way.” While he believes in the importance of honing musical skills, he claims that “Most of the education happens after you graduate and go into the real world and figure out if your skills are marketable or not. As an artist you learn if you have a point of view, a story to tell, and if that story is engaging, is it compelling enough to get people to come and listen to you perform.”
For Micheal, finding his story has been a journey. “I was constantly exploring, trying to define what my story was. It wasn’t ‘Ok, this is my story,’ it was a constant progression of going deeper, and accepting and embracing my roots and being true and being honest to that.” He doesn’t feel like he’s ‘arrived’ either. “I’m always developing and making progress on how to tell my story through my music. I have to say that because of social media I’m having success because my story and music currently resonate with many fans more than ever before. So, it’s encouraging that I’m on the right track, that my story is compelling, and that people are willing to part with their hard earned money or to travel a great distance to hear me perform… and not only that but then share my music and try to get their friends to become fans. It would not be possible without social media. It’s incredible.”
Of course, he acknowledges that many other artists are rapidly finding success in the same way. “How do you cut through the noise? How do you cut through the professionals and those on the other side who are just emerging? How do you cut through all that and find your audience? I’m constantly learning that all the time.” If there’s one thing Micheal knows, it’s how to learn from his mistakes and keep moving forward. As the music business continues to change he is ready to evolve with it. That includes switching his focus from full-length albums to digitally released singles. He is realistic about the buyer’s reluctance to purchase an entire album. His plan involves releasing a single every 4-8 weeks, “to keep my story alive, stay productive, engage my audience and fans, and give them something new to look forward to. That’s our goal for 2015. On July 17th we will release a High-Resolution Audio of our #1 Amazon charting single, “PRAY’R.”
Micheal’s latest release on May 5th was “Everything Happens for a Reason / Una Ragione.” His plan is to release a limited edition album once his 10th single is released. The album would then be available at live concerts and from Amazon. Micheal is also planning to celebrate one of his bestselling albums with a re-mastered 5th-anniversary version that will be available as a digital download.
Micheal shared a little bit about his musical collaborations. The Italian singer Giorgia Fumanti was featured in one of his singles, “Pray’r.” He explains, “Giorgia, her manager and I talked for the past four years about doing the collaboration.” Again social media had an impact. “We’re friends on Facebook, and she’s Italian but lives in Montreal, Canada.” Micheal recorded the song first as a solo but it quickly received interest from Giorgia. “Lo and behold, last year we finally got into the studio and did a duet.” It was Micheal’s first release of 2015 and will be featured on Fumanti’s next album which is set to be released later this year. “The beauty of doing duets is hopefully both singers love the song and that’s the driving force. There is also the practical point-of-view. She’s being exposed to my following and vice versa, so it is mutually beneficial.” Another mutually beneficial partnership for Micheal has been his relationship with our previous cover star, Rebecca Newman. “With Rebecca Newman, our history is a little different. We both were participating in an online voting contest and I assisted her win. My fans got behind her and visa vie she helped me win. I have the utmost respect for her skills, her talent, her drive, her passion and we remain constant in communication. When the time came for me to do my Christmas concert last November, I invited her to come and perform. She came and she blew everyone away. All my fans became her fans.” He looks forward to a long friendship and business relationship with her for years to come. “The duet we did will eventually be launched, if not this year, next year. So I see further collaboration with her.” Exciting news!
Micheal’s story goes beyond his music to his work as an entrepreneur importing olive oil and balsamic vinegar, his “side passions.” Also, he is careful to note that again there is a personal connection to this side of his endeavors. “There’s a story, and it is a personal story, part of my life and family.” The business has also exposed Micheal to a whole new audience who would have otherwise been unaware of his music. “The olive oil began with my great-grandfather who left Italy and came to New York to help build the NYC Subway system.” Like many other immigrants, his intention was not to stay in the states but rather to make money and return to Italy. On his return, he bought a piece of land that had olive trees on it and his grandparents developed them. “About 15 years ago I decided to rebuild the family villa, the villa I was born and raised in… I had finished reading the book ‘ Under the Tuscan Sun’ and that was inspiring.” His wife also encouraged him to pursue the project. “As I was traveling back and forth from Italy, my relatives would give me bottles of olive oil as a gift, and when I would come back to the states I would put it into decorative bottles and give them away to friends on the Holidays.” The response he received was consistently positive and he was encouraged to consider importing. “I decided to create the New York City Olive Oil Cooperative for true connoisseurs – people who really knew the difference and didn’t like the mass market olive oils that you can buy at the supermarkets. These people who traveled to Italy, France or Greece and knew great olive oil.” He started with 25 of his closest friends and the word quickly spread. He now has over 750 olive oil members. “It kind of makes my story a little sexy and a little different,” he says with good humor. “And people are intrigued to find out more.” He thinks of it as a “natural fit.” It wasn’t always apparent though. “In the beginning, it seemed like it didn’t fit. People would say, ‘Mike you’re all over the place’ or ‘Mike you’re a jack of all trades,’ but I didn’t see it that way. Music was the glue that kept everything together.” His business has now expanded to include balsamic vinegar which of course has a story that traces back to his father.
What is Micheal’s overall mission? “The mission of my music is to get everyone who listens to it to feel again. I want to make the listener feel that if they are going through a tough time in their life, through therapy, or if they need some sort of escape, that the music I co-write, co-produce and perform, helps them. Just like there’s aromatherapy, music therapy, physical therapy, I like to think that my music has my quality and that all the other elements that are part of my story are also therapeutic as well.” Micheal Castaldo has certainly built a career worth singing about and his dedication to an authentic presentation of his story is inspiring. He wants to help others embrace their own stories and give them hope through his music. “I hope if they are down, it brings them up and encourages them. I hope that’s what my music does.”
