When it’s just the two of them, modern blues greats Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia are known as the award-winning duo Blood Brothers. But when they add in a third — Bill Murray, no less — their live shows become a real party.
“Bill’s got this incredible charisma, he gets up there and he hams it up and people just respond to him. It’s quite an amazing thing to see,” said Castiglia during a call ahead of the sold-out Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers shows at Thalia Hall Jan. 3 and 4, adding that Murray not only sings in the troupe but is “a very capable, good percussionist.”
The acclaimed actor and Chicago area native has put his vocals on display before, of course, via his recurring Nick the Lounge Singer character on “Saturday Night Live,” that Roxy Music karaoke in “Lost in Translation,” and taking on one of his personal favorites — Bob Dylan — in the flick “St. Vincent.” Not to mention, Murray released the “New Worlds” album with German cellist Jan Vogler in 2017. But, over the years, some of the actor’s best music performances have come from crashing random nights at dive bars or more substantial stages like Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival and the Grand Ole Opry during a night with John Prine and The Steeldrivers.
A drop-in is basically how the newly minted Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers took root, too. As Castiglia explained it, he and longtime cohort Zito were introduced to the Murray family through comic/blues musician Chris “BadNews” Barnes. Chris was John Murray’s roommate for number of years, and after the younger Murray sibling started following the career of Blood Brothers, he suggested to Bill that the act play their Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament in St. Augustine, Florida, this past April.
“We performed and then Bill said he wanted to do a handful of songs with us,” Castiglia recalled of that first gig. “John told us it was the best time Bill had making music in a long time.”
From there, a fast friendship took shape. (On the day of the interview with Castiglia, the guitarist was staying at Murray’s New York home, a property previously owned by the Isley Brothers; Castiglia slept in the bedroom once inhabited by Jimi Hendrix.) And the bookings soon followed.
“The word got out about these shows and now there’s this huge demand to get him to play with us,” Castiglia shared. After the Caddyshack Tournament, there was a gig at the Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas in September followed by Intrepid Artists’ 30th anniversary party in Charlotte in October before the idea for a full-fledged club tour was hatched for 2025, naturally beginning in Chicago.
It's not just Murray who has deep roots in the city. Castiglia also lived in Chicago in the ‘90s while a part of Junior Wells’ final band.
“It totally made me who am I now,” Castiglia said of his time here. “I learned a whole lot from guys like Chico Banks and Otis Rush and Carl Weathersby and so much from Junior, he was an incredible showman. ... I learned how to engage with an audience by watching him. When I used to play guitar, I usually had my head down and played for the song more than the people. … But following Junior Wells around, I realized there was more to it than that, that you had to let the audience feel like they were part of the show and you had to be vulnerable. … It really prepared me for my solo career.”
Between Castiglia and Zito (who’s also president of blues/roots/Americana label Gulf Coast Records, which puts out many of their albums), the two musicians bring more than 30 solo records to the table, many of which provide material for a traditional Blood Brothers set.
But, Castiglia assured, “Bill will be playing percussion when we play [our solo songs], he’ll be on stage with us the whole time. When he’s on stage, he doesn’t leave.”
As for what classics and covers they will play together, it’s a mixed bag. There’s naturally some Bob Dylan (typically “Like a Rolling Stone”), and Murray also loves Van Morrison, so “Gloria” usually makes it into the set. “Mustang Sally” has also been a go-to as has the Beatles’ songbook. “But he also loves the Young Rascals and he wants to do the Kinks’ ‘Lola’ now,” Castiglia foreshadowed for the January gigs.
If the project will materialize beyond the stage into a studio effort remains to be seen. “I don’t think [Bill] wants to do that, but you never know,” said Castiglia, although adding that he and Zito are beginning sessions in January to record a new Blood Brothers album. “So, you never know, he might make an appearance. Nothing surprises me anymore.”
