Mighty Joe Castro is an accomplished Pennsylvania based collage artist, musician (Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen) and designer. His artwork has been shown in galleries and art spaces across the United States, Canada, and Europe. They have been described as “a controlled explosion, aggressive and pensive (Kolaj Magazine)” and “bold and diverse… one of those collage artists whose works you recognize immediately… (Toombes.com).” He is a signature member of the National Collage Society.

Born in New York, he spent his formative years in Delaware where he was the guitar player in several bands including  Nero (OPF), Swingline and the critically acclaimed The Situation. Formed in 2001 with singer-songwriter Christopher Tucker, The Situation signed with Elephant Stone records in 2004, releasing The Reece Nasty EP, followed by their self titled full length in 2006, both garnered critical praise from Pitchfork, The Big Takeover,Skyscraper and Magnet. The band toured the states, and opened for bands such as The Strokes, The Libertines, Nada Surf, BJM, The Make-Up and Arthur Lee & Love. Their music has been featured on shows for both MTV and Fuel TV. The group disbanded in 2006. Christopher Tucker passed away in 2008.

Taking a keen interest in the visual representation of the band, he was responsible for most of the group’s flyers and album graphics and soon found he was receiving as much notice for his art and t-shirt designs as for his guitar playing. In 2006, he began to show his work in area galleries. In 2010, he was one of 6 artists selected (from over 450 applicants) by Vans and Color Magazine to customize one pair of canvas sneakers, which were displayed in art shows in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Since then, his work has been featured in The Age of Collage: Contemporary Collage in Modern Art (Gestalten), Arkitip (0062), The Baffler (issues 35 & 45), Esquire,  GQ Style, Glamour, Kolaj Magazine, The Artist Catalogue (cover artist – Fall 2013), Z2A: A Collage Alphabet (Benzene Editions) 50/50 (Collage Collective Co./Hanker Magazine), Color Magazine (Canada), as well as on a board series for Element skateboards. In 2018, he published Everything We Love is Slowly Becoming Fiction, a 10 year retrospective book of his collage art and interviews.

His latest musical project, Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen have been described as sounding like Buddy Holly (if he’d had access to a stack of effects pedals and some Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds records). Influenced by 50’s Rock and Roll and infused with post modern Easter eggs cribbed from old episodes of MTV’s 120 Minutes. The quartet lurks at a crossroads where Sun Records and Creation Records meet.

Formed in 2018, the band quickly released their debut EP, Wake Up, You’re Rockin’! that same year, with their debut full length album, Come On Angels following in 2020. Known for their energetic live shows, the Gravamen have shared the stage with a diverse collection of groups including The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Heavy Heavy, Wayne Hancock, and BIg Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys

Currently. the band has been back working with producer Brian McTear (Sharon Van Etten, Dr Dog, Dead Milkmen) at Miner St. Recordings on their new full length record, scheduled for release in spring 2025.

When not working on new music and collages, he runs his own graphic design business where he has created gig posters for bands such as The Districts, She & Him, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Delta Spirit, Sturgill Simpson, Echo and the Bunnymen, Death Cab for Cutie and Pavement. He has won numerous awards for his design work, which has been featured in Graphic Design USA. He has directed music videos for The Sky Drops, Curly Castro, and Zilla Rocca. He was a board member of the Wilmington Skate Project, where he curated two benefit art shows, one of which was featured on Fuel TV’s What’s Happening with Chris Pastras show.

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