They say the story is all in the eyes…

His Story

Many of Los Castro’s earliest memories involve music. Nearly everyone on his mother’s side of the family sang, and growing up in a rural community in Central California helped shape an ear that would become remarkably adaptable.

Los literally stumbled onto his first guitar in his grandmother’s armoire. Without formal training—or much money for it—he learned wherever he could and from anyone willing to teach: guitar, drums, bass, and voice. Along the way, his informal teachers included family members, a retired country professional, and even some of Southern California’s finest studio musicians.

Los jokes that had he known who some of them were at the time, he probably would have been too intimidated to play with them. Today, he simply looks back with gratitude for the people who nurtured his love for all GOOD music.

In September 2001, Los relocated to Portland, Oregon, in search of a more creative outlet. He co-founded Acoustic Anything with Bellow Bridge’s Phil Hitt, later fronted the power trio Los & Found, and eventually teamed up with singer-songwriter Chris Casale in The Ready.

Then came a deeply personal challenge: write one letter every week and turn each letter into a song.

By the end of the year, Los had written 52 songs.

They were letters to his children, written in case anything ever happened to him—reflections on love, loyalty, family, forgiveness, and the things he hoped they would always know.

At the suggestion of a close friend, Los began performing those songs as a form of therapy and stepped forward as a solo artist. During the pandemic, he returned to vocal study, a decision that ultimately helped lead him somewhere he never expected.

Today, Los feels equally at home with a guitar in his hands or welcoming an artist into Lounge Of Sound, the YouTube show that has become his passion project.

  https://www.youtube.com/@LoungeOfSound 

Lounge Of Sound: The Story

Long before Lounge Of Sound had cameras, microphones, or a name, it was already happening.

After coffeehouse gigs with Los & Found, Los and lead singer Chris Casale had a routine: dinner at a nearby restaurant, then back to the coffeehouse for a pastry. They would linger, joke with the baristas, and fall into the kind of lively conversations that somehow drew people in.

Before long, a little crowd would form.

The subjects could be funny, thoughtful, even polarizing—but the conversation had a way of including people rather than excluding them. Strangers became part of it. Nobody needed an invitation.

One night, drummer and bandmate D-Set looked at the scene and said:

“This is fantastic! You guys need your own podcast show!”

Los and Chris laughed it off.

Then 2020 happened.

COVID-19 brought gigs and gatherings to a halt. Los & Found was separated by distance, and Los suddenly found himself with plenty of time and nowhere to play.

And then… Zoom happened.

Music found its way back through an unexpected door. Los and his dear friend Phil Dale were asked to contribute a children’s song for their congregation, and a Zoom gathering was arranged.

Around the same time, Kevin Miles Ritter, the name behind KMR Place Live, began encouraging Los to play again. What started as a little coaxing helped draw him out of musical retirement and back toward performing.

One connection led to another.

Soon Los recognized something familiar.

That feeling from the late-night coffeehouse conversations—the laughter, music, unexpected turns, and sense that everyone was welcome—could exist online too.

People weren’t just listening. They were talking, laughing, sharing stories, and connecting with one another.

Los began inviting musicians and friends into the conversation, blending live music with the relaxed, unscripted exchanges that had always seemed to happen after the gigs.

On September 3, 2021, Lounge Of Sound officially opened its doors.

What began as a way to stay connected became something larger: a place where artists could perform, conversations could wander, and the people watching were never treated like an audience on the other side of a screen.

They were part of the room.

That idea still defines the Lounge today.

As the show developed, Los realized it needed more than a format. It needed a philosophy.

That philosophy became M.A.S.—Mutual Admiration Society.

The initials came with a little wordplay: más means “more” in Spanish.

As Los puts it:

“More you, more me, and more WE.”

The idea is simple: admiration shouldn’t flow in only one direction. Artists and audiences can appreciate one another. Musicians can celebrate other musicians. Everybody gets a seat at the table.

That spirit became the heart of Lounge Of Sound—a place where musicians Los respects and admires can relax, play, talk about their craft, and let viewers in on the creative process without the pressure of a traditional interview.

And the audience is never an afterthought.

They’re The Foundits—a playful combination of Los and “found,” inspired by the joy of finding something of value. Los has never been particularly comfortable calling people “fans.” He’d rather think of those who connect with his music and the Lounge as friends—people who find value in one another. They chat, laugh, listen, ask questions, and help make every show what it is.

Every other Friday, Los invites them to grab a snack and their favorite beverage, settle in, and join him and his musical friends on a sonic safari of the heart, mind, and soul.

Or, as we like to say in the Lounge:

“Beauty is in the ear of the behearer.”