Pillow in the Sky

Pillow in the Sky is the title of the 5th CD from Mountain Castle Music (Mountain Castle Band). This song refers to a bilateral set of acupuncture points on the back of the head sometimes known as Jade Pillow. In the Spirit of the Mind CD, there was a song called Wind Mansion named for an acupuncture point on the midline of the back of the head known as Wind Mansion (Du-16). The Wind Mansion point, along with the Jade Pillow points, activate a frequency to assist someone to, perhaps, begin the initial process of inner awakening.
Have you ever seen a white billowy cloud in the sky on a clear day that reminded you of a fluffy white pillow? The three acupuncture points on the back of the head are where you place your head on a pillow when you are sleeping face up. To “Catch a Ride on the Pillow in the Sky” refers to an attempt to begin the inner awakening process. I wanted to have a percussion grove with a bouncy feel in the song.
Again, I wanted to present a story of American Music without being confined to writing songs for a particular genre, or for a certain listening audience. I wanted to present songs that were more uplifting and happy, but leave room for the musicians to be creative, inspirational and weave their own expressions and imprints in each song. I am not concerned with the lengths of the songs. The length of each song is predicated upon— when the message is finished, the song is done.
The same musicians and singers were used on this CD as in the Spirit of the Mind CD, with the addition of Ronnie Ciago on percussions, thus allowing more continuity on this CD with the previous CD. I also wanted to feature Gretje Angell more on vocals, along with Chris Wonzer on lead vocals.

Musicians
Mikio Sankey: Lead & rhythm guitar (all tracks), Composer music & lyrics (all songs),
Producer & Arranger
Chris Wonzer: Lead & backup vocals, drums (tracks 3 & 4)
Gretje Angell: Lead & backup vocals
Peter Assing: Tenor Saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6), Soprano Saxophone (track 3)
Mike Albert: Lead guitar (all tracks)
Paul ILL: Bass (all tracks)
Dan Potruch: Drums (tracks 1, 2, 5 & 6)
Ronnie Ciago: Congas, percussions (tracks 2 & 3), timbales (tracks 2 & 5)
Winston Raval: Electric piano (track 3)

Credits
Chris Wonzer: Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, Producer
Recorded & Mixed at Mountain Castle Studio, La Tijera Village, CA
Recorded & Mixed at Paul ILL Studio, North Hollywood, CA
Rick Reynoso: Cover and Booklet design
Sandra Flores: Front Cover Photo