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We pull into Dunsmuir, California to set up for our show at Sengthongs. The owner, Don, greets us and asks how we’re doing.

“So that WAS you on the phone the other day, right?”
“No, why?”
“You’ve got to be messing with me, you called on Monday.”
“Uh, no I didn’t…”

This confusion continues for a second and Don explains the story. Apparently, somebody called Don saying that he was Damon Castillo and that his van broke down on the way to Dunsmuir. The impersonator had done his homework and was very convincing, even putting the ‘tow truck driver’ on the phone as well.

The impersonator had convinced Don to wire this guy $200 to get the van fixed. Don, being the nice guy that he is, wired him the money, seemingly convinced that he was doing the right thing. Damon had played at his club several times in the past and they had a good relationship.

The band is shocked, particularly Damon. It must feel violated to be used in a scheme like that. This guy was slick and had lots of details, we figured he found all the information on line, but he had to know someone. He knew Don’s name and his history with Damon, as well as band members’ names, and van description, tour dates, etc.

So the band sets up and the Sheriff is called. He comes over and is surprisingly effective. He finds the money and puts a block on it before the transfer goes through, and tracks down the guy in a matter of 2 hours.

So now we know there’s some dude in Fresno, named Dan Hingie, sitting in jail, who’s a convicted sex offender, and is scheming money out of club owners posing as traveling musicians on the phone.

Anyway, the food is awesome, and we had a decent show. It was a rainy Thursday night in Dunsmuir, so the attendance was slightly low, but we were in a good mood by the end of the night and the playing was good.

So in the end, Damon got to use this great line;,

“Hi, I’m the REAL Damon Castillo, and this is my band….”

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