December 20, 2003 marked a new era for the Tommy Castro Band in that Billy Lee Lewis passed on his drums sticks to Chris Sandoval, a most worthy successor.

Chris Sandoval has been playing the drums since he was five years old. He studied with legendary jazz drummer Art Tyler and continued playing and touring during his summer breaks until he was out of high school. He attended U.C. Davis for two and a half years and earned himself a Music Major degree.

Chris moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984 and has played with Roy Ayers, Steve Cropper, Pete Escovedo, Rodney Franklin, Rosie Gaines, George Howard, Freddie Hubbard, Malo, Maria Muldaur, Ray Obiedo, Lydia Pense & Cold-Blood, Jorge Santana, The Tubes, Ike Turner, Joe Louis Walker and many local bands, most notably Johnny Nitro & The Doorslammers.