![]() “It has a really unique type of soul to it. “Oakland is a very special city,” Castillo says. In the process they’ve defined an “Oakland soul” sound as instantly recognizable as those from Castillo’s hometown, Detroit, as well as inspirations like Memphis and Philadelphia. The band has long since surpassed Castillo’s admittedly modest aspirations, traveling the world, enjoying hit singles on their own and backing some of the most legendary artists of the last 50 years – a list that includes Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others. I thought, ‘Man, if I could just get to Sacramento that would be it.’ That's literally how small my vision was.” My idols were a local band called The Spyders and they had gigged in Sacramento. “I had no vision at all,” he recalls now. It's been very rewarding.”Ĭastillo was only 17 years old when he met Kupka and started to assemble the band that would become Tower of Power. We've affected a lot of people's lives and done a lot of work that we're very proud of. We've been through a lot of ups and downs and learned a lot along the way. “ You can't believe it? I'm the one that can't believe it. “People come up to me all the time and say, ‘Wow man, 50 years! We can't believe it,’” laughs Castillo. Adding a bittersweet tinge is the presence of founding bassist Francis “Rocco” Prestia, who passed away in September 2020. They join the renowned modern line-up of the band, featuring co-founder Stephen “Doc” Kupka on baritone sax, longtime drummer David Garibaldi, and lead vocalist Marcus Scott. Fittingly for such a special occasion, Tower of Power went all out for these hometown shows, supplementing the core 10-piece band and its iconic horn section with additional horns and a string section.īandleader and saxophonist Emilio Castillo also invited back a few elite ToP alumni, including saxophonist Lenny Pickett (musical director of the Saturday Night Live band) keyboardist Chester Thompson (Santana) guitarist Bruce Conte and former vocalist Ray Greene, who shows off his trombone prowess. Released as a 3-LP set, a 2-CD/DVD combo, a standalone DVD, as well as digitally, 50 Years of Funk & Soul is the next best thing to hearing these brilliant musicians in person. The window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit of ToP has been a balm for the soul throughout the band’s half-century existence, but the release of 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater – Oakland, CA – June 2018 couldn’t have come at a better time.ĭue out Mafrom Artistry Music/Mack Avenue Music Group, the high-spirited live album and video offers a reminder of the communal joys of the live music experience, something that’s been sorely missed over this staggering pandemic year. Now, all he needs to do is survive long enough to reach this tower.Over the course of two memorable evenings in June 2018, legendary soul-funk-R&B outfit Tower of Power returned to Oakland, the city that started it all, to celebrate its landmark 50 th anniversary with a few thousand friends, family and fans. It was a good thing, then, that he stumbled onto two half-elf twins willing to help him get the hang of this strange new world. Getting dropped into a strange new world with no idea what the rules are was not something Morgan was a fan of and in this strange world, it seems like everything is out to eat his face. So he accepted the offer from the surfer god-not-god. There's a crazy-looking dude saying he is technically not a god on one end of the tunnel and a blinding light on the other end - and he was really not digging the light. Morgan didn't usually trust strangers who seem to have god complexes, but he was in a pinch. There is the promise of great rewards and power, he says, if Morgan manages to complete the Tower of Power. The man offered him a new chance at life in a world he had created, a world with similar rules to the games Morgan loved to play. He went to college by day and played online games by night, leading his guild into new conquests - until he got hit by a car and a dude wearing a wet suit appeared in front of him.
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