www.masbakersfield.com

The Power of "Tower"

Javascript is required to view this map.

larger view larger view larger view

The Power of “Tower!”
Bakersfield favorites return to the KC Fair on Sept. 24

Above: TOP, 2009

By Matt Munoz, MÁS Staff

Bakersfield’s adopted funky family is coming back to visit.

MÁS Magazine presents Bay Area’s finest — Tower of Power — at the KC Fair’s Budweiser Pavilion, on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. The concert is free with fair admission.

Horn-heavy creators of “The Oakland Stroke,” along with classics like, “You’re Still A Young Man,” “What is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination” among others — T.O.P.’s live show is a must for local music fans.

With 16 studio albums, numerous compilations and imports, and live albums under their collective belt, Tower Of Power, or T.O.P., have maintained their loyal following. And much like their SF musical brethren, Santana, Tower Of Power continues to keep their creative pulse pounding by recording and performing regularly to sold-out crowds everywhere.

Scoring a big break after auditioning for San Francisco artistic visionary, Bill Graham, during the heyday of the famed Fillmore West in the 1960’s, the band entered The Bay Area’s psychedelic music scene as young innovators. Who would have thought a band of soul music playing teenagers could infiltrate the “Flower Power” masses of the Vietnam-era with sophisticated musical and funky styles, beyond anything “The Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, had ever composed?

That was over 40 years ago, and the band hasn’t slowed down one bit.


Above: Vintage ROP promo shot.

This past April, T.O.P. released their latest CD, “The Great American Soulbook,” a collection of soul classics, performed by the band and some special guests.


Above: TOP's new CD cover.

UK soulstress Joss Stone, Tom Jones, rhythm & blues legend Sam Moore, and Huey Lewis all lent their voices to the project. Some songs included on the disc are, “I Thank You,” “It Take Two,” “Mr. Pitiful,” and “634-5789.” Looking at the disc’s liner notes, recording sessions also included keyboardist George Duke, and original guitarist Bruce Conte. All packed with the T.O.P. touch, “The Great American Soulbook,” is a fitting tribute to their musical inspirations as well as a reminder that no one does funkier than Tower.

During last year’s KC Fair appearance, MÁS presented bandleader, Emilio Castillo, with the MÁS Magazine, “Community Service Award,” for his contributions to the arts. Castillo gracefully accepted the award and spoke of his love for the city of Bakersfield. Past recipients include Los Lobos and Bakersfield percussionist, Louie Cruz, among others.

Tower of Power’s present line-up includes: Castillo — tenor sax, Stephen “Doc” Kupka — baritone sax, Francis “Rocco” Prestia — bass, David Garibaldi — drums, Larry Braggs — lead vocals, Roger Smith — keyboards, Tom E. Politzer — first tenor sax, alto sax, Adolfo Acosta — trumpet, Michael Bogart — lead trumpet, and Mark Harper —  guitar.

The annual KC Fair Tower of Power show can best be described as a sort of “reunion night” for attendees. Along with dancing along to all the classic hits, taking a look around you’re bound to see old friends, musicians, and families with kids, all bouncing in tune.

It just goes to show, the power of “Tower!”

T.O.P. founder and Tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo (56,) took time to speak with Mas last year about Tower of Power’s early beginnings, his Detroit roots, and real soul sacrifice.

When did you arrive in Fremont, Ca?

EC: My family and I came to California from Detroit, Michigan, when I was 11 years old.

At what age did you start playing music?

EC: I didn’t start playing music until I was 14. But when I got into music, it literally became my whole life.

One day my dad said, “You’re gonna have to do something to keep you off the street, or you ain’t never coming out of that bedroom again, for as long as you live.”

My brother Jack (Castillo,) and I said, “We wanna play music.” We started a band that same day. We didn’t learn our instruments and practice for years, and then play in bands. We started the band (The Motowns,) and learned as we went, and I’ve had a band ever since.

What sacrifices were made for the sake of your musical dreams and the band?

EC: Four years after starting the band with my brother, my parents decided one day that they were moving back to Detroit from California. I was just out of high school, and I had never lived alone in my life. My brother Jack was the drummer. The band was our life, and we were like, “We can’t go to Detroit, we got the band.”

My parents said, “You can stay for a year. If nothing happens with the band within one year, you gotta come back to us.”

Shortly after they left, we got busted by the ABC (Alcohol & Beverage Control,) for being underage and playing in a nightclub. So weren’t able to play in any nightclubs anymore, and we hadn’t played at any high schools for awhile, so we had no jobs. There we were two young boys, 17 & 18 years old, alone and starving. 

The only sort of glimmer on the horizon was that we got this audition at the end of the year (1969,) at The Fillmore West (San Francisco,) for (promoter,) Bill Graham. Everybody was trying to get signed.

We practiced everyday, (TOP Bari Sax player,) Stephen “Doc” Kupka and I were writing all the songs that would eventually appear on the East Bay Grease (1970,) and BumpCity (1972,) records.

By the end of that year, we were so broke and so far at the end of our rope, that I told the guys, “If nothing happens with this audition, I’m going to Detroit to visit my parents for the holidays, and I’m gonna stay.”

We played our hearts out at the audition, but we didn’t know that Bill Graham dug it or anything. I remember going into Bill Graham’s office, and he was just in there counting stacks of money. He was real scary, and I didn’t say a word. Finally, he turns around and he hands me some money, and I split. Bill Graham didn’t say anything about the audition.

I caught a plane to Detroit, stayed for a couple days visiting my family. Doc calls up and says, “You gotta come back, He (Bill Graham,) dug it!”

I told Doc, “Hock (pawn,) the organ and send me a ticket.” And I went back to California.

How did you get the name Tower Of Power?

EC: We were doing some recording at a studio in Hayward, CA, called Baytown Records, and we were trying to think of a psychedelic name, something that would fit in at The Fillmore. One of the guys who owned the studio had made a list of weird band names. I didn’t want it to be too weird, but we needed something hipper than The Motowns. I saw that name Tower Of Power, and I said, “That describes our sound.” 

I told the guys, and they said, “Yeah,” so we became Tower Of Power.

How did people react to you playing soul & funk music in the 60’s and 70’s and not being black?

EC: The psychedelic / hippie era had been around for about four years. All those bands from the area: The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, etc.., were really popular. But during that time, Bill Graham, was bringing in these other acts, trying to expose these audiences to different types of music. On any given night, you might see Boz Skaggs, Taj Majal, and Miles Davis, Tito Puente, Quiksilver Messenger Service, and Buddy Guy. Santana had also just gotten really popular. The collective ear of the Bay Area was really getting tuned to a much higher level. So by the time we came along in 1969, they had a good three years of getting exposed to musicians who take chances.

Here we come with an all-white band and a black singer, and we’re playing soul music better than most of the black bands in the area. It was just perfect timing. They were ready for it. People use to look at like us like we were a bunch of hippies, stumbling onto the stage and they would start walking out. Then we’d start out with a James Brown instrumental, “Give It Up, Or Turn It Loose,” and they’d all do an “about face,” turn around and start walking back in.

Did you experience instant popularity?

EC: We were considered nobody’s in the Bay Area. We weren’t very popular. A lot of real popular bands were trying to get signed to Bill Graham’s record label (San Francisco Records.) They all auditioned, but we got signed. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records.

When the bigger bands found out our group with a bunch young guys got signed, they were stunned.

Besides James Brown, what are some of the band’s musical influences?

EC: Howard Tate (60’s soul singer.) We kind of patterned the sound of our horn section after an album that Howard Tate recorded with horns and that had a very predominant Baritone Sax in the mix. We also were into a lot of Memphis music like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Eddie Floyd.

Did you start out playing the saxophone?

EC: I started out on sax in the band then I started moved onto organ where I also sang lead vocals. When it was time for the horn section to play, I’d move back to sax.  

Was it hard to find the right vocalist?

EC: When Doc joined the band, we decided we wanted a black female singer. There was a band called The Spyders from The East Bay. They had this singer named Trudy Johnson, who was the most exciting performer we’d ever seen. One of the girls we auditioned brought along a male singer, and that turned out to be Lenny Williams (original Tower of Power vocalist.) We brought him into the band after another meeting at Larry Graham’s (bassist, Sly & The Family Stone,) house.

How did TOP’s signature rhythmic style musically develop?

EC: I had this idea at a young age to change up the style that was already being used on songs like Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour,” and some other popular tunes. I would dictate these percolator beats to my brother, who was our original drummer.  I would say, “Do this with your bass drum, this with your snare, and high-hat.”

Then I would go to Rocco (Prestia,) our bass player, and I would show him a bass line that would fit to that beat. Since I also played guitar, I would show the guitar player how to play a line that would fit between the drum and the bass part.

When my brother left the band, (drummer) Dave Garibaldi came in. He could syncopate rhythms like the ideas in my head. His playing helped free Rocco’s bass playing in the music. Pretty soon all of these rumbling lines came out and we started developing our own style.

How did the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown react to your music?

EC: It was a big eye opener for a lot of those bands when we came out.

I remember sneaking in to see James Brown in 1974. I told them I was the leader of Tower Of Power, so this lady took me into this room. Pretty soon James Brown walks in, and tells me that every Tuesday he would have “Record Day” with his band to listen to the latest popular releases. He said they would usually listen to a track or two off each record, but when it came to ours they would listen to the whole thing over and over again. He gave me and my partner front row that night and dedicated the whole show to us.

What’s your favorite Tower Of Power song?

EC: I got a lot of favorites, but in the last couple of years, I’ve really gotten into playing “Time Will Tell” (Back To Oakland, 1974.) It’s so musical and emotional, that it’s just a step ahead of the rest of the bands out there.

One of your biggest hits is “You’re Still A Young Man.” Was that based on any personal experience?

EC: I based it off a personal experience, and wrote a story inspired by that. I had a girlfriend that was six years older than me, and she had broken up with me. It was devastating. I remember one of the lines she kept telling me was, “You’re too young for me, you should be with someone your own age.” I was 18, she was 24. I was like “No, I’m in love with you.” We ended up getting back together, but it was never quite the same.

The band’s name carries a lot of weight among musicians and in the music industry. Does being a member of Tower Of Power guarantee you solo success?

EC: I think it’s been true for a lot of young players. Doc has a saying, “Tower Of Power. It looks good on the resume’.”  When they see you’ve done four years in Tower Of Power, they’re going to listen to you.

It’s an annual tradition for Tower Of Power to perform at the KernCounty Fair, and Bakersfield has some of most rabid TOP fans around. Do you look forward to your annual visit here?

EC: Yes. We’ve never had a bad show or a stale crowd there. I was just talking about Bakersfield the other day. We’ve been playing playing that gig for some 15 years now. A lot of fairs bring back the same bands every couple of years, but places like Bakersfield, San Mateo, and Fresno bring us back every year. And of course the best part of playing the Bakersfield fair is the tacos. They have the best tacos of any place I play. As soon as I get there, I send a runner to get me a plate of lengua tacos!

Your music does mean a lot to the Latino population. Do you feel like a role model in the Latino community as the leader of Tower Of Power?

EC: On the one hand I know that I am a role model for Latino musicians, there’s no question about it. I can’t tell you how many times I hear from fans how much I mean to the young Latinos coming up today. On the other hand, I feel like such a farce, because I don’t speak Spanish and I’m very American. I grew up in the 50’s in Detroit. A lot of Mexicans, including my father came to Detroit to work in the factories during the war. There were also a lot of Greeks (Castillo’s mother is Greek.) It wasn’t about being bi-lingual back then. If you had any ethnic background, you were taught to hide it. But I know that all these young people look up to me, I’m grateful for that, and try to set the best example.

What would you like to tell your Bakersfield fans?

EC: I look forward to seeing them all again.
_________________________________________________________

Mas Magazine presents Tower Of Power
-Thursday, September 24th, 2009
-8pm
-Kern County Fair Budweiser Pavilion
-Concert free with paid admission to fair
-www.kerncountyfair.com

www.masbakersfield.com

Tower Of Power Official Website

Also printed in MAS Magazine, Sept. 2009