Tower of Power 這個活躍了近半個世紀的Funk與R&B界的長青樹樂團，總是聆聽者撫慰人心的一帖良方，把那些生活中的悲涼全盤托出，再經由與聆聽者共鳴，直至把聆聽者那些消極情緒驅散殆盡。你很難不被這種含有大量切分的節奏與未經太多修飾的嗓音旋律所感觸，這種隨著心緒而緩緩溢出的音樂也使得T.O.P的歌迷經過了一代又一代人的悉心品味。 從1968年開始，至今已經演出逾四十個年頭，發行了17張錄音室專輯、5張現場專輯以及8張單曲。 上世紀七十年代的美國，正是Funk音樂大放異彩的一個特定階段，T.O.P游走于那個時代潮流音樂的浪尖。時至今日，與他們同臺合作的世界級音樂人數不勝數，而在被媒體采訪時沒有一個不是感慨萬千的。樂隊靈魂Emilio Castillo從探索Soul的極致婉約開始，慢慢奠定了T.O.P今后所走的Funk音樂之路。而數十年來跟隨他們的粉絲中不乏世界巨星，這其中有Elton John，Santana，Rod Stewart，Aerosmith，TOTO等等，這些人把T.O.P掛在嘴邊的一個原因便是——這幫家伙巡演了快五十年了！ 每場演出，樂隊都表現了強大的現場爆發力及戲劇效果。1969年舊金山演奏會中，萬千觀眾瘋狂吶喊，1974年在玫瑰露天劇場的演出，竟有八千萬觀眾守在電視機前，將他們推上媒體焦點。透過樂團編制里的Horn section和套鼓、Bass、電吉他等等現代樂器的配合，Tower of Power將黑人的音樂發揮得淋漓盡致。放肆的切分音，營造出原始的放克精神；毫無保留的唱腔，徹底表現出黑人靈魂樂的情緒。 樂隊成員Francis Rocco Prestia，是指彈FUNK創造者。 Rocco出生在美國加里弗尼亞的Sonora，在南奧克蘭的Fremont長大。從小受母親的影響，Rocco第一次接觸音樂是學習吉它。而真正對他的音樂事業起到決定性影響作用的，是電臺里播放的早期的搖滾音樂。在加入Emilio Castillo的樂隊進行演奏之前，Rocco演奏許多年的吉它。但是加入了樂隊以后，他卻改演奏貝司，并且在貝司的世界發起了一場革命，并且讓許多人 對貝司發生了興趣，開始學習演奏。當時，Rocco所在的樂隊會演奏許多樂隊的作品，比如Beatles、Rolling Stones等，沒過多久，樂隊開始演奏R&B的東西，并且加了一些管樂器進來。隨后，他們就開始演奏James Brown一類的作品。“TheRock”就是受James Brown的影響，再加上一些Motown還有Memphis的東西而出來的作品。而影響Rocco的貝司手包括James Jamerson，Chuck Rainey，Jerry Jemmott還有Duck Dunn。通過這些音樂領路人，Rocco創造并發展了自己的風格，那就是后來被人們稱為指彈Funk的演奏風格。 他的樂隊－Tower Of Power也很快的開始了創作音樂，并且開始在當地的各個演出場所進行演出。而在鼓手David Garibaldi加入了樂隊以后，樂隊就算真正的開始運轉起來了。 1971年，樂隊發行了第一張專輯《East Bay Grease》，這張在獨立唱片公司發行的專輯后來被人們認為是Tower Of Power樂隊創造經典的開始。在那之后不久，樂隊于1972年同著名的華納唱片公司簽約，他們的專輯也進入了最佳銷量排行榜。 樂隊的第二張專輯《Bump City》中，也產生了如You Got to Funkifize和You’re Still A Young Man這樣的經典歌曲，你可以聽聽You Got To Funkifize中的經典的貝司演奏，它可以說是Rocco演奏風格的一個非常好的代表。 Tower Of Power的第三張專輯的名字非常簡單，就是使用了樂隊的名字Tower Of Power，但是它卻是一張絕對經典的作品。其中也包括了This Time It’s Real，So Very Hard To Go，Soul Vaccination這樣的熱門歌曲，當然還有不得不提的，Funk歷史上的經典篇章What Is Hip。每一個真正想學習指彈Funk演奏風格的音樂人，是一定會收藏這張專輯的。雖然在前兩張專輯中，Rocco已經把自己的指彈Funk技術融到了音樂中，可人們對他這種技術真正的承認，正是在這第三張專輯中。 Rocco與眾不同的貝司旋律線的編排成為了這支樂隊的一個標志，隨后樂隊的專輯一張接一張，經典歌曲也一首接一首，比如《Back To Oak－land》專輯中的Squib Cakes，《Urban Renewal》專輯中的Only So Much Oil In The Ground，《In The Slot》專輯中的On The Serious Side。 Tower of Power Tower's 40 year odyssey actually began in 1968 when Emilio Castillo met Stephen "Doc" Kupka in July of that year. When Doc auditioned during a band rehearsal at Emilio's house, Emilio's father called him into the kitchen and offered the following advice: "Hire that guy, he's got something." Doc and his signature baritone sax sound were now in the band, and on August 13, 1968, Tower of Power, as we know them today, began playing gigs, and soon became very well known in the area. Many other bands came out of the San Francisco Bay area in the late 60's. Bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Big Brother, Journey, Cold Blood and others all helped to define the "San Francisco Sound." Tower of Power has always claimed Oakland, California as their hometown. Playing area venues and making a name for themselves, Tower of Power's big break was just around the corner. After playing at a Tuesday night audition at the Fillmore in 1970, Tower was signed to Bill Graham’s San Francisco records and their first album, “East Bay Grease,” was recorded. All of the compositions were original tunes written by Castillo and Kupka. Their next album, “Bump City,” was recorded on the Warner Brothers label, and this led to a string of hits and memorable albums that include many of the songs that TOP fans come out in force to hear, even to this day. Over the years, the Tower of Power Horns have recorded with hundreds of artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Elton John, Little Feat, Phish, Santana, Heart, and many others, forever infusing the radio airwaves with Tower’s musical DNA. Since the beginning, Tower of Power has never stopped touring and recording. Always in demand, the band never fails to entertain and amaze their fans. Tower is truly blessed to have a dedicated following that often travels to see the band, and in many cases fans will plan their vacation or work schedule around an appearance of TOP. Tower celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2008 at a very special reunion show at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. In addition to the ten current members of the band, another 20 musicians and vocalists that at one time held a position with the band appeared with them. The show was filmed and is available on DVD. Of the ten current members, Emilio Castillo, Rocco Prestia, Stephen Kupka, and David Garibaldi are four of the band’s founding members. Their dedication to the music, their creative writing, and their original vision still guides Tower of Power. Each year Tower of Power tours the United States, Japan and Europe, playing to sold out crowds all over the world. Recent releases include “Great American Soulbook”, a collection of classic soul tunes, and the 40th Anniversary Concert DVD. Tower has never been busier or more in demand. New generations of fans come to see the band perform as their timeless music continues to excite fans of all ages. We hope you enjoy this website, which will be growing and evolving continually to include more band history, information on alumni members, and regular updates on Tower of Power.