Tower of Power started off playing at small venues in the East Bay. Nightclub on Broadway and 4th Street, Oakland, CA 94607.The band has played at the Fox many times over the years, including two homecoming shows in June 2018 after celebrating Oakland’s first Tower of Power Day at City Hall. As an iconic Oakland band, it’s no surprise that the Fox Theater, one of Oakland’s most iconic venues, is a haunt of Tower of Power. Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612.In 1970 Tower of Power was signed to Graham’s San Francisco Records, released its first album, East Bay Grease, and achieved its dream of playing at the Fillmore.Īlbum cover of East Bay Grease (1970), Tower of Power’s first album. By this time, Greg Adams, Mic Gillette, Skip Mesquite, Francis “Rocco” Prestia, Willie Fulton, and David Garibaldi had joined the band. Initially named the Motowns, the group changed its name in 1970.
According to the SF Chronicle, the band formed “with the express mission of getting to play at concert impresario Bill Graham’s famed Fillmore Auditorium” (Vaziri). He developed a passion for rhythm and blues Kupka was inspired by James Brown and Otis Redding, leading him to work as a roadie for the band The Loading Zone before he met Castillo.Īfter meeting in 1968, Castillo and Kupka formed the band that would become Tower of Power.
TOWER OF POWER BAND MEMBERS HOW TO
Doc Kupka learned how to play the oboe at age 12 and attended Berkeley High. Tower of Power continues to create and perform music in Oakland today.Ĭastillo attended Irvington High School in Fremont and Kennedy High in Richmond, where he formed his first band. Tower of Power is a quintessential Oakland band: the SF Chronicle dubbed them “Oakland’s funky ambassadors” (Vaziri), and Oakland declared May 31 “Tower of Power Day” in 2018. The East Bay and, more specifically, Oakland have both influenced and been prominent themes in its music, which is most evident in its albums East Bay Grease (1970) and Back to Oakland (1974). Tower of Power was formed in Oakland after Emilio Castillo and Stephen “Doc” Kupka met at the Alameda County Fair on July 4 weekend in 1968. It’s known for its powerful instrumentals including saxophones, trumpets, and flugelhorns. The horn section band produces a blend of soul, funk, jazz, and rock music. Tower of Power’s founding members were Emilio Castillo and Stephen “Doc” Kupka. Tower of Power currently has 10 members and has had at least 60 musicians that have toured or recorded with the band since it was formed. Multiple pedestrians hit by train, Clay x Embarcadero in JLS.Tower of Power is a soul and funk band that was formed in Oakland, CA in July 1968. “But mostly we’re just playing the music, doing a lot of the older songs and resurrecting some of the ones that the band hasn’t played in a long time.”Ģ patients taken to area hospital from train incident. Returning to the band, Garibaldi said they have been playing a lot of gigs and even writing new material. He returned to Tower of Power in 2013, after 18 years of playing with a variety of other artists, including Patti Austin, Natalie Cole, The Buddy Rich Orchestra and Boz Scaggs. Garibaldi was one of the original members of the classic horn band, one of the purveyors of the sound known as Oakland Funk in the 1970s.Ī 2012 inductee into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, Garibaldi is credited with redefining funk drumming, according to Drum Magazine, using the “complexities of James Brown’s rhythm section as a starting point, and taking syncopation to its most outrageous extremes.” The pedestrians were crossing near the intersection of Clay Street and Embarcadero when they were hit by the Amtrak train, said Oakland police Officer John O’Reilly.Ī spokesperson for Amtrak could not be immediately reached for comment.įurther details about the accident were not immediately available. “I’m shook up, like all our people in our industry.” “I’m really devastated by the news,” said Pamiroyan, who is the manager for musician Pete Escovedo. Tower of Power was scheduled to play two shows at Yoshi’s nightclub Thursday night, said Victor Pamiroyan, a friend of the injured men. They had reportedly been heading to the show from a nearby hotel when they were struck.
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