|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Immediate Release: TOWER OF POWER IN CONCERT No matter where you are, where you live, or your taste in music, Tower of Power will find you. And once that happens, it’s all over. You will come to believe not only that soul music is the salvation of us all, but that Tower of Power is one of those rare bands that can claim to be the real deal, 100 proof, aged-to-perfection, ground zero SOUL! “Tighter than a clenched fist,” said the Hollywood Reporter. “For almost two hours,” gushed The Fresno Bee, “the band members let loose with an energy-filled show that left a sellout crowd on its feet, dancing in the aisles and applauding with feeling for a band its loved for more than 35 years.” HT Productions and The Regent Theatre will present TOWER OF POWER in two Columbus Day Weekend Funk Party Shows Sunday, October 10 at 7:30 pm and again at 10:00 pm at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street (intersecting with Mass. Avenue), in Arlington, Massachusetts. Tickets at $36.00 [includes $1 restoration fee] are available as of Thursday, September 23 at the Regent Theatre Box Office [noon to 5 pm Tuesday-Saturday and until 1 hour after showtimes], by calling 781-646-4849 or on line at http://www.regenttheatre.com. The street entrance and the orchestra section at this theatre are handicapped accessible. Parking is free across the street! For more information, call 781-646-4849 or go on line at http://www.regenttheatre.com. Tower of Power, the hot, hip funk band that came on the scene in the ‘70s and was a key part of the Warner Bros. Records dynasty in that era, is celebrating its 36th Anniversary this year. They’ve toured with Sly Stone and Credence Clearwater Revival and performed on albums by artists as diverse as Aerosmith, Madonna, Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart and Dionne Warwick. In the early ‘80s they were backing Huey Lewis and the News. But through all these associations, the band has always continued to play its own music. By 1991, they were recording for Epic/Sony Music. Both Rhino and Warner Bros. have each released retrospective albums. Seattle Times critic Marius Nordal, writing about a Tower of Power live show said, “Tower of Power’s brand of high octane funk, like the music of Ray Charles or James Brown, never sounds dated and appeals to a wide cross section of listeners. At the sold-out Jazz Alley show, a refreshing mix of high-school age kids and older people were all, without exception, moving in time to the music.” Tower’s most recent album Oakland Zone, was released in April 2003 on OR Music. This was the band’s first studio release in over five years and it’s still selling! On June 6, 2004, The California Music Association presented Tower of Power with a Lifetime Achievement Award citing their 2003 Sony Legacy anthology Havin' Fun as Soul/R&B Album of the Year, beating out releases by En Vogue and Raphael Saadaq. Emilio Castillo, the group’s cofounder, saxophonist and one of the singers of Tower of Power is part Greek and part Latino; his rhythmic musical direction has given the group a strong following in the Hispanic market. Tower is also joined by new singer Larry Braggs, whom Emilio Castillo describes as "The best singer we've had since the '70s." From AllMusic.com: The renowned horn-driven funk outfit Tower of Power has been issuing albums and touring the world steadily since the early '70s, in addition to backing up countless other musicians. The group's leader since the beginning has always been tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo, who was born in Detroit, but opted to pursue his musical dreams in Oakland, California. It was in Oakland that Castillo put together a group called The Motowns, which as its name suggested, specialized in '60s-era soul. Castillo teamed up with a baritone sax player (and Motowns fan) Stephen "Doc" Kupka, and soon The Motowns had transformed into Tower of Power (one of the first tunes the duo penned together was "You're Still a Young Man," which would eventually go on to be one of the TOP's signature compositions). Tower of Power played regularly in the Bay Area throughout the late '60s, as its lineup often swelled up to ten members, including such other mainstays as Greg Adams on trumpet and vocals and Rocco Prestia on bass. By 1970, the funk outfit had inked a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records, resulting in the group's debut the same year, East Bay Grease. But it all came together quickly for the group, as 1972's Bump City would touch off a string of classic hit releases, including 1973's self-titled release (which included another one of the group's most enduring tunes, "What Is Hip?"), 1974's Back to Oakland, plus 1975's Urban Renewal and In the Slot. Tower of Power remained a much in-demand backing group for some of pop/rock's biggest names, including Elton John, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis, Little Feat, David Sanborn, Michelle Shocked, Paula Abdul, Aaron Neville, Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Billy Preston, PiL, Rod Stewart, Toto, Merl Saunders, and others. Tower of Power remains very active to this day, keeping up a brisk touring schedule and issuing such new albums as 1999's Soul Vaccination: Live; while several compilations were issued around the same time: Rhino's double disc What Is Hip?: The Tower of Power Anthology (1999) and Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years (2001), plus Epic/Legacy's Soul With a Capital "S": The Best of Tower of Power (2001). IN ADDITION: Tower’s most recent album Oakland Zone, was released in April 2003 on OR Music.
|