Here is a nice present to all fans of Tower of Power and Dave Garibaldi.

Today is DG's Birthday, so enjoy the following article, courtesy of our friends at Drumhead Magazine

Click here to read a fantastic article:
Dave in Drumhead Magazine

Here is something fresh and new that we want you to know about. Mic Gillette's wife Julia has been travelling on the road with Mic and TOP. She has developed a blog called "Julia Gillette's Narrative Allegory of the Biting Traveler". The blog is about traveling, and eating healthy, and as a side benefit to all of us TOP fans, lots of interesting photos. Stay tuned as Julia travels through Europe in November with the band.

Here is a link to Julia's Blog:

http://bitingtraveler.wordpress.com/

Here are a few sample "behind the scenes" photos:







If you scroll down on the blog to catch up on previous entries, you can read some background on TOP's newest "old" member.

Check it out!

The current issue of Drumhead magazine, http://www.drumheadmag.com, features David Garibaldi on the cover.
(Lower right, issue 17).

The interview spans 13 pages, and includes some sensational photos taken by Rob Shanahan, and some vintage photos from Dave's collection.

Dave talks candidly about when he began playing the drums, how he came to join Tower of Power, his leaving the band, and his musical journey prior to his subsequent return home to TOP.

You may want to grab the current issue quickly. It is selling in large numbers, and other back issues have sold out.

It's a great article, and a great keepsake for anyone really into TOP.

Stephen 'Doc' Kupka was interviewed this week by Patty Molloy of Positive Listening Radio (positivelistening.com). Tune in and hear Doc talk with Patty about what's going on with Strokeland Records and Tower of Power. Positive Listening Radio emphasizes the positive aspects of life with a goal of "inspiring good feelings, smiles and maybe even a little laughter". Sounds like just what the Doctor ordered.

Click below to get to Doc's Strokeland website, and click the link to listen.
http://www.strokeland.com/

Longtime Tower of Power fan Jack Silva has put the finishing touches on the complete Tower of Power horn section discography. Every recording that the TOP horns played on is listed, complete with artist information, album title, and track listings.

It is amazing to read this list and see how many recordings the Tower of Power sound has influenced over the years.

Here is a quick link to the listing: http://www.towerofpower.com/discography/hornsection/

Thank you Jack!

‘Funkifizing’ Fayetteville: Tower of Power staying true to the sound of the 1970s

FAYETTEVILLE — There was a time when Tower of Power strayed from its funk-loving, feel-good soul music that made the band popular.

Like when the band made the plunge into disco some 30 years ago. Stephen “Doc” Kupka, the group’s founding member and baritone saxophonist, declared it a disaster.

“Every time we strayed to try and get with the times, as it were, get with what’s happening now, it just didn’t work out,” Kupka said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

“We have much better success staying true to ourselves, which is what we do now.”

Now in its 41st year, the 10-piece band, complete with a horn and saxophone section, has long returned to the style that spawned such hits and favorites such as “So Very Hard to Go,” “You Got to Funkifize,” “You’re Still a Young Man” and “What Is Hip?” in the early 1970s.

Tower of Power will perform Oct. 2 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Kupka co-founded the band with Emilio Castillo, who plays second tenor sax with the group. The duo co-wrote the band’s hit songs and are the anchors of the large group, which has had numerous personnel changes through the years. Also featured from the original lineup is bassist Francis “Rocco” Prestia and drummer David Garibaldi.

The band gained a strong following after touring as an opening act for comedy duo Cheech and Chong, and albums such as “Bump City,” “Tower of Power” and “Back to Oakland” landed on turntables everywhere, prompting the group to climb the Billboard charts.

When the hits began to wane, and after an unsuccessful stab at the disco genre, a young rising star from the 1980s named Huey Lewis played a key role in the band’s success.

“He’s my favorite person in music,” Kupka said. “I just really like him a lot.”

Lewis, who was a Tower of Power fan, performed with the group in the early 1980s during the Bay Area Music Awards. He befriended the band and began using them on his albums as well as taking them on concert tours.

“We were going through a really hard time and almost broke up,” Kupka said. “The early ’80s were really rough for us. The reason why Tower of Power is here today, Huey Lewis has a lot to do with it.”

The band, however, has always been a favorite as a backing group for many artists, including Elton John, Aerosmith, Phish and Santana. The band also collaborated with several artists for “Great American Soulbook,” an album released last spring. It not only features Lewis, but Tom Jones, Joss Stone, Sam Moore and band members singing soul classics like “Me & Mrs. Jones,” “634-5789” and a tribute to the late James Brown.

Kupka said the band is also releasing a DVD of its 40th anniversary/reunion show from last year at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

“It’ll be out, hopefully, before the end of the year,” he said.

As for the Fayetteville show, Kupka said expect to hear some “hard-hitting” R & B, which will feature the old hits as well as tracks from “Great American Soulbook.”

“We do really well on the East Coast, and then the Chicago and Minneapolis … but the mid-South and Deep South, we don’t get there as often as we would like,” Kupka said. “It’s a real thrill to play there. R & B, that’s where it comes from, and we’re just thrilled about playing in Fayetteville, I’m tellin’ ya.”

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Tower of Power will be appearing in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the Walton Arts Center on October 2nd.

]]> 2009-09-26T03:40:36-07:00 http://www.towerofpower.com/news-and-updates/new_interview_with_emilio_castillo/ http://www.towerofpower.com/news-and-updates/new_interview_with_emilio_castillo/#When:05:47:07Z San Francisco, CA- San Francisco, CA- Tower of Power founder Emilio Castillo appeared on Pedro Fernandez' radio show Sunday night and the pair talked boxing, Tower of Power now and then, and the death of Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul, & Mary, and much more. Listen by clicking on the link below:

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Emilio Castillo Interview from 9/20

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Pedro Fernandez
XTRA Sports 860
San Francisco, CA
www.ringtalk.com