Then everything dried up no record deals, nothing happening. Castillo got sober in 1988 and turned to God, after making what he describes as every mistake he could possibly make during the bands first two decades. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Emilio: For saxophone, Arnett Cobb a big tenor player out of Texas Maceo Parker, King Curtis and Junior Walker. Scott exchanged demos with Surack and Hornsby while working on Tower of Powers 50th Anniversary Live DVD, and it was agreed that he should come to Sweetwater Studios to record the tracks for what would become Back 2 Da Soul. For Scott, who sought a classic feel for the tracks while still wanting it to sound modern and hi-fi, the partnership made perfect sense. I wanted to cut 25 tracks but at that time we were touring so much it was taking forever. Emilio: Weve asked Lenny to come back and do different things with us We actually did a gig in Hayward, CA where the promoter got him to sit in with us for about 6 songs in our set. We never really spoke about what we do together. An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation found it was likely that one of the bolts securing the left wheel well to the aircraft's fuselage had sheared off, resulting in the breach. Mimi (Emilio) and I talked. We have our own voice. Tower Of Power Format: Audio CD 381 ratings $2045 See all 4 formats and editions Streaming Unlimited MP3 $9.49 Listen with our Free App Audio CD $20.45 4 Used from $10.49 14 New from $15.51 Vinyl $20.99 1 Used from $37.30 10 New from $20.99 Frequently bought together Total price: Track Listings Editorial Reviews Marcus Scott on vocals - Prime Time Entertainment, Inc. - Facebook He contacted me about Doc and I writing some lyrics about the COVID-19 pandemic to a really funky up tempo track they had with just the hook: Just keep holding on / Groove on. He also wanted me to sing it. The songs are different because Towers songs are not really influenced by Memphis music. Emilios father was a bartender in nightclubs that had showbands so he was an afficionado. Hes got a solo career and thats his decision. Tower of Power - Sony Hall He always replies the same way: Neither can I!. Scott: You were the one who casually mentioned to Emilio that instead of doing all those hip arrangements of other peoples tunes that you should write your own songs though neither of you had ever done that before. Larry Dodson of the legendary Barkays gave him a call to collaborate on House Party, he has sung with James Ingram and has appeared at Isaac Hayes night club and hes been the lead singer with the house band for the NBAs Memphis Grizzlies. But Seawind and Tower of Power pretty much became the go to sections for sessions along with the Memphis Horns. How did you connect with Joe? Doc has been my partner in crime since I was 17 years-old. Hes got radar like nobodys business. He has a great personality and a lot of love for me, too. I told the guys, Lets just go back to doing it the way we do it: writing songs, trying them out on the audience then keep perfecting them. We became passionate about making music our way. He had a great production sense, a great songwriting sense, and a sense for both lead and background vocals. If I had to make any cues or changes, I could do that on the fly. The reasons for his departure are unclear, but it is likely that Scott was unhappy with the band's musical direction. Back then, most of the chords and music came from him and I was more the lyrics. Thats when I met Emilio on a 4th of July weekend in `68. And I was praying to God all of the time that I was going to be healed, be back to work, back with my friends and back to doing the thing that I love doin. San Francisco, CA - When Tower of Power made the announcement that lead singer Rick Stevens would be replaced circa late 1972 by a then unknown Lenny Williams, the then still in it's adolescent years Tower of Power fan base freaked out, "You can't replace Rick." As primary lyricist and baritone sax man, Doc has been at the very foundation of the band musically (at the bottom end of the horns tonal register) and philosophically (kickin low end theory that led to he and leader Emilio Castillos creative entrepreneurship as songwriters). Here are five key structures that need to bounce back to help the city recover. Wed like it to be you. Lenny told me he rolled over in bed and told his wife, I think hes serious this time. Incidentally, recently me, Mike Clark (Herbie Hancock), Lenny White (Azteca/Return to Forever), Michael Shrieve (Santana) and Greg Errico (original Sly & The Family Stone drummer) have been doing these Zoom meetings. Back then, songwriters had a lot more craftsmanship. If an airplane broke up in mid air, passengers would have trouble breathing due to the low oxygen levels at that altitude. He was Czechoslovakian on his fathers side and my mother was English and Scottish. When we first started playing together, it was instant chemistry. Tower of Power continued to enjoy success with hits like "What Is Hip?" But most of . By Gods grace, Bill Graham (legendary creator of The Fillmore) liked us and so did Dave Rubinson (famed Bay Area record producer). He would book the Fillmore with four bands on one show but they would all be radically different. Soul Side Of Town is out now:https://mackavenue.lnk.to/nyzNu It is unclear at this time whether or not Departure will return for a third season on Peacock. I was singing that song almost in the form of a sermon. All that Thom Bell, Gamble & Huff stuff. Jacques Sonyieux talks with vocalist Marcus Scott about his new solo album, Back 2 Da Soul, creating a sonic palette, and what it was like to become the new frontman for Tower of Power. We had been trying to listen to the record company and to sound like what was on the radio. Scott continued to release albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Bill was educating the public on all this diverse music. Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. A California man is forced to live in a country hes never known, Warriors lean into championship DNA, beat Kings behind sublime Curry, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Multi-Cultural Soul Band Tower of Power Reflects on its Love for and He would rather just play his loud music without considering anyone else's feelings. For record producers, #1 would be Thom Bell from Philadelphia, Steve Cropper out of Memphis, and of course all the Motown writers, James Brown, of course, Dyke & The Blazers, and one of my favorites of all-time: Curtis Mayfield. Pissed Off Shopper Goes At Ex-cop (J. Alexander Kueng) in George Floyd Murder / WATCH, I Am Somebody Honors Victims Of Police Brutality (Watch), Gladys Knights Farewell Tour Continues This Summer in US. A Scott Galloway: Your drumming is so musical and your approach to creating parts so integral. Tower of Power - Marcus Scott Bio. I love everything about him. We dusted `em off! It was early in the morning and we had played the night before at the Whisky or The Roxy. Take Ooo Baby (Smokey Robinson) simple but beautiful. We had a prayer circle before we were going on. Once again, God blessed us with another wonderful singer. Political chaos has erupted in this Peninsula city over one issue: Housing, Steph Curry adds to his Warriors legend by lighting up Kings for 50. Thats just what it was like growing up around here. Why did Larry Braggs leave Tower of Power? - Short-Fact In December 1974, Marcus Scott announced his departure from Tower of Power. Besides the God thing, we as a band made a commitment about 15 years in that when we stay true to ourselves, we do better and the fans like it more. In the interview below, he talks about his classical music roots, his passion for writing, and the bands overall contributions and takeaways to the sweet-sweet artform of Black music. I think that my father being a rather successful doctor in treating TB (tuberculosis) did have a little bit to do with me getting that name. What made you step out so many times yet always return? Finally, he was tired of the cold weather and longed for a change of scenery. We did a show with (colorful white Soul band leader) Wayne Cochran. I wanted it to be in the presence of all the musicians, where we are all sitting down, jamming on a record like they would back in the day. They signed us to our first record deal (San Francisco Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records). Downtown S.F. Beneath Michelin-starred restaurants success, landlord dispute is boiling. So, all of the players were already mixing. Was his parting that acrimonious? In the midst of his vocal duties with the band, Scott has found time to complete a solo project, the album Back 2 Da Soul, which is set for release in September. There is no more complete source for urban news than the Electronic Urban Report. In the chat below, he discusses the broad range of styles that inform his playing, leaving and returning to the band four times, his relationship with former T.O.P. you came up with your first song: Youre Still a Young Man, one of the most classic ballads of `70s Soul. These three words exemplify the sound of the new lead singer of Tower of Power, "Memphis Soul Man" Marcus Scott. R&B to him was like rap is to some parents now. They contacted me. Scott: A big part of the Tower of Power signature is the horn section which did many sessions for other artists. Theres a story I like to tell. He came up to us after the show and said, I really like that James Brown song! That was the nicest compliment we ever got as far as Im concerned. He had a huge record collection and listened to the Texaco Afternoon Opera Hour every Saturday. Immediately after the audition, the band was excited and the leader started discussing tour dates and salaries. That is the great factor that every artist must have. You get your bell rung like that and things change in your body. BLUES25-01-C-24SEP00-DD-MK - Derick Hughes and Emilio Castillo of Tower of Power wow the crowd at the SF Blue festival. Describe for me your friendship and musical brotherhood with bassist Francis Rocco Prestia because you two were a special drum and bass lock. Doc: I always had a way with words. "Forever and a Day," a new musical by Marcus Scott and Steven Silverstein, will be part of the Downtown Urban Arts Festival's 20th Anniversary season, running June 1-June 25 at Theatre Row . Pro Sound News recently spoke to Scott about the soul of Memphis and the importance of live presence in recording studios. Departure is an engrossing mystery set aboard a luxury airliner that goes missing in the middle of a turbulent airway. Is Marcus Scott still with . The Palace Theater in Waterbury is hosting two shows in October: One with Alice Cooper and the other with Tower of Power. Rick Stevens, the former lead singer of Oakland's Tower of Power rhythm and blues band who spent 36 years in prison, has died. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF, Tower of Power: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 1-2. Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (jwr). He recognized that so they hired me. Inject . Soulful. These three words exemplify the sound of Memphis Soul Man Marcus Scott. Emilio: The record company, the publicist, Joe Vannelli and Diane Ricci picked that to be the single. As a young boy, he would sit with his ears glued to the radio, mimicking every sound he heard. To this day, he was the best manager we ever had. It was chaos, Stevens said in an interview with The Chronicle in 2013. To be honest, he hadnt been bringing his100% best to the gigs for a while only because his health was not good. He was European in his outlook. It would surprise you how little he knows about music for how intelligently he plays. My relationships from that period of time still exist today because of our shared experience and because of that time. Scott: I understand Francis Rocco Prestia is no longer performing with Tower of Power. Its been very good to us. Horns a plenty: Oakland soul/funk band Tower of Power performs at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport on Thursday, Nov. 17. I figured with that instrument I might catch some opportunities. So, I just started doing gigs with the band. This something may have been an unknown toxin or another piece of dangerous equipment. Then along came the Seawind Horns which, thanks to Quincy Jones, became the next popular sound for horns in the studio. That was a huge moment. Scott: Tower of Power has always been a racially integrated band with a melting pot of cultures running through it. "Look In My Eyes" off of the new album "Step Up" from Tower of Power, released March 20th, 2020"We knew when we went into the studio, we were going to make t. Compelling. They had three horns already Emilio on alto (hed later switch to tenor), Skip Mesquite on tenor and a guy named Gary we called Raw Soul on trumpet (who went away to college and was replaced by Mic Gillette). When I first joined the band, I made a lot of cassette recordings. Taken together, these factors led him to decide that it was time for a change. The reasons for his departure are unclear, but it is likely that Scott was unhappy with the band's musical direction. On its previous album, 2018s Soul Side of Town, Tower of Power proudly celebrated its 50th anniversary and putting the finishing touches on a commemorative DVD documentary that will definitively tell the true story from the inside out. Our drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Doug Rausch of Santana were jamming on that groove. He called a bunch of people who were great session players, but he also put me in a room with people who didnt get in my way. Youll be back to work in October. Sure enough, I was. Born and raised in a city that is well known for world class soul . This is the ultimate compliment because you want the musicians to be happy. I got a lot of mileage out of that! Abrupt closure of S.F. Bill Graham (concert promoter/music impresario) had a lot to do with that. I couldnt walk, feed myself or put my clothes on. The hole in the tail is so that the APU can unobtrusively generate power to help planes take off and fly. For songwriting, I would say Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Jimmy Webb influenced me a lot, Leiber & Stoller, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Doc Pomus all those guys from The Brill Building. It was his stamina that was waning. So, when stuff goes south with family members, it really hurts. I wish that I would have embraced it earlier. In 1968 its one thing, in 1972 its another. I remember their bari sax player, Kim Hutchcroft. Memphis-born and bred Marcus Scott was indoctrinated three years ago as the new frontman and lead singer of the legendary R&B band Tower of Power, which is still making records and performing to sold-out crowds around the world after 50 years. The album also features Tower of Power's latest vocalist Marcus Scott, who was brought on after Carlos Santana lured away Ray Greene although Greene may drop in on the shows at the Fox. The music was bringing us all together. Signing to Warner Bros. for 1972s Bump City, the multiethnic group had a spectacular run with uninhibited, brass-heavy releases like 1973s Tower of Power, 1974s Back to Oakland and 1975s Urban Renewal, all prominently featuring iconic imagery of the bands hometown. https://towerofpower.com/marcus-scott Back 2 Da Soul Release Date: June 26, 2019 Where to Buy Amazon Press Press Release Now thanks to being off the road all this time due to the virusIve gotta practice! He had been doing charts for high school stage band quite advanced for a kid his age. David: I was 23 when I joined Tower. Thats when I met Mike who was just a couple years older. He would take Emilio to shows occasionally and they also had all the great records. For the past few years, Marcus Scott has been making a name for himself as the lead singer of the legendary band Tower of Power. I remember one time I was doing something stupid and all of a sudden, I thought about my dad. Theyre mixing it now and it came out really good. TOWER OF POWER - You Ought to be Having Fun - YouTube A subscription to PACER is required. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Then came Sly Stone all the mix of music happening here in the Bay Area. Irritated passengers aboard a cross-country flight experience dizziness, headaches and other symptoms. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. According to Peacock, they took cues from classic psychological thrillers like Strangers on a Train and Deception while telling their story in an episodic format that allows viewers to invest in each individual character. Emilio: I remember Seawind opening for us in Hawaii when they were still known as Ox! Then he came out to California and met my mother who was born in Hollywood. I love being a songwriter. A lot of unique players in a lot of unique bands. Im grateful that I came from an integrated high school where they used to sing Daddys Home in the stairwell a cappella. Would you like to come back to the band? Theyd never asked me beforeso I thought Id give it a try. As if to prove the potency of that healthy mix, Tower of Power is marking its 50th year in 2018 with a new album, Soul Side of Town, a new lead singer, and the blended blast of its five horns still as polished as a mint condition Conn. Four members from the 1968 line-up are back on the stand and in good health. My roots are really gritty, dirty, soulful-driven Southern music. Emilio Castillo: God did it and I just showed up! Emilio: Marcus Scott is out of Memphis, Tennessee. Aidin Vaziri is a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle. The 10-piece band also has a new album, Soul Side of Town, its first in nearly a decade, that prominently features longtime players Kupka, drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Francis Rocco Prestia. He invited me to come hang out and wanted me to work on a solo project that Doc was doing. Photo credit: Erick Anderson. Tower Of Power introduces Marcus Scott 2016! You did what you had to do.. Scott: Paint a picture for us of your audition for the band! Tower of Power - Wikipedia In the series of in-depth interviews that follow and in the spirit of Black Music Month, L.A.-based Music Journalist A. Scott Galloway goes deep with Tower of Power founder Emilio Castillo plus legendary members Stephen Doc Kupka and David Garibaldi to break down secrets and rarely told stories about how theyve each been shaped by the bands connection to Black music, personal revelations, song origins and so much more. Diane said, Joe would love to have you come in and do a couple of tracks. His studio is right below our office down in L.A. Needless to say, its been incredible ever since. Its been hard for me to see the physical aspect of his health deteriorate over the years but we jokingly tell each other all the time, Rocco is going to be at all of our funerals. Then God brought me to my knees, showed me The Way, Ive been doing it His way ever since and things go well for us that way. So, God blessed me with another fabulous player. 2023 MIX is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Scott: I was so thrilled when you came back because I was too young to catch you in the early `70s heyday. We realized its a blessing that we dont sound like other people. Even before I started touring with Tower, I had my own little studio setup and have always been writing and compiling songs. Hes that kind of a quirky thinker. But no matter what we did, we sounded like Tower of Power. I have to play the whole album. I felt I had the parts down pretty close. This allows the window to stay open during flight, which helps prevent cabin pressure from becoming soextreme that it causes windows to break. But the last time I asked him, I said, Were getting another singer one way or the other. It was the first song we put together that didnt have a traditional 2 and 4 approach to the drums. Music, Etc.: Marcus Scott, Respecting His Roots - Mixonline The record company wanted to us to sound like other bands and no matter how many times we tried to please them we ended up sounding like Tower of Power, Castillo recalled. I wrote to the demo. He said hed call me back in five days, but he called me two days later and offered me the gig. All the musicians on the project were extremely happywhenever they came back into the control room, they would be singing the songs and humming the melodies. And I didnt like it. I made every mistake you possibly could in the early years. We also did a session with Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville of When Something is Wrong with My Baby one of my favorite Soul tunes from the old days. Ive got the perfect guy for you. Emilio called and asked me to audition in Vegas. Just like you said about Tower of Powers third album, I cant play just one song off of This Is My Country. Whats hip today might become pass. That line was the glue that put that song together. (A. Scott Galloway is a prolific Los Angeles-based Music Journalist who has been writing about the artform since1988 in many capacities, most prominently as a composer of over 300 liner note essays for classic album reissues and compilations including the Average White Bands Soul Searching, The Very Best of the new Birth, Inc., Minnie Ripertons Petals, The Dells Freedom Means, Curtis Mayfields Superfly, The Isley Brothers Complete RCA and T-Neck Records Recordings and David Sanborn: Anything You Want The Warner Reprise Elektra Years. Hed have to go to the hospital and wed have to fly in somebody to sit in on bass. When we were in Europe and had to fly someone in from the Bay Area that was expensive. Visit our corporate site. Emilio: Weve had a lot of great players, singers, managers, crew people a ton of alumni. I have great relationships with all of them. So, as he was taking me to the airport, he asked if Id like to do a few more songs with him. Yet, much like Scotlands Average White Band, you have represented the music to the fullest. Where did you get the inclination that the things you wrote lyrically had to be exceptional? All those guys were there in the beginning of the development of Bay Area music. Scott: The two recent T.O.P. I could clearly see that was the thing that was going to destroy us. After being home about a month, I got up one morning and was able to put my pants on by myself. Id love to. So, I brought him aboard and that proved to be a really smart decision. In order to determine for sure what caused the disturbance and prevent a similar thing from happening in the future, they need to find and isolate whatever it was that made everyone sick. It didnt matter what color you were. I was like, O.K., go for it! Im proud of every song on the record. BY MIKE KEPKA/THE CHRONICLE. King Curtis (was murdered) not that long thereafter so it was a real honor to be there. This website collects data from 97431 different reviews to give you an idea of which marcus scott leaves tower of power is really the best. How are you doing now? So, when I got to the rehearsal, there were four songs that they did that I knew: Cold Sweat by James Brown, Tell Mama by Etta James, Philly Dog by the Bar-Kays and B-A-B-Y by Carla Thomas. Scott: Tower of Power has . I remember being on the airplane and listening to the mix for the first time. We decided I would do just one tour to see if we stull liked each other. I heard the band (then The Motowns) and told him they were pretty good but could use some bottom in the horns. The album reached the Top 20 on the R&B charts and included the hit single, "Darlin' I Think About You." My optimism kicked in. Doc: Somebody once told me that they equated the bridge Hipness is what it is / And sometimes hipness is what it aint to Shakespeares Hamlet saying To be or not to be. I got a kick out of that. He directed, wrote, and produced the series with his wife Brook Salisbury, who also stars in it. He said, I want to write a song called What is Hip. I said, Well, what do you mean by that? He said, Everybody wants to be hip but as soon as you latch onto whatever the current trend is, its no longer hip! We finished it up and there was a song out by Freddie King called Goin Down that had a 16th note bass line that was really cool. Tower of Power lead singer, Rick Stevens, is arrested on Feb. 19, 1976 for multiple murders committed in Boulder Creek and San Jose. The 11-track album was produced by Mark Hornsby, Phil Naish and Chuck Surack at Sweetwater Studios facilities in Fort Wayne, IN, where it was cut live with a 13-piece band over the course of three days. ", Reasons for Leaving - Good and Bad Reasons for Job Departures, What was the immediate reason for Phatiks departure from his , the REAL reason for his sudden departure from France for New , the reason for his departure | English examples in context | Ludwig, Question 3 | Of Mice and Men Questions | Q & A | GradeSaver. But weve never thought about stopping. I knew it was going to be one of our most important songs. Me playing the oboe was him living through me. This fascination evolved into an insatiable desire to entertain and capture the hearts of audiences everywhere. Tower of Power & the Many Lead Singers In 1976, Stevens was convicted of murder for killing three people in a drug deal gone wrong in Los Gatos. I would have been a better songwriter today if I had. Scott: Youve left and rejoined Tower of Power four times. He just took it to another level. Everything was open. http://thefoxoakland.com. Once the Tower record was finished, it was just a matter of me finding the right people. I loved the drum set. We were exposed to all of this stuff all the time.