By
Vanessa Francis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Soul band wraps up 8-day tour of the West Coast
For almost three decades, Tower of Power has performed soul music to near sell-out crowds across the nation. The band's Friday night appearance in Tucson was no different, after a stop at the packed Rialto Theater.
For 29 years the 10-member band has been answering the question of "What is Hip?" - which is also the title of the group's recent greatest hits album and 16th release.
The crowd, which numbered about 1,200, nearly filled the venue.
The group began its set with a medley that included its signature tune, "What is Hip?" and the first half of the brass instrumental "Going Back to Oakland" - the city where the group has its roots.
Emilio Castillo, the group's founder, formed Tower of Power in 1968 under the name The Motowns. After some member changes, the band was renamed Tower of Power with the release of its album "East Bay Grease" in 1971.
Even with the changes over the years, the band's music is still firmly grounded in its soulful Motown roots.
"I was originally from Detroit," said Castillo, who plays the second tenor sax and sings background and lead vocals. "I was heavily influenced by the Motown sounds of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield and the Temptations."
Castillo said his favorite song that the band played at the show was "I Get High Off of You."
Keyboardist Roger Smith said that he believed the show went well.
"I had a great time. The crowd was wonderful. It was a good one tonight," he said after the show.
The group's defining characteristic is its comprehensive horn section - which always consists of five musicians, although there have been member changes. The current horn section includes second tenor sax Castillo, baritone sax Stephen "Doc" Kupka, saxophonist Norbert Stachel and trumpeters Aldolpho Acosta and Mike Bogart.
Over the past 30 years, members of the horn section has toured with such groups as Huey Lewis and the News, Sly and the Family Stone and Santana. They have recorded with over 100 artists including Ray Charles and Poison, and even for the TV show "The Simpsons" on the 1990 spinoff album "The Simpsons Sing the Blues."
In addition, the horn section was a staple on "Late Night with David Letterman," performing with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra.
While the rest of the band was offstage during an intermission, the horn section performed an eight-minute, extended version of its 1970s hit "Crabcakes."
The encore performance - appropriately chosen for the over-35 crowd -was "You're Still a Young Man," and the conclusion of "Going Back to Oakland."
The band then left for Phoenix to play at the Celebrity Theater Saturday, marking the conclusion of the West Coast leg of its tour.
