Legendary funk band Tower of Power celebrates 50 soulful years
Going to live concerts just isn’t an option right now — but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the excitement and electricity of one of funk music’s greatest live acts.
Tower of Power is set to release "50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theatre — Oakland, CA — June 2018" on March 26 (the set is already available for exclusive streaming and download on Qobuz), celebrating a half-century of the legendary band’s big, brash and dynamic music. The set was recorded over two nights at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, and will be available as a digital download, a three-LP set, a two-CD/DVD combo, and a standalone DVD.
"We worked our butts off to rehearse and spent the months previous to that doing shows and rehearsing," says drummer David Garibaldi of the Fox Theatre shows. "It’s the hardest I ever worked as a member of Tower of Power, and we work hard, anyway, historically."
What’s so special about this particular release? Performing in Oakland is a full-circle moment for Tower of Power, which got its start in the California city and helped create a sound now known as "Oakland soul." The band’s lineup has rotated multiple times over the years, but its sound has remained consistent through hits including 1972’s "You're Still a Young Man" and 1973’s "So Very Hard to Go."
"It’s really a milestone," says Garibaldi. "Most bands don’t stay together more than a couple of years, you know? And we’ve been able to sustain it for all this time, and [be] pretty much consistent, working and touring since 1970. I joined the band in 1970, I’ve been in and out of a few times, but all through that period of time, we’ve worked."
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We recently had the chance to sit down with Garibaldi over Zoom to chat about the band’s legacy and this latest release. Click the video player in this article to watch our interview — and click here for more information on "50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theatre — Oakland, CA — June 2018."
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