Featured Artist:
Rocco Prestia, Bass
Francis Rocco Prestia came to initial
prominence during the mid to late sixties as the sonic
knockout punch behind the 10 piece soul funk horn band
TOWER OF POWER.
Up until Rocco kicked the door down,
the role of the bass as an instrument and, more personally,
the role of the bassist as a musician, was to musically
do little more than to unobtrusively hold down the root
of the composition. Then, seemingly out of no where (which
was actually Oakland, California), came a young thunderous
player who was obviously unaware of any rules or boundaries
regarding his instrument or his predisposed role in a
band. His aggressive approach, rapid fire 16th note percussive
attack combined with a unique technique of ghosting and
muting various notes would forever emancipate the potential
of the bass as an instrument and the creative license
of those who would come to play it.
Throughout Rocco's 30 plus years of playing,
he has almost exclusively confined his creative explorations
to the inner workings of his band Tower of Power. He has
performed on other records and has occasionally toured
with other artists. But to effectively experience samplings
of how Rocco Prestia has influenced the rock, jazz, soul,
funk, blues and Hip Hop applications of bass guitar, one
needs to go no further than listening to his solo CD,
Everybody on the Bus" or to any of a dozen existing
Tower of Power albums.
GRocco continues to maintain his membership
in Tower of Power. While the group records for SONY 550,
it also averages between 150-200 concerts a year with
performances taking place in just about every corner of
the globe.
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