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Rocco Prestia
Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. (March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020) was an American bassist, best known for his work with the funk band Tower of Power. Biography Born in Sonora, California, Prestia started playing electric guitar as an adolescent. When he auditioned for Emilio Castillo's band, Tower of Power, Castillo persuaded him to switch to electric bass. Prestia worked with the band for the next three decades, before he became seriously ill in 2001. His fans and friends created a foundation in order to help pay the artist's medical costs. On December 5, 2014, Prestia underwent successful liver transplant surgery. Rocco is survived by the loves of his life, Julian Francis Rocco Prestia and Alicia-Lyn JoAnn Prestia. Technique and influences Prestia was a master of fingerstyle funk bass playing. His technique made heavy use of left hand muting. He muted his strings lightly to create a thick percussive sound while maintaining pitch clarity. He also frequently incorporated ghos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonora, California
Sonora is the only incorporated city in Tuolumne County, California, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population was 5,003 during the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from the 4,610 counted during the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. History Sonora was founded by Mexican miners during the California Gold Rush. Named after their home state of Sonora, Mexico, it was once a booming center of industry and trade in California's Mother Lode. Most of the gold removable with traditional mining techniques was quickly extracted, leaving miners to use more complex and expensive mining techniques to reach deep pockets of quartz and gold. Sonora as well as other mining towns of the era experienced economic hardship when the value of gold decreased. As "gold fever" died down, Sonora's size and population steadily decreased over the ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alphonso Johnson
Alphonso Johnson (born February 2, 1951) is an American jazz bassist active since the early 1970s. Johnson was a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1973 to 1975, and has performed and recorded with numerous high-profile rock and jazz acts including Santana, Phil Collins, members of the Grateful Dead, Steve Kimock, and Chet Baker. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Johnson started off as an upright bass player, but switched to the electric bass in his late teens. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, Johnson showed innovation and fluidity on the electric bass. He sessioned with a few jazz musicians before landing a job with Weather Report, taking over for co-founding member Miroslav Vitous. Johnson debuted with Weather Report on the album '' Mysterious Traveller''. He appeared on two more Weather Report albums: '' Tale Spinnin''' (1975) and ''Black Market'' (1976) before he left the band to work with drummer Billy Cobham. During 197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Of Power (album)
''Tower of Power'' is the third album release for the Oakland-based band, Tower of Power. This is their most successful album to date, which was released in May 1973. The album peaked at No. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart in 1973 and received a gold record award for sales in excess of 500,000. The album spawned their most successful single, "So Very Hard to Go". The single peaked at No. 17 during the week of July 28, 1973 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Two other singles from the album also charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "This Time It's Real" and "What Is Hip?". It marked the debut of Lenny Williams being the lead vocalist (though Williams had a solo career prior to joining T.O.P., plus he co-penned the song "You Strike My Main Nerve" from the previous album '' Bump City''). ''Tower of Power'' was also the first Tower of Power album to feature future ''Saturday Night Live'' band leader Lenny Pickett, who was the youngest member of the band at the time, replaci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bump City
''Bump City'' is the second album by the soul/funk group Tower of Power. The album cover is derived from a sketch by David Garibaldi. It's also their first album for Warner Bros. Records. With Rufus Miller now gone, Rick Stevens took the reins as the sole lead vocalist for this album. Track listing All songs written by Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka unless otherwise noted. # "You Got to Funkifize" - 4:31 # "What Happened to the World That Day?" - 4:11 # "Flash in the Pan" - 3:34 # "Gone (in Memory of Jacqueline Mesquite)" (Greg Adams, Skip Mesquite) - 3:41 # "You Strike My Main Nerve" (Kupka, Castillo, L. Williams, L. Gordon) - 2:52 # "Down to the Nightclub" (Kupka, Castillo, David Garibaldi) - 2:43 # "You're Still a Young Man" - 5:35 # "Skating on Thin Ice" - 3:48 # "Of the Earth" - 4:30 Personnel * Rick Stevens - lead vocals * Skip Mesquite - first tenor saxophone, flute, vocals (lead on "Gone") * Emilio Castillo - second tenor saxophone, vocals * Greg Adams - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Bay Grease
''East Bay Grease'' is the debut album by the soul and funk group Tower of Power, released in 1970. The band was one of the early music groups to be signed by Bill Graham's Fillmore Records, which released the LP. The album shows the band at an early stage of development, trying out several lead singers including Rick Stevens who soon left the band (1972) because of heavy drug abuse. In a retrospective review, music historian Rickey Vincent said the album contained "sloppy and raggedy horn-heavy R&B." Drummer David Garibaldi later said that his playing style was undisciplined during this time, that the album showed his "rough edges". He began private drum lessons with a Bay Area drum teacher named Chuck Brown, and polished his technique in time for the improvements to be heard on 1973's ''Tower of Power'' album. The album was released on CD in 1992 by Rhino Records. Track listing All selections written by Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, except "Sparkling in the Sand" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ESP Guitars
is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under several names, including "ESP Standard", "ESP Custom Shop", "LTD Guitars and Basses", "Navigator", "Edwards Guitars and Basses", and "Grassroots". History 150px, ESP Ltd. B204 SM FL fretless bass In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products (ESP) in Tokyo, Japan, which provided custom replacement parts for guitars. At this time, ESP also began making guitars under the ESP and Navigator brand in the Japanese market. ESP replacement parts were first introduced into the US in 1983 and began crafting custom instruments for local New York artists between 1984 and 1985. Among these artists were Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick (KISS), Sid McGinnis of ''Late Night with David Letterman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vintage Guitar (magazine)
''Vintage Guitar'' is an American magazine that focuses on vintage and classic guitars, amplifiers, effects, and related equipment, as well as notable guitarists from all genres and eras. The publication's feature stories and monthly columns cover a diverse range of topics by contributors, including some of the biggest names in the industry and renowned authorities like Dan Erlewine, George Gruhn, Wolf Marshall, Richard Smith, and Seymour W. Duncan, as well as some of the best-known writers in the field, including Pete Prown, Walter Carter, Dan Forte, Dave Hunter, Rich Kienzle, Michael Dregni, John Peden, Greg Prato, and others. The magazine's classified-ad section provides readers with access to classic, used and new guitars, amps, accessories, books, videos, and more. Other editorial content focuses on reviews of music as well as informed, objective reviews of new gear. ''Vintage Guitar'' also includes monthly repair columns written by noted repair expert/luthier Dan Erlewi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conklin Guitars
Conklin may refer to: Places ;In the United States * Conklin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Conklin, New York, a town * Conklin, Michigan, an unincorporated community ;Elsewhere * Conklin, Alberta Conklin is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo. It is located on Highway 881 between Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche. It lies near the west end of Christina Lake at an elevation of , and ..., a hamlet in Alberta, Canada People * Conklin (surname) Other * Conklin Shows, a North American amusement company See also * Conkling (other) {{disambig, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fender American Deluxe Series
The Fender American Deluxe Series was a line of electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1995 and discontinued in 2016. It was upgraded in 2004 and 2010 before being replaced by the American Elite series in 2016. The American Deluxe line replaced the Plus Series models of 1987. Features The entire range came with options such as solid tonewood bodies made from alder or ash, chrome or gold-plated hardware, aged plastic parts, Noiseless pickups, abalone shell dot position fingerboard inlays, a dark aluminum "spaghetti" decal, 22-fret maple necks featuring rosewood, maple or ebony fretboards, quilted or flamed maple tops, rolled fingerboard edges, Fender S-1 switching, highly detailed nut and fret work, a bound top with contoured back on Telecasters, a two-point synchronized tremolo with pop-in arm, LSR roller nut on the HSS model Stratocaster, and staggered locking tuning machines on certain models. American Deluxe bass guitars (introduced in 1995) came in 4-st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Precision Bass
The Fender Precision Bass (or "P-Bass") is a model of bass guitar, electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument usually equipped with a single split-coil humbucker, humbucking pickup and a one-piece, 20-fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard. Its prototype was designed by Leo Fender in 1950 and the Precision was brought to market in 1951. It was the first electric bass guitar to earn widespread attention and use, remaining among the best-selling and most-imitated electric bass guitars with considerable effect on the sound of popular music. Leo Fender designed the Precision bass for big band guitarists. Kansas City–based Roy Johnson of Lionel Hampton's big band was the first bassist to use the Precision in a concert setting. Music critic Leonard Feather wrote about this new development in ''Down Beat'' magazine, expressing surprise at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass Player (magazine)
''Bass Player'' was a magazine for bassists. Each issue offered a variety of artist interviews, lessons, and equipment reviews. The magazine was founded in 1988 as a spinoff of ''Guitar Player'' magazine, with Jim Roberts as its first editor. The original headquarters was in San Francisco, CA. It began as a regular edition magazine in 1990. The magazine was published by Future US, ''Bass Player'' held an annual event for bassists, Bass Player LIVE!. From 2004 until 2007 Bass Player LIVE! was held in New York City; from 2008 until 2017 it was held in Hollywood, California. The magazine ceased publication of print issue after October 2022 issue and became online-only. Editors *Jim Roberts, March 1990 to December 1996 * Karl Coryat, January 1997 to January 1998 *Richard Johnston, February 1998 to July 2001 *Bill Leigh, August 2001 to March 2009 *Jonathan Herrera, April 2009 to December 2010 *Brian Fox, January 2011 to June 2014 *Chris Jisi, July 2014 to October 2018 * Joel McI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himself as one of the leading names and innovators in funk with his driving basslines and humorous vocals. He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as 'Bootsy's Rubber Band'. He was a frequent collaborator with other musicians from a variety of genres, including dance music (Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart"), electronic big beat (Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice (song), Weapon of Choice" and "The Joker (Steve Miller Band song), The Joker"), and alternative metal (Praxis (band), Praxis), among others. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked Collins number 4 in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time. Early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
