Funk band Tower of Power to perform in Thousand Oaks

Tower of Power founder Emilio Castillo learned his dad was right.

The Detroit native started a band called The Motowns in 1967. By this time, Castillo was a young man living with his father near Oakland when baritone saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka auditioned in the garage.

Castillo, a tenor saxophonist and vocalist, said that after hearing Kupka, his father pulled Castillo into the kitchen and told him, “Hire this guy. He’s got something.”

Castillo said that “something” proved to be not only great saxophone playing but also Kupka's clever knack for lyrics for hits such as "What Is Hip?" and "You Got to Funkifize.”

“It’s something about that word (funkifize), and the way I came up with to sing it,” said Castillo, who changed the band's name to Tower of Power after meeting Kupka and co-wrote songs with him. “The rhythm is like a train going on a track at a high speed.”

Fans will see what Castillo means when Tower of Power performs its hits Nov. 25 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The 8 p.m. concert at the plaza’s Bank of America Performing Arts Center, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., will also feature the funk band’s spin on Christmas favorites such as “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” part of its new holiday extended-play CD.

Tickets cost $43.50 to $138. To purchase, go to bapacthousandoaks.com.

The band today still features Castillo, Kupka and longtime drummer David Garibaldi.

“Some of our other members have been in for over 20 years,” Castillo said. “Our newest member is our lead trumpet player, David Richards. Our lead singer has been with us for two years, Mike Jerel. He’s really a great musician. He plays keyboards and trumpet (besides singing).”

While the music has evolved over the years, Tower of Power has stayed true to its funk, soul and R&B sound, Castillo said. “We’re not chasing trends. We’re not reinventing ourselves. You’re not going to hear the new reggae version of Tower of Power.”

He said the rhythm and horn sections produce exciting sounds for Tower of Power and that concert audiences today still like to stand at their seats and dance.

“If they’re not dancing, we chalk it up to them being tired, older folks,” Castillo said. “We have many generations at our concerts.”

He said young people become fans when they hear their grandparents play Tower of Power records or learn about their songs from music teachers at school.

“If you were in a marching band, would you rather play John Philip Sousa or Tower of Power?” Castillo said.

Castillo and Kupka collaborated on hits such as “What is Hip?,” which has the lyrics “Being seen at all the right places/Being seen with just the right faces/You should be satisfied/Still it ain’t quite right.”

The song also points out, “What’s hip today/Might become passe.”

“Doc always has a quirky way of talking and thinking,” Castillo said about the lyrics. “I give him total credit for those clever things."

Despite Tower of Power’s early success, Castillo said it actually took a couple decades for the band to get its act together.

“We made every mistake known to man the first 20 years, but finally came to our senses in the late 1980s,” Castillo said. “I sobered up. My partner Doc sobered up. God got our attention. We were praying together, and we kept on the right track.

“Our careers have been going uphill ever since,” he said. “We make the music exactly what we want it to be."

Castillo said Tower of Power’s performances of their longtime songs continue to evolve.

“We play ‘Diggin’ on James Brown,’ but we don’t play the whole song,” Castillo said. “We go to four James Brown songs and come back to ‘Diggin’ on James Brown.’ It’s something that we did after the song became popular.”

Castillo said Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," walked in on Tower of Power during a soundcheck at the Paramount Theater in Oakland.

“When we came on stage, he said, ‘I like that James Brown song.’”

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Funk band Tower of Power to perform in Thousand Oaks