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For well close to five decades, Tower of Power has delivered the best in Rhythm and Blues music. But, as group co-founder Emilio Castillo says, they could have had a much different name.

“We were a Soul band called The Motowns.” he recalls. Rocco Prestia was the bass player, I was in there, and my brother was the drummer. I met Doc Kupka at the Alameda County Fair over the Fourth of July weekend back in 1968, and gave him an audition. He came in the band, and we eventually changed our name to the Tower of Power.” The reason for the band name change was that they had a specific goal in mind.

“We wanted to get into the Fillmore Auditorium and with a name like the Motowns, dressed in suits with razor cuts, we knew we’d never get in there. We grew our hair long, and started to be hippies, and changed our name. Doc then suggested to me that we should start writing our own songs. Our first song was ‘You’re Still A Young Man.”

The gig at the Fillmore was a major goal for the band, which incidentally came along at just the right time. “At the time, we had been playing nightclubs, and we had gotten busted for being underage. We had been playing underage in nightclubs for years. That’s all we knew. One night, the ABC came in, and caught the trumpet player drinking a screwdriver, and the next thing we knew, they put a notice out to all the clubs in the Bay Area that if they hired us again, they would lose their liquor license. We found ourselves with no work and no money. My parents had moved to Detroit and I was on my own for the first time. I was broke and hungry, and all I did was rehearse. We wrote the songs for the East Bay Grease record, and we practiced them every day. By the time November came around, we were at the end of our rope. I told the guys that I was going to Detroit for the holidays to see my parents, and if nothing happened with this audition, I wasn’t coming back.”

Fortunately, he did have to make a return trip to the Bay Area. “A couple of days later, Doc called me, and said ‘You’ve gotta come back. He dug it.” I said ‘Who dug it?” He said ‘Bill Graham.’ As it turned out, Bill and David Rubinson – the producer for his new label, San Francisco Records - liked the band because we were soulful. Everyone had grown out of the whole psychedelic thing. Bands like Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead had been happening for about three years. The collective ear of the Bay Area was ready for something soulful. That’s right when we came along.”

Their first record, East Bay Grease, helped to define the East Bay sound, and did well enough to warrant a recording contract with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 debut for the label, was a hit on both the Billboard 200 and the chart’s R&B Albums chart, and netted them the hits “You’re Still A Young Man” and “Down To The Nightclub.” The decade of the 1970s were a boom period for the group, who hit with radio classics like “So Very Hard To Go” and “What Is Hip?” and the band has continued to tour and record over the years with their latest project Hipper Than Hip being a live flash back to their 1974 tour. Castillo says their love of the stage is the same today as it was back in 1968.

“I still love it as much as ever. We’re not a smooth jazz band, or a retro band...we don’t follow trends, we just make our music exactly the way we want it to be. We noticed years ago that when we did that, the fans liked it. We stay true to that, and that makes it easy to go to work on a daily basis. Every time we go to play, we’re playing music we love because we got to make it our way” The thrill of stepping on stage has never gone away, because as Castillo says, he loves the attention. “Let’s face it. Musicians are some of the most self-centered people in the world. So, that never gets old. People ask what it feels like to hear your song on the radio. It never gets old. What’s it like to see yourself on TV? Again, it never gets old.”

In 2014, Tower of Power will be on the road – a lot – as a result of their tour with Journey and the Steve Miller Band. He credits their involvement to an old friend, Journey guitarist Neal Schon. “We’ve known him for years, back to when he was hired to play in Carlos Santana’s band as an extra guitarist. When we were new, Carlos really dug the band, and he used to take us on tour – even when people around the nation didn’t know us. Some of those nights, we were playing at a high level, and gave him a good run for his money. He liked that. He liked being challenged. It made him play better. At the time, Neil was in the band, and we’ve known him ever since then. About a year or two ago, he noticed our presence was becoming a little more known on the Internet and TV. He came to a few gigs, and the next thing we know, we get this offer to tour,” he says with a smile.

Fans that come out to see Tower of Power this year will get a look at their brand new lead singer, Ray Greene. Castillo says he’s a perfect fit. “It’s phenomenal. Most bands lose their singer, and it’s over. But, we’ve changed singers and other players so many times, the fans actually get excited about who’s next.” he said, as the band has had over forty members throughout their history. “I worked on finding a new singer for about a year, and prayed about it a lot. I found out about Ray, and he’s amazing. All the guys come on stage, and we just think ‘Wow. God has really blessed us.’ He’s doing a great job, and has a great personality. One of the things you learn when you’ve been in the business as long as I have is to hire good people with principles because you’re going to spend as much as twenty hours a day with these guys. Ray’s got everything – he looks great, he sings great, he’s a good person. We’re just really blessed to have him.”

With a new member comes a new attitude, and Emilio says it’s contagious. “Everybody in the band is saying ‘Wow, what is happening?’ You get to an age where we’re at and things can start to run down but it seems like for us that things are really kicking into high gear.”

And, that’s the way Tower of Power likes it!

Shawn Jones is the epitome of American Roots/Rock music. He has proven over time that he has an international appeal. Shawn is true to form of his influences, spanning from all the greats in Rock, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz & Country. His father raised him on Hank Williams, and he grew up in the heartland of Southern California, where he learned from experience how to play and sing the blues.  Shawn has been touring in excess of 200 dates a year, creating new fans and followers literally everywhere he performs.

Shawn’s latest CD, "Struggle Makes You Stronger" was picked up by Right Track Distribution, licensed through the Universal Group in the UK.  Shawn’s single, “Life Is For The Living,” was released in the UK on February 11th and was a featured single on iTunes UK. The album was released on  Feb. 25th, 2013. Jones will be embarking on his 15th tour to the UK in 2013. Shawn will be touring internationally appearing on radio, and performing at festivals and clubs. The album has already picked up several four and five star reviews in the US, UK, EU, AU with many others arriving.  A double-page-spread has been secured with Maverick Magazine (March 2013) and Blues Matters Magazine (April 2013) in the UK.  Shawn’s music has aired numerous times on the BBC UK, BBC Northern Ireland, and many other syndicated stations throughout the UK and EU.

With four studio albums and one live album under his belt, Shawn’s skills as a seasoned songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist have put him on the same bill with the likes of BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Derek Trucks, Little Feat, Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Coco Montoya, Johnny Winter, Jim Lauderdale, John Haitt, David Lindley, and many others. Waylon Jennings was also so impressed with Shawn’s live performance that he took Jones under his wing, offering him a management deal and the grand opportunity to play on his 1996 release "Right For The Time."  Shawn was also Waylon's lead guitarist on Lollapalooza with Metallica, Ramones, & SoundGarden, and Willie's 4th of July Picnic.  Shawn currently tours with country music multi-platinum artist, Deana Carter as her lead guitarist. Jones also has endorsements with Taylor Guitars, GHS Strings, Rocktron, Visual Sound, and others...

Previously, Shawn’s song “Invincible Me” was featured in the 100th episode of “Dawson’s Creek” on the Fox Network. Jones and his band made a cameo appearance in the Fine Line Pictures release,“Tumbleweeds”, starring Golden Globe winning actress, Janet McTeer. Two of his songs, “Long Way Down” and “Lightening Strike Me Down” are featured in the movie. The single “Long Way Down” was also included on the RCA/Victor soundtrack album. Other artists on the album include: Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, Buck Owens, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Shawn’s song “Lightening Strike Me Down” was selected for the Hollywood Pictures film, “Mystery Alaska” starring Russell Crowe..

Shawn Jones' ability to combine undeniable guitar playing, singing, writing, and recording, coupled with heartfelt emotion, has earned him the slot as one of the most compelling new artists on today’s roots music scene.
- See more at: http://www.shawnjonesmusic.com/bio/#sthash.R9KSNQae.dpuf