Tower of Power still hip, 40 years later

Perhaps that’s because during the 40-plus years of the band’s life the members have always sought to create their own brand of soul music, never following fads.

“We don’t know how to do anything else,” saxophone player Emilio Castillo said, who founded the band. “We don’t try to be like anyone else. We make music that make us feel proud and makes everyone feel good.”

The band made its name in the San Francisco Bay area when Castillo and the early members were just leaving their teen years. Soon they had a recording contract and a national following.

Although the lineup has changed through the years — with some members leaving for almost 20 years before returning — the musical direction of the group has never changed. Certainly the sound has matured since the 1970 release of “East Bay Grease,” but the following 20-plus albums including the 2009 12-track album “Great American Soulbook” show a band that’s comfortable with its own heritage.

“The one thing we have is consistency,” said Castillo. “We have a unique brand of soul music and nobody really makes it in [to the band’s lineup] unless they do, too. … It’s a unique musical heritage.”

While some legacy acts find it difficult to win new fans, Tower of Power members often see fresh, young faces in the audiences. Castillo thanks the Internet — specifically chat rooms — with a lot of that growth.

“We have people flying across the country to come to Tower of Power shows,” Castillo said of what he reads on the chat boards and what fans tell him. “People always write how they’re going to Vegas or Seattle or somewhere for the weekend to hear the band.”

Parents, and even music teachers, also are among the band’s major promoters.

“The generation we grew up with fostered two more generations that raised their kids on Tower of Power,” Castillo said. “Now we have many kids show up with their sons and daughters and then they show up with their kids.”

Students ages 12 to 18 — especially those in marching bands — often come to the shows and look to talk to the musicians afterward.

“One night in Seattle we had about 15 young girls in the audience, all about 12 to 14 years old,” said Castillo. “One night they came over for autographs and they told us their band director told them to check us out. They [traveled] from Vancouver to hear us and liked it so much they came to every show. They think Tower of Power is cool. We are very appreciative of that.”