![]() ![]() With Emilio Castillo, he co-wrote “Happy ‘Bout That” and “Stranger In My Own House” for Tower of Power’s Oakland Zone (Or Music, 2003), and the bonus track “Nothing Like It” for the European edition.Just how much brass can you handle? How much funk is in your trunk? Who wants to be the first one on the dance floor? When Tower of Power, the hyper-funkified, force of nature takes the stage, the very trees in the forest surrounding our stage know exactly what is hip.įounded in 1968 by Emilio Castillo and Doc Kupka (you’ll see them onstage along with longtime drummer, Dave Garibaldi), Tower of Power made a huge splash with its five-piece brass section, propelled by bass, drums and keys, and topped with vocals that draw from the deep well of the R&B greats. Leo Sacks is a freelance record producer in New York. Roger’s latest project is “Just Another Day”, featuring appearances by Dave Garibaldi, Jeff Tamelier, Tony Lindsey, Tom Politzer, Bill Ortiz, Marcus Scott and Mic Gillette.Īll band member biographies were compiled by Leo Sacks. Still, Roger finds time to play gigs with other Northern CA musicians, and has a solo career with many solo CD's to his credit. Touring extensively with Tower of Power, Roger gets to all parts of the US, Europe, and Asia each year. Smith says when they are in the groove, "It's the best feeling there is." According to Roger, when he is on stage with Tower of Power, he goes through many different emotions. At a time when Tower was making some personnel changes, Norbert suggested that the band listen to Roger Smith, and as a result, he has been TOP's keyboard player ever since. One of Roger's friends happened to be Norbert Stachel, Tower of Power's lead tenor sax player at that time. Smith refers to himself as a utility player at that point in time, working in many different situations as a keyboard artist. Roger held that position for and was on the road after that with artists like Gladys Knight, Harvey Mandel, Jeff Beck, and Jan Hammer. His style is very unique." Now working as a professional musician, Roger was a member of "Sunbear" which was the house band for the immensely popular television show "Soul Train". ![]() Smith recalls "When I saw Tower of Power with Chester Thompson, well no one sounded like him. Now residing in the capitol of CA, about an hour from the East Bay area, Roger had heard about Tower of Power and went to see them perform many times even before they added keyboardist Chester Thompson. This would be another life-changing event that led Roger to work with many other artists such as Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Louden Wainwright III. In 1971, Roger was given an opportunity to fill in for a member of Freddie King's band for about 5 weeks. At this point, he was ready to move from the garage to the stage. Roger was honing his keyboard skills and becoming well known in the area. His band mates in Blind Mellon were are very young Eric Johnson on guitar, and Roscoe Beck on bass. From that time on the keyboard, and the Hammond organ in particular, became an important part of Roger's life.Īfter spending some time in the service, Roger, now 20 years old and living in Austin, Texas, formed a band called "Blind Mellon". Jimmy McGriff taught him a couple of signature blues songs, "Down The Road A Piece" and "Little Red Rooster". ![]() During a visit, Roger was introduced to a sound that fascinated him, the Hammond B-3 organ. Philadelphia's Jimmy McGriff, a legendary jazz organist had a brother that lived just a few doors down from the Smith's. As fate would have it, a fellow 6th grader who lived down the street had an uncle who's occupation would change young Roger's musical tastes forever. At that time, Roger and his family had moved from Texas to Sacramento, CA. His early musical education began in church but because of creative limitations he soon lost interest. Since 1998, Roger has been a part of the Tower Sound, drawing on all of his earlier experiences and influences to lead him to where he is today.įrom the time he was a child Roger played piano and took music lessons. Roger Smith was born to play the Hammond organ, and destined to become a member of Tower of Power. ![]()
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