“Guys would come up and tell me, ‘I can play such-and-such a Tower of Power song note-for-note.’ But who cares?” The magic of Rocco Prestia’s bassline on Tower of Power’s Only So Much Oil in the Ground
“Steal and incorporate,” the late Rocco Prestia stressed in the November 2008 issue of Bass Player, noting that copping another bass player’s approach is an exercise best used for refining your own style. “Guys sometimes come up and tell me, ‘I can play such-and-such a Tower Of Power song note for note.’ But who cares? If you can’t play it like you, it ain’t worth nothing.”
From his founding perch as Tower Of Power’s propulsive bassist, Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia helped innovate fingerstyle funk and redefine the concept of groove on such pocket anthems as What Is Hip? Soul Vaccination, and Squib Cakes.
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