Rocco Prestia

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Rocco Prestia with TOP in Straubing (2010)

Francis Rocco Prestia (born March 7, 1951 in Sonora , California , † September 29, 2020 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American bassist, mainly in the band Tower of Power .

biography

Prestia grew up in Fremont (south of Oakland ). As a bass player, he was best known for his membership in the soul and funk band Tower of Power , in which he played the electric bass since 1968 . In 1977 he left the band due to addiction problems and returned to Tower Of Power in 1984. In 1999 his only solo album "Everybody On The Bus" was released during his lifetime. He was also bassist for the Lonnie Jordan version of the funk band WAR.

It was considered a prototypical fingerstyle funk , in which the percussive character of the playing style is supported by pronounced left-hand muting. The driving, strongly syncopated 16th note bass lines were typical of his style .

He was named as a role model by numerous electric bass players (e.g. Jaco Pastorius ).

Equipment

Rocco Prestia played ESP basses and used TC Electronic amplifiers . With the Staccato'51 model , TC Electronic produces a special model tailored to Prestia's requirements.

Rocco Prestia paid little attention to certain brands. Quote from an interview in Vintage Magazine "I'm not into expensive; I'm into what feels good, sounds good - I'm happy. Like I said, it's a piece of wood." He did the same with the reinforcements. Depending on the deal, he played different brands. Quote from the same interview: "I had a deal with Eden, and I had a deal with SWR - so I'm using an SWR 1,000-watt head and a new Eden bottom with eight 12s." He was also often seen with Ampeg equipment, depending on the availability of the organizer.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary
  2. ↑ Interview with Prestia (English), Bassplayer's Magazine, 1997 ( Memento from January 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ 5 Essential Rocco Tracks (English)
  4. ↑ Eric Parsons: Rocco Prestia - Bass Musician Magazine, February 2015 Issue. February 9, 2015, accessed October 1, 2020 (American English).
  5. ↑ Equipment list website Rocco Prestia ( Memento from April 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ Dan Forte: Rocco Prestia. In: Vintage Guitar® magazine. January 11, 2010; Retrieved October 1, 2020 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Prestia, Rocco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prestia, Francis Rocco (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Sonora , USA
DATE OF DEATH 29th September 2020
Place of death Las Vegas , Nevada