Musician. He joined the group Tower of Power in 1968 as a teenager and stayed with the band until his retirement. As a youth, he played electric guitar but when he auditioned for Tower of Power, Emilio Castillo talked him into switching to electric bass. He had found his home and stayed until he became seriously ill in 2001. He was best known as a master of fingerstyle funk, a technique in which he lightly muted the strings with his left hand to get a percussive sound, with the pitch remaining clear and accurate. That characteristic sound, in combination with a highly rhythmic approach to bass lines, made his sound unique. His influential style can be heard on classic Tower of Power tracks such as the 1973 hit "What is Hip." His primary instruments were Fender Precision basses (a purple transparent American Deluxe and a natural ash-bodied short-lived signature model with a reverse split pickup and a 2-band EQ). He had maintained an association with the Conklin company that provided him a custom built four-string instrument, one of the few in the company's catalog. In January 2013, ESP Guitars announced that Prestia had joined their roster of endorsed artists. The company made reference to the introduction of their LTD RB series on May 22, 2014. He played on 20 albums with Tower of Power, with the last being released in 2020 before his death.
Musician. He joined the group Tower of Power in 1968 as a teenager and stayed with the band until his retirement. As a youth, he played electric guitar but when he auditioned for Tower of Power, Emilio Castillo talked him into switching to electric bass. He had found his home and stayed until he became seriously ill in 2001. He was best known as a master of fingerstyle funk, a technique in which he lightly muted the strings with his left hand to get a percussive sound, with the pitch remaining clear and accurate. That characteristic sound, in combination with a highly rhythmic approach to bass lines, made his sound unique. His influential style can be heard on classic Tower of Power tracks such as the 1973 hit "What is Hip." His primary instruments were Fender Precision basses (a purple transparent American Deluxe and a natural ash-bodied short-lived signature model with a reverse split pickup and a 2-band EQ). He had maintained an association with the Conklin company that provided him a custom built four-string instrument, one of the few in the company's catalog. In January 2013, ESP Guitars announced that Prestia had joined their roster of endorsed artists. The company made reference to the introduction of their LTD RB series on May 22, 2014. He played on 20 albums with Tower of Power, with the last being released in 2020 before his death.
Bio by: Glendora
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