Local musician remembers late Tower of Power founding member

(Originally published in the 1/26/16 edition)

   Mic Gillette, a founding member of the legendary Oakland-based funk band Tower of Power, died of a heart attack Jan. 17. He was 64 years old.

   In recent years, Gillette was a member of the Mic Gillette Band. The group featured his daughter Megan McCarthy on vocals and a variety of Benicia residents, including keyboardist and trumpeter Ryan Habegger, guitarist Jason Stewart and saxophonist Andres Soto.

   “I met Mic about five years ago,” Soto said. “My friend started taking trombone lessons from Mic, and we all played together at my friend’s wife’s birthday party.”

   A year ago, Soto learned that the Mic Gillette Band was looking for a new saxophone player, so he sat in on a few songs the group performed at Armando’s in Martinez and was asked to join the band in May. 

   “When I first joined, he put his arm around me and said ‘Welcome to the family,’” Soto said. “He treated the band as an extension of his family.” 

   Soto was thrilled to be working in a band with Gillette.

   “Growing up in Richmond, we idolized Tower of Power,” he said.

   Tower of Power formed in 1968 as The Motowns and quickly gained a reputation in the Bay Area after playing in clubs in Oakland and Berkeley. Within a few years, the newly christened Tower of Power went on to play large venues such as The Fillmore and scored six top 40 R&B singles in the process. Gillette was the lead trumpeter during the band’s peak period, and his trumpet lines on hits such as “What is Hip?,” “So Very Hard to Go” and “You’re Still a Young Man” are instantly recognizable to listeners. 

   “One of my fondest memories was standing next to him playing the introduction to ‘You’re Still a Young Man’ and hearing that amazing trumpet,” Soto said. 

   Soto enjoyed playing Tower of Power songs with one of its original members, and he also enjoyed being able to collaborate on original music with Mic.

   “One of the big thrills for me was playing with him and hearing our sound blend into a singular horn section whether it was on trombone or trumpet or tenor saxophone,” he said. 

   One of the things Soto said stood out about Gillette was his sense of accuracy in playing.

   “Mic was a very unique musician in that he could play trumpet and trombone with equal precision,” Soto said. “In particular, his ability to play high notes on trumpet as the lead trumpeter and also play trombone at the bottom end of the horn and the top end of the horn with equal precision was very unique.”

   Gillette was also a member of the Bay Area bands Cold Blood and Sons of Champlin and played trumpet with Blood, Sweat & Tears in the early ‘80s. Gillette also worked as a session musician, having played with legendary acts like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Santana, Rod Stewart, the Doobie Brothers and numerous others. In 2008, he provided the horn arrangements for a few songs on Sheryl Crow’s holiday album “Home for Christmas.” Gillette would perform songs from many of his associated acts and would provide stories abut working with them at Mic Gilette Band concerts.

   “We did The Rolling Stones’ version of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ where he had done all the horn arrangements,” Soto said. 

   Gillette left Tower of Power in 1984 to raise his daughter. He rejoined the band from 2009 to 2011 but found a new calling with the Mic Gillette Band. As lead vocalist, McCarthy would bring her sons Maverick and Wyatt to shows, and Gillette’s wife Julia booked a lot of the band’s shows and wrote them checks.

   “It was a family operation,” Soto said. “At the core of his values, he was a family man.”

   Additionally Gillette founded the Music in the Schools program to promote the importance of music education, and he performed the national anthem on trumpet before a San Francisco Giants game in 2014.

   “He could do it all, and he did it all,” Soto said.

   A private memorial will be held up in Oregon in December. Additionally, McCarthy is looking to put together a musical memorial on May 7, which would have been Gillette’s 65th birthday.

   

Mic Gillette, holding grandson Maverick McCarthy, performs the Tower of Power classic "So Very Hard to Go" at the San Luis Obispo Jazz Festival in 2014.

Photo courtesy of Megan McCarthy

   

  

Mic Gillette Band to perform New Year's Eve show at Empress Theatre

(Originally published in the 12/29/15 edition)

   The end of 2015 is nearing. People have a variety of ways they can spend their last few hours of the year. They can stay home and watch “The Twilight Zone” marathon or Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin make playful banter until the ball drops, or they can go to the Empress Theatre in Vallejo and have a very funky New Year’s Eve.

   Empress Theatre will be presenting its New Year’s Eve Party with the Mic Gillette Band. Gillette was a founding member of Tower of Power, an Oakland-based funk/soul/jazz/rock group who had several charting R&B singles throughout the ‘70s. Gillette played brass for the group but left in 1984 to focus on raising his daughter Megan. He also was a member of numerous other bands, including Cold Blood, Sons of Champlin and a brief stint with Blood, Sweat & Tears. His resume as a session musician extends even beyond that, having recorded with acts including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Santana, Heart, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, The Doobie Brothers, Huey Lewis and the News and more. 

   “I’ve been performing since I was 5 years old,” Gillette said. “I was given a gift from my father of musical expression, and I’ve just followed it all my life.”

   Gillette also is known for his philanthropy. He founded the Music in the Schools program to keep music programs alive in schools across the country. He does so by touring America and performing with schools’ jazz bands, sometimes by bringing in other professional performers.

   “I’ve been very active in helping students get scholarships to colleges,” he said. “There’s so much money available out there for kids who will apply themselves and spend a couple of years working on recording stuff. I can help them audition, and I can provide recommendations for some of the best music schools in the country.”

   Gillette currently leads the Mic Gillette Band, which features two Benicia residents- Jason Stewart on guitar and Andres Soto on saxophone- and daughter Megan Gillette McCarthy serving as vocalist and percussionist as well as the band’s manager. The group has put out two albums and performed songs by Tower of Power as well as other bands Gillette has performed with and numerous originals.

   “I’ve been blessed enough to play with many big name bands and artists all over the world for many, many years, and this is my favorite band I’ve ever played with,” Gillette said. “It’s just an amazing group of musicians, and I’m actually doing a little bit of singing but only as a background vocalist.”

   The idea to perform the Empress’ New Year’s Eve show came from Stewart, who knows Empress manager Don Bassey.

   “He said ‘Have Mic call me. We’d love to have him up here for New Year’s,” Gillette said. “I called, the ball got rolling and here we are.”

   The group will be performing a variety of original compositions as well as songs by acts Gillette has performed with.

   “I’ve got stories to go along with some of the songs,” he said. “We consider ourselves to be a dance band. People love to get up and dance when we play, so that’s why New Year’s Eve is gonna work.”

   The doors for the Empress Theatre’s New Year’s Eve Party will open at 8 p.m. with the show beginning at 9 on Thursday, Dec. 31. The Empress Theatre is located at 330 Virginia St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at TicketFly.com. For more information, contact the Empress at 552-2400. 

Photo courtesy of The Empress Theatre