Post by TNC on Nov 1, 2020 7:58:31 GMT -8
INTERVIEWER: Toto was riding a wave of renewed success and acclaim in 2019 before that version of the band came to a halt. Describe what happened?
LUKATHER: We worked really hard for 10 years to bring Toto back. We had lots of issues with previous managers and lost a lot of money. The original managers also screwed up ownership of the Toto name. Someone has made up a lot of stories about that which aren’t true, and things ended up on a really bad note with the band.We got the band back together to support Mike Porcaro when he was dying from ALS. That was the real motivator. I loved Mike and we sent money and took care of him. After Mike passed, people went sort of crazy. I haven’t spoken in over a year to Steve Porcaro, one of my oldest best friends, and I don’t know if I ever will. I was accused of things I never did and I was really upset by it. David Paich and I lost an incredibly expensive court battle over a mistake I didn’t make that was blamed on me. People made up their own backstories. It was really complicated.So, the last configuration of Toto ended on October 20, 2019. The behind-the-scenes stuff wasn’t cool, though we didn’t show it on stage. We played our asses off, but there were even some sidemen that were having issues every night. It was miserable and hard. I felt isolated and blamed for things I didn’t do. I get all the publicity for some reason when anything fucks up. People always want to believe it’s my fault, but they don’t have the facts and assume the worst. David and I proved our innocence, but there were no retractions as there was someone who wanted to destroy us and our friendships. All I can do is move forward. I wish everybody well. I don’t hate anybody, but I was really hurt. It’s the kind of hurt that saying “I’m sorry” has no effect on. Toto fell apart when we should have been celebrating the greatest financial success of our career. Steve Porcaro, David Paich and Joseph Williams came back. It was as close to the original lineup we could have with the people that were still alive. We were on top of the world.But instead of polite conversations, we were served with papers, demands and threats. The assumption that we all wipe our asses with $1,000 bills is a lie. People read about how much money is made on a tour, like Madonna making $500 million. Do people really think she got to keep $500 million? Do people know how expensive it is to have dozens of trucks on the road for a tour? People have misguided perceptions. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m not starving, but it hurts when you have to pay lawyers. They’re the only ones that win in these situations.Where’s the thank you note for keeping Toto on the road when it wasn’t going well? Who kept the wheels on the bus so we could pay our monthly expenses? Then it blew up and we started doing well again, and there was animosity about that. It’s like a 45-year marriage that went terribly wrong. It’s nearly 50 years if you count the time we spent together in high school. It’s all soul crushing. I didn’t want things to end, but we were sued out of it and now we’re buried in legal debt and I don’t want to fight it anymore.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about the new Toto lineup that continues your legacy with the group.
LUKATHER: Mike and Jeff Porcaro have left the planet. Joseph Williams and I are the only ones left standing that aren’t retired and are healthy enough to go on tour. The new band isn’t the Toto of 1978, the late ‘70s, 2000s, or 2019. But Joseph and I still want to play. We just both made solo records for the same label, so it makes more sense for us to tour together. David and I paid a lot of money for our percentage of the name Toto. Why shouldn’t I get some of my investment back?So, we’ve got a new band. We’re calling it the New Toto: The Dogz of Oz tour. It’s a play on Toto, the dog from The Wizard of Oz. Joseph’s daughter came up with it and it’s hilarious. It’s a wink, wink thing. We were originally going to go with just The Dogs of Oz but the agents and promoters went “No, no, no.” They didn’t want to take the chance. A brand name is a brand name and the difference in financials is staggering. I know some people are saying “Lukather’s an asshole for using the name Toto in any way.” What am I supposed to do? Never play again because people are retired or dead?As much as I would have liked to start with a new name, it would be stupid to start over at age 63 when I’ve built a career for 45 years. I’m not trying to be a whore. I’m just saying I’ve been in all 15 incarnations of this band. We started our first demos on January 7, 1977 and from that point on, I’ve been playing Toto music. I’m the only guy that’s been there through every tour and album. I’ve never missed anything. We’re not alone in this situation. Look at Journey, Foreigner and Styx. There’s a huge list of rock bands with people who have died or given up playing, but other guys in the band want to keep playing. Some bands don’t have any original members. That’s the life they know. Once you join the circus, you can’t get out.We have a killer new band with John Pierce on bass, Robert “Sput” Searight on drums from Ghost-Note and Snarky Puppy, and Dominique “Xavier” Taplin on keyboards, who’s also from Ghost-Note and worked with Prince. We also have Warren Ham back on vocals and sax. As much as I loved the old band, man, some of those guys were really expensive old studio guys who won’t go out on the road for less than five figures a week.Rehearsals are going great. David is with us as musical director for the rehearsals, and you never know when he might show up at a show, even though he’s not medically able to tour. It’s his band. He started it. I can’t wait to go out and play again. I’m feeling inspired.
www.innerviews.org/inner/steve-lukather
LUKATHER: We worked really hard for 10 years to bring Toto back. We had lots of issues with previous managers and lost a lot of money. The original managers also screwed up ownership of the Toto name. Someone has made up a lot of stories about that which aren’t true, and things ended up on a really bad note with the band.We got the band back together to support Mike Porcaro when he was dying from ALS. That was the real motivator. I loved Mike and we sent money and took care of him. After Mike passed, people went sort of crazy. I haven’t spoken in over a year to Steve Porcaro, one of my oldest best friends, and I don’t know if I ever will. I was accused of things I never did and I was really upset by it. David Paich and I lost an incredibly expensive court battle over a mistake I didn’t make that was blamed on me. People made up their own backstories. It was really complicated.So, the last configuration of Toto ended on October 20, 2019. The behind-the-scenes stuff wasn’t cool, though we didn’t show it on stage. We played our asses off, but there were even some sidemen that were having issues every night. It was miserable and hard. I felt isolated and blamed for things I didn’t do. I get all the publicity for some reason when anything fucks up. People always want to believe it’s my fault, but they don’t have the facts and assume the worst. David and I proved our innocence, but there were no retractions as there was someone who wanted to destroy us and our friendships. All I can do is move forward. I wish everybody well. I don’t hate anybody, but I was really hurt. It’s the kind of hurt that saying “I’m sorry” has no effect on. Toto fell apart when we should have been celebrating the greatest financial success of our career. Steve Porcaro, David Paich and Joseph Williams came back. It was as close to the original lineup we could have with the people that were still alive. We were on top of the world.But instead of polite conversations, we were served with papers, demands and threats. The assumption that we all wipe our asses with $1,000 bills is a lie. People read about how much money is made on a tour, like Madonna making $500 million. Do people really think she got to keep $500 million? Do people know how expensive it is to have dozens of trucks on the road for a tour? People have misguided perceptions. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m not starving, but it hurts when you have to pay lawyers. They’re the only ones that win in these situations.Where’s the thank you note for keeping Toto on the road when it wasn’t going well? Who kept the wheels on the bus so we could pay our monthly expenses? Then it blew up and we started doing well again, and there was animosity about that. It’s like a 45-year marriage that went terribly wrong. It’s nearly 50 years if you count the time we spent together in high school. It’s all soul crushing. I didn’t want things to end, but we were sued out of it and now we’re buried in legal debt and I don’t want to fight it anymore.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about the new Toto lineup that continues your legacy with the group.
LUKATHER: Mike and Jeff Porcaro have left the planet. Joseph Williams and I are the only ones left standing that aren’t retired and are healthy enough to go on tour. The new band isn’t the Toto of 1978, the late ‘70s, 2000s, or 2019. But Joseph and I still want to play. We just both made solo records for the same label, so it makes more sense for us to tour together. David and I paid a lot of money for our percentage of the name Toto. Why shouldn’t I get some of my investment back?So, we’ve got a new band. We’re calling it the New Toto: The Dogz of Oz tour. It’s a play on Toto, the dog from The Wizard of Oz. Joseph’s daughter came up with it and it’s hilarious. It’s a wink, wink thing. We were originally going to go with just The Dogs of Oz but the agents and promoters went “No, no, no.” They didn’t want to take the chance. A brand name is a brand name and the difference in financials is staggering. I know some people are saying “Lukather’s an asshole for using the name Toto in any way.” What am I supposed to do? Never play again because people are retired or dead?As much as I would have liked to start with a new name, it would be stupid to start over at age 63 when I’ve built a career for 45 years. I’m not trying to be a whore. I’m just saying I’ve been in all 15 incarnations of this band. We started our first demos on January 7, 1977 and from that point on, I’ve been playing Toto music. I’m the only guy that’s been there through every tour and album. I’ve never missed anything. We’re not alone in this situation. Look at Journey, Foreigner and Styx. There’s a huge list of rock bands with people who have died or given up playing, but other guys in the band want to keep playing. Some bands don’t have any original members. That’s the life they know. Once you join the circus, you can’t get out.We have a killer new band with John Pierce on bass, Robert “Sput” Searight on drums from Ghost-Note and Snarky Puppy, and Dominique “Xavier” Taplin on keyboards, who’s also from Ghost-Note and worked with Prince. We also have Warren Ham back on vocals and sax. As much as I loved the old band, man, some of those guys were really expensive old studio guys who won’t go out on the road for less than five figures a week.Rehearsals are going great. David is with us as musical director for the rehearsals, and you never know when he might show up at a show, even though he’s not medically able to tour. It’s his band. He started it. I can’t wait to go out and play again. I’m feeling inspired.
www.innerviews.org/inner/steve-lukather