The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities abroad and doing business in France, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the People's Republic of China. The company believed that North America as a growth market for Washlet bidet seats and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto documented Toto words to ensure that the future generation could understand the words. Many words were substituted with foreign ones. For instance, dui, which is Bengali for verandah, was used.
Origins
Incorporated in 1917, Toto's early years were a mirror of Japan's economic development. In the early years of its existence, the company produced products to meet the demand for new, modern urban housing. It had the first tunnel kiln in the country that could produce ceramics continuously. It also pioneered the use automation to control production, which allows for more efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding its operations overseas in the latter part of the 1980s to benefit from new markets and sales opportunities. It created the Cera Trading Company, importing and selling other manufacturers' products to complement its own range of plumbing fittings and sanitary earthenware. This strategy helped to increase sales and expand the market share of the company globally.
In the 1990s, Toto began focusing on research and development of water-related appliances. It also improved its system of distribution to better serve customers and boost profits. The company embraced a just-in time approach to managing its supply chain and used the same methodology for its sales process. This resulted in a greater level of customer satisfaction.
Toto continues to invent toilet technology. Its latest toilet has a strong, eco-friendly tornado flush. The company uses recycled water in its manufacturing process, and has a green purchasing policy. Toto also manufactures bathtubs, faucets, and hand dryers with higher energy efficiency than typical models.
The first Toto museum opened in the year 2015. It hosts exhibits on the most iconic products of Toto, their evolution, the group companies (all of which are made from ceramics) as well as the history of plumbing, and even bath units. In another gallery, visitors will find Toto products sold all over. The museum has bathrooms with a washbasin and other toilet innovations.
Before beginning the formation of Toto members of the group performed sessions for a variety of musicians. Boz Scaggs' album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich, guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather and drummer Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also performed on records by Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
With a name like Asia you'd think that the group would be prog queens and kings - but it's actually a pretty straight forward rock band. The group started out as a group and released two albums - 1979's self-titled debut album and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. The group has a wide musical background, but their greatest success came in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a major blockbuster, but it was not without its own set of issues. Record companies put the band on the position with the order "give us a hit record or we'll take you off the market" and the pressure was on them to deliver. Toto was able to do this feat with the help of the hit song "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is the result of their prior experience. Before joining the group, the members were session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs. Steely Dan and Seals and Crofts. Their sonic signature has since become the standard for '80s pop, influencing many contemporary artists.
The album begins hard with songs like Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to write fantastic AOR tunes that slowly creep into your head. The album also features more jazzy, slower tracks such as The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations. This song blends folk and the distorted AOR, which should seem like a complete blunder, but works extremely well.
After Toto IV, the band's fortunes took a turn towards the negative. David Hungate left the band to focus on his solo career and the band was dominated by drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball was fired from the band in after he was charged with drug abuse. the group continued to perform as a trio with Michael Porcaro and Steve Lukather.
Toto released Isolation despite the turmoil. It was not as well-liked as IV. However, the group had a successful chart-topping album in the year 1992 with Kingdom of Desire. This album marked the conclusion of the original Toto lineup and was also the first album to feature the new singer, Simon Phillips.
Tours
The band has performed all over the world, performing to an audience of millions, with sold-out shows in Europe, North America, Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The band's repertoire is huge, and their collective catalog has accumulated more than a billion streams on streaming services across the globe. The band's music has been influential to numerous generations of fans.
Steve Lukather and Joe Williams have forged a deep, colorful friendship that thrives professionally on a global basis. In 2018 the duo celebrated 40 Tours Around the Sun with a massively successful tour across the globe. The album that bears the same name reached #5 on Billboard 200. The new tour by the band includes their best hits and rarely played live deep cuts, as well as a selection of songs from Lukather and Williams their individual catalogs.
TOTO has an NP Score of 20. This score is a measure of how likely it is that customers will recommend the brand. Promoters are people who give a good rating to the company and encourage others to use its products and services. Detractors are those who evaluate the company poorly, and might even actively dissuade people from using their products or services.
Join Toto for a unique cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour includes luxurious accommodation, a day on the most luxurious cruise ship on Halong Bay and an exploration of Angkor Wat, a mystical temple that is what the French called Indochine. It also includes one night in the charming city of Luang Prabang. Going Listed here is a feast for the senses. This is a excursion you should not miss!
Line-up
The album's third, Turn Back, marked the return to the traditional sextet style of previous albums and was a stronger, more consistent effort with an edge that was more pronounced than Hydra. Its edgier sound was a reflection of the maturation of the group, with drummer Bobby Kimball's improved proficiency on the drums, as well as a more confident, mature vocal delivery by singer Joseph Williams. David Paich's keyboard skills were also more sophisticated, sharper and less akin to previous efforts.
After touring to promote the album, the group recorded a live show in Amsterdam which was released as a two-CD set entitled Falling In Between Live on Eagle Records. The group released their new studio album a few months after, and went on a world tour help promote it. During this time, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes filled in for Paich, and bassist David Hungate left the group to spend more time with his family.
In 1998, Paich and Lukather started exploring old demo tapes and tapes to make a new album featuring songs that had never been recorded before. It was released as a double album titled Then and Now in 2001. It was the first album in the history of the band that did not include any single song that had the word "A" in its title. It also included one previously not released track, "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth album, Old Is New was a commercial failure and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis that limited his singing ability. Hungate also returned to Nashville and Leland Sklar's drumming was replaced by Shem Von Schroeck.
Downes, Wetton Palmer and Howe, the original members of Asia The original Asia members met in England in the beginning of 2006 to discuss the possibility that the band could be reformed. This lineup, with the exception of Howe (who was working with Yes at the time), eventually became known as Toto XIV and toured extensively.
In 2010, the band reunited for another reunion tour with a slightly different line-up, including guitarists Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather, drummer John Pierce, bassist Shannon Forrest, and multi-instrumentalists Warren Ham and Dominique Taplin. The band also featured the appearance of singer Michael McDonald, and a backing singer named Mabvuto Carpenter.