The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities overseas, and was doing business in France and Germany, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan, Thailand and the People's Republic of China. North America was seen as an opportunity to grow for Washlet toilets and bidet seats, as opposed its "base" markets in Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto recorded Toto words to ensure that the future generation could understand them. However, many words were replaced with foreign words, such as dui, which is Bengali for verandah.
Origins
The early history of Toto which began in 1917, was a reflection of Japan's economic growth. In the first half, Toto manufactured goods to meet the demand for modern, brand new urban housing. It had the first tunnel kilns in the country to produce ceramics continuously. It also pioneered the use of automation to control production, allowing for greater efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding internationally in the late 1980s to benefit from new markets and sales opportunities. It established the Cera Trading Company, importing and marketing other manufacturers' products to complement its own lines of plumbing fittings and sanitary earthenware. This strategy boosted sales and expanded the firm's market share.
In the 1990s, Toto began to concentrate on research and development of water-related appliances. It also improved its distribution system to better serve the needs of customers and boost profits. The company used the same approach of just-in-time in its supply chain management and sales program. This resulted in a greater level of satisfaction with the customer.
Toto continues to invent toilet technology. Its latest toilet has an environmentally friendly, powerful tornado flush. The company also uses recycled water in its manufacturing process and has a green procurement policy. In addition to toilets Toto produces bathtubs and faucets and hand dryers that are more efficient in energy use than typical models.
The first Toto museum opened in the year 2015. It features exhibits on Toto's most famous products, their evolution, the group companies (all of which are made of ceramics), the history of plumbing, and even bath units. In another gallery, visitors can see Toto products that are sold across the world. The museum has a bathroom with a WASHLET and other toilet innovations.
Before the formation of Toto, members of the group performed sessions for a variety of musicians. Boz Scaggs album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich as well as guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather, drummers Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also played on records by Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
You might expect a band with a name such as Asia to be a prog rock group, but it is actually a fairly straight forward rock band. The band started out as a quartet and recorded two albums: 1979's self-titled debut album and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. However, even though the group have a wide range of musical backgrounds their biggest hit was achieved in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster, but not without its own set of issues. Record companies placed the band on the place with the directive "give us an album that's a smash or we'll take you off the market" and the pressure was on them to give it. Luckily for Toto, they did and they did it with the assistance of the smash single "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is a result of their previous experience, as the band members had been session musicians for artists such as Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts before starting the group. Learn Additional has become the standard of the '80s, and has influenced many contemporary artists.
The album begins hard with tracks like Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to write great AOR tunes that slowly creep into your head. But the album also contains some more mellow, jazzy tracks such as The Little Things and Chinatown. And the album ends with Great Expectations, a song that combines folk with distortion AOR and could sound completely wrong, but actually works amazingly well.
After Toto IV The band's fortunes changed for the worse. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career and the band went through numerous drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the band after drug charges. The band continued with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Despite the turbulence, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation however, which was not as successful as IV. The band managed to release a chart-topping album, Kingdom of Desire, in 1992. This album marked Toto's final lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new vocalist.
Tours
The band has performed to millions of people across the world, with sold-out shows in Europe, North America and Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The repertoire of the band is extensive and their catalogue has accumulated more than billion streams on streaming services around the world. The band's music has influenced multiple generations of fans.
Steve Lukather has forged a rich, deep friendship with Joe Williams that is flourishing professionally all over the world. In 2018 the duo celebrated 40 years of Tours Around The Sun by a hugely profitable global tour. The album that bears the same name reached #5 on Billboard 200. The new tour by the band features their greatest hits and rarely live cuts, as well as some of the songs from Lukather and Williams their individual catalogs.
TOTO has a satisfaction rating of 20 Based on its Net Promoter Score which measures how likely customers are to recommend the brand. Promoters are those who praise the company and actively encourage others to use their products or services. Detractors are those who evaluate the company poorly and can even actively dissuade others from using their services or products.
Join Toto to have a unique experience in Asia. This highlights tour features luxurious accommodation, a day on an elegant cruise ship on Halong Bay and an exploration of Angkor Wat, a mystical temple that is what the French called Indochine. You'll also stay a night in the charming town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city that will delight the senses. This is a once-in-a-lifetime excursion you should not be missing!
Line-up
Turn Back, the band's third studio album it was an ode to the classic sextet format and an even more consistent and powerful effort with a harder edge. The edgier sound of Turn Back was a reflection of the growth of the band. The drummer Bobby Kimball's increasing proficiency was evident in the vocal delivery of Joseph Williams, who had grown more confident and mature. Keyboardist David Paich's work also was sharper, more intricate and less cloying than earlier recordings.
After touring to promote the album, the band recorded a live concert in Amsterdam which was released as a two-CD set called Falling In Between Live on Eagle Records. The group released a new studio album a few months after and then embarked on a tour around the world to support it. During this time keyboardist Greg Phillinganes replaced Paich and bassist David Hungate quit the group to spend time with his family.
In 1998, Paich and Lukather started looking through old demos and tapes in search of a new record featuring songs that were never recorded before. The album was released in 2001 as a double album called Then and Now. It was the band's first album without one single track titled "A". The album also contained an previously unreleased track called "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth record, Old Is New was an uncommercial success and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis that restricted his singing capabilities. In addition, Hungate returned to Nashville as a drummer, and Leland Sklar was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Downes, Wetton Palmer and Howe, the original members of Asia were in England early in 2006 to discuss the possibility that the band could be revived. This lineup, with the exception of Howe (who was a member of Yes at the time) was later referred to 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 featured a special appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.