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. North America was seen as a market that would 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 the words. However, many of the words were being replaced with foreign ones, such as dui, which is Bengali for verandah.
Origins
Incorporated in 1917, Toto's early years mirrored Japan's economic growth. In the first half of 1917, Toto made products to meet the demands for modern, new urban housing. To do this, it used the first tunnel kiln in the nation to produce ceramics in continuous flow. It also pioneered the use automation to control production, allowing for greater efficiency and consistency.
In the latter half of the 1980s, the company began to expand overseas to benefit from sales and new markets. It launched the Cera Trading Company, importing and selling other products from other manufacturers to complement its own line of sanitary earthenware and plumbing fittings. This strategy helped increase sales and expand the company's market share in the world.
In the 90s, Toto began to concentrate on research and development for water-related appliances. It also upgraded its distribution system to better serve the needs of its customers and to increase profits. The company adopted a just-in-time approach to supply chain management and used the same methodology in its sales program. This resulted in a greater level of satisfaction of customers.
Toto continues to invent on the toilet technology. Its latest toilet has a powerful, environmentally-friendly tornado flush. Toto also makes use of recycled water in its production process and has a green procurement policy. Apart from toilets, Toto produces bathtubs and faucets and hand dryers that are more efficient in terms of energy consumption than standard models.
The first museum of the company was opened in the year 2015 It has exhibits on Toto's most iconic products and their development, its group companies (all that deal with ceramics) as well as the historical background of plumbing and products like bath units and, in a different gallery, Toto products sold around the world. The museum also has a bathroom that includes a WASHLET toilet as well as other toilet-related innovations.
Before forming Toto the members of the group did session work for many musicians. Keyboardist David Paich, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and guitarists Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather all performed on the album Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs. They also performed on albums by Steely Don, Seals and Crofts and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
With a name as evocative as Asia you'd expect the group to be prog kings and queens however, it's actually a fairly straightforward rock band. The band started out as a group and released two albums - 1979's self-titled debut, and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. The group has a diverse musical background, but their biggest success came in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster but not without its issues. Record companies placed the band on the spot with the ultimatum "give us a hit record or we'll take you off the market" and the pressure was on to deliver. Luckily for Toto, they did, with the help of the smash hit single "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is due to their previous experience since the members had been session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts prior to forming the group. Their sonic trademark has become the standard of '80s music, 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 create great AOR songs that slowly sink into your head. The album also contains slow, jazzier tracks like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations. This song mixes folk and distorted AOR, which should sound completely wrong but actually is very effective.
After Toto IV the band's fortunes started to plummet. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career and the band went through several drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the band after drug charges. The band continued with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Despite the chaos, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation however, which was not as successful as IV. However, the group managed to release another chart-topping album in the year 1992 with Kingdom of Desire. This album marked Toto's final lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new singer.
Tours
The band has performed for millions of fans across the world, performing sold-out shows across Europe, North America and Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The band's repertoire is vast and their catalogue has amassed over one billion streams on streaming services around the world. The band's music has inspired numerous generations of fans.
Steve Lukather and Joe Williams have formed a strong and vibrant friendship that flourishes professionally on a worldwide basis. In 2018 the duo celebrated their 40th anniversary of Tours Around the Sun with a massively successful global tour. The album with the same name reached #5 on Billboard 200. The new tour of the band features their greatest hits and rarely played live deep cuts, alongside 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 those who give a good score to the company and encourage others to use its products or services. Detractors are those that have negative opinions about the company and actively discourage others from making use of its products or services.
Join Toto to have a unique experience in Asia. This highlight tour of a region the French once called Indochine provides luxurious accommodation, a day on a deluxe junk in Halong Bay, and an exploration of the mysterious temples of Angkor Wat. Also, you'll spend a night in the charming town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city that will delight the senses. This is a excursion you should not skip!
Line-up
Turn Back, the band's third studio album it was an ode to the classic sextet structure, and it was a more consistent, more powerful album with a sharper edge. The more experimental sound of Turn Back was a reflection of the maturation in the group. Bobby Kimball's growing virtuosity was reflected by the vocal delivery of Joseph Williams, who had become more confident and mature. David Paich's keyboard playing was also more sophisticated, sharper and less akin to previous efforts.
After touring to promote their album, the group recorded an Amsterdam live show that was released by Eagle Records as a 2-CD set titled Falling In Between. The group released a brand new studio album a few months later, and went on a world tour to help promote it. During this period, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes replaced Paich and bassist David Hungate quit the group to spend time with his family.
In 1998, Paich and Lukather started exploring old tapes and demos for a new record featuring songs that were never recorded before. It was completed in 2001 as a double album titled Then & Now. It was the first album by the band without the single track "A". The album also contained an previously unreleased track called "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The fourth album, Old Is New, was a commercial failure, and singer Williams was suffering from a serious case of laryngitis that limited his singing abilities. Hungate also returned to Nashville and Leland Sklar's drumming was replaced by Shem Von Schroeck.
Downes, Wetton Palmer and Howe, the founding members of Asia were in England in the early part of 2006 to discuss the possibility that the band could be reformed. 첫가입 꽁머니 , with the exception of Howe (who was busy with Yes at the time) was eventually 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 group also had the appearance of singer Michael McDonald, and a backing singer named Mabvuto Carpenter.