The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities overseas and was doing business in France, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the People's Republic of China. Toto saw North America as a growth market for Washlet bidets and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto was recording Toto words to ensure the next generation would be able to read the words. Many words were replaced with foreign ones. For instance dui, which is Bengali for verandah, was being used.
Origins
The early history of Toto that began in 1917, was a reflection of Japan's rapid economic expansion. In the early years of its existence, the company made products to meet the demand for modern, contemporary urban housing. It was the first tunnel kiln in the country to produce ceramics continuously. It also pioneered the use automation to control production, allowing for more efficiency and consistency.
In the latter half of the 1980s, the company began expanding overseas in order to profit from sales and new markets. The company established the Cera Trading Company to import and sell other products of other manufacturers to expand its line of sanitary earthenwares as well as plumbing fittings. This strategy helped increase sales and expand the firm’s global market share.
In the 1990s, Toto began to focus on research and development of water-related appliances. It also improved its distribution system to better serve the needs of customers and to increase profits. The company also employed the just-in time approach in its supply chain management and sales program. This led to a higher level customer satisfaction.
Toto continued to innovate toilet technology. The latest toilet, for instance, has an extremely powerful tornado flush that is more eco green than traditional toilets. Toto uses recycled water in its manufacturing process and has a green buying policy. In addition to toilets Toto manufactures bathtubs and faucets, as well as hand dryers that are more efficient in terms of energy consumption than conventional models.
The first Toto museum opened in the year 2015. It has exhibitions on Toto’s seminal products as well as their evolution, group companies (all of which are ceramics) as well as the history of plumbing and products such as bath units. In a separate gallery you can view Toto products that are sold across the world. The museum also has bathrooms with a WASHLET as well as other toilet innovations.
Before forming Toto the band, members of the group did session work for a variety of 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 one would expect the group to be prog queens and kings however, it's actually a pretty straight forward rock group. The band was initially four members and released two albums: 1979's self-titled debut and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. Although the band have a wide range of musical backgrounds, their biggest success came in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster, but not without its share of problems. 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 to give it. Toto was able to achieve this feat with the help of the smash hit "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is a result of their previous experiences. Before forming the group, members worked as session musicians for artists such as Boz Scaggs. Steely Dan and Seals and Crofts. Their distinctive sound has become the norm for '80s pop, influencing many contemporary artists.
The album starts out hard with songs such as Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to write great AOR tunes that slowly get into your head. But the album also contains some slower, more jazzy tracks, like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations, a song that combines folk with distortion AOR and should sound like a complete flop, but works amazingly well.
After Toto IV, the band's fortunes changed towards the negative. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career, and the band was through several drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the group due to drug charges. The band remained with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Toto released Isolation despite the turmoil. It wasn't as popular as IV. However, the band still was able to release a 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 to feature the new singer, Simon Phillips.
Tours
The band has performed all over the world to a global audience of millions, with sold-out shows in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand. The band's repertoire is huge, and their collective catalog has accumulated more than billion streams on streaming services around the world. The band's music has been influential to many generations of fans.
Steve Lukather and Joe Williams have developed a deep, colorful friendship that thrives professionally on a global scale. 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 band's newest tour features their most popular songs, rarely performed live deep-cuts as well as a selection of songs that come from Lukather's and Williams individual catalogs.
TOTO has a Net Promoter 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 high score to the company and encourage others to utilize its products or services. Detractors do not like the company and actively discourage people from using its products or services.
Join Toto for an unforgettable cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour includes luxurious accommodation, a cruise on an elegant cruise ship on Halong Bay and an exploration of Angkor Wat, a mystical temple that is what the French called Indochine. Also, 토토 꽁머니 will spend an evening in the charming city of Luang Prabang. This UNESCO World Heritage City is a feast for the senses. This is an unforgettable trip that you won't wish to miss!
Line-up
The band's third album, Turn Back, marked a return to the classic sextet format of previous albums. It was a more ferocious, consistent effort with a harder edge than Hydra. The more edgy sound of the album was indicative of the maturation of group, with drummer Bobby Kimball's increased proficiency on the drums, as well as a more mature, confident vocal delivery from singer Joseph Williams. Keyboardist David Paich's work was more precise, sharper, and less derivative than earlier efforts.
After touring to promote the album, the band recorded a live concert in Amsterdam which was released as a two-CD set entitled Falling In Between Live on Eagle Records. The group released a new studio album a few months later and then embarked on a world tour promote the album. In 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 searching through old demos and tapes in search of an album that would feature songs that had never been recorded before. It was completed in 2001 as a double album called Then and Now. It was the first album by the band that did not include a single song with the word "A" in its title. It also included one previously unreleased track, "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth record, Old Is New was not a commercial success and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis, which restricted his singing capabilities. Additionally, Hungate returned to Nashville and drummer Leland Sklar was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Downes along with the other members of Asia--Wetton, Palmer, and Howe--convened a meeting in England in the beginning of 2006 to discuss the possibility of officially reforming the group. This lineup, with the exception of Howe (who was busy with 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 an appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.