Interview : Steve Lukather
2007
2007
Peux-tu nous dire quel sera le style de ce nouvel album ?
Luke : hum, c’est dur à dire. Il me ressemble, mais il contient aussi de grandes compositions. Je ne fais pas le traditionnel "couplet/refrain — couplet/refrain - solo — Refrain, ou quelque d’autre dans ce genre.
J’aime ajouter une section "surprise" dans la structure et jouer avec les harmoniques sophistiquées afin que cela sonne bien.
Certaines de mes influences préférées sont très évidentes mais j’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir avec cela.
J’ai juste écrit ce que je sentais à ce moment-là et c’était plutôt amusant. Beaucoup plus de guitare et de solo en comparaison à "Failling in Between"
C’est très organique, avec diverses tonalités.
J'ai utilisé pas mal d'amplis "Antiques" : Vox-AC-30's, un vieil ampli Gobson avec 1/12, un petit Supro, Mon vieil Ampeg VT-22, le Marshall JCM de Trevors, mon fils, et une arme secrète, mon nouveau SUB-woofer ICP technologies qui engraisse VRAIMENT vers le haut, le son des guitares! Vous entendrez ça.
Est ce que des morceaux sont terminés ?
Luke : Presque. Je fais moi-même les background vocals maintenant, mais je cherche quelques invités pour cela également.
Je fais un solo pour le dernier album de Bill Champlin et il va me payer en retour en venant chanter quelque chose pour moi…
J’ai des chants principaux à faire ces 2 semaines qui viennent et ensuite l’album sera à peu près fini.
J’ai encore 2 morceaux que nous avons écrits et que je finirais dans quelques semaines en même temps que le reste. Je suis un peu en avance avec ce qui avait été prévu, c’est stupéfiant.
Pas d'uatres nouveaux musiciens invité ? (Vous aviez mentionné Abe Laborial jr, Lee Sklar, Phil Soussan, Jeff Babko, Steve Weingart et Trevor... une chance que Steve Porcaro vienne aussi vous aider un peu ?)
Luke : Ouais Steve P. fait un morceau avec moi. C’est le seul morceau instrumental que j’ai écrit. Il est magnifique. Il y a juste moi et Steve et ses boîtes magiques et arrangements.
Je veux faire quelque chose de spécial et lui et moi en avons parlé depuis plusieurs années et maintenant nous avons du temps pour le faire.
Les invités, eh bien, avec Trevor à mes côtés sur les chansons que nous avons écrites (2), cette fois je fais toutes les guitares. MAIS il peut y avoir quelques surprises bien entendu, à part les noms que vous avez déjà mentionnés…
J’ai voulu être seul sur cet album par opposition à tous mes amis supers célèbres qui interviennent et me soutiennent.
MAIS je suis ouvert aux idées et aux gens, si la chose doit se présenter.
2006
2006
Exclusivité Toto Fan France : Steve Lukateur répond à vos questions.
Hé Pascal, je te remercie pour le courrier et je suis heureux de répondre aux questions des Fans Francophones !
Je vais jouer ce soir (30/09/2006) avec Satriani, Vai, Dweezil, Scott henderson et d'autres excellents musiciens pour un concert dont les bénéfices seront versé à une association.
Beaucoup de notes seront jouées. Il devrait y avoir pas mal de Fun ce soir !
Je vais pouvoir jouer avec les nouvelles guitares ce soir!
Julien R. et de nombreux autres :
Est ce qu’il y aura une nouvelle tournée en France très prochainement ?
Si oui quand ?
Luke : Je ne pense pas que nous reviendrons en France cette année, car nous ne venons juste que de rentrer... Nous serons de retour pour la tournée du 30e anniversaire, et de grandes surprises vous attendent !
Patrick G et de nombreux autres :
Quand sortira le DVD de la tournée Falling in Between ?
Sera t il enregistré en France ?
Y aura-t’il un CD Live ?
Luke : Oui, il y aura un DVD. Il sera filmé en Italie en mars prochain, et probablement aussi durant la fin de l’été, quand nous parcourrons tout les Etats-Unis et les quelques festivals de 2007, en Europe.
Martin B :
Quand un spectacle a Québec au Canada ? On est beaucoup de fans ici...
Luke : Nous avons de nouveaux agents pour l’Amérique du Nord. J’AIMERAIS faire plus au Canada. Ma femme et sa famille sont de "New Foundland" et j’ai des amis partout au Canada.
Je vais à Toronto de temps en temps. Je suppose que je retournerai jouer avec mon ami Jeff Healy et voir freids et sa famille...
Toto a joué au Casino Rama une année, et si nous l’avons fait, cela laisse vraiment l’espoir que nous y retournions très bientôt, peut être même, l’année prochaine !
Patrice P et de nombreux autres :
Qu’est-ce qui a changé pour toi suite à la "retraite pour les tournées" de David PAICH ?
Que nous réserve TOTO pour fêter leurs 30 années d’existence : album ? (j’en doute vu leur planning d’ici 2007), tournée ??
Que ressens-tu lorsque tu chantes des chansons écrites ou chantées à l’origine par un des autres chanteurs du groupe ?
Luke : Dave s'est mis à la retraite des tournées. C'est son choix. Il jouera toujours et écrira sur les albums, mais comme l'enregistrement de notre musique n'est MAINTENANT, en 2006-2007, pas aussi important qu'en 1978, faire des tournées, c'est là ou nous faisons notre argent et ou nous restons vivants aux yeux du monde
"Falling" est un superbe et grand album. Un de nos meilleurs, à mon avis. Mais les jours ou nous vendions 5 millions d’albums sont revolus depuis longtemps et la radio refuse de jouer les NOUVEAUX morceaux de Toto. Ils jouent la merde de Rosanna, Africa, etc... Mais AUCUNES de nos nouvelles musiques.
Ainsi c’est très frustrant pour les Etats-Unis, de passer 10 mois sur un album que seulement les meilleurs Fans achèteront. Donc nous passons de plus en plus le temps sur la route. J’adore ça, mais certains des gars ne l’aiment pas tant....
Paich peut revenir jouer sur quelques dates pour le 30e anniversaire, nous verrons. Il a une sœur très malade et il s'en occupe beaucoup. Aussi c’est dur pour lui, mais nous l’aimons toujours beaucoup !
David O. :
Y aura-t-il un album, une tournée et un album live pour les 30 ans ?
Luke : Oui bien sûr !
Philippe R. :
Quand est ce que tu enregistreras un nouvel album solo ?
Quel sera son style ?
Luke : Et bien, je vais faire en fait, 2 albums. Un "de guitare, instrumental" et un autre avec du chant qui sera plus un album "d’auteur-compositeur". J’ai déjà bien écrit et j’espère faire ces deux CDS, l’année prochaine. J’aime LES DEUX sortes et ils sont de styles très différents...
j’ai eu des offres pour faire tous les deux, ainsi pourquoi pas ! Ha haha
Pierre L. :
Comment se passent vos relations avec la maison de disque Frontiers Records ?
Y aura t’il d’autres projets, albums, prévu avec eux ?
Luke : C’est eux qui sont venus nous trouver. Ils comprennent notre musique et ils ont fait un grand travail pour nous.
Nous sommes montés très haut dans les Charts mondiaux, quand "Falling" est sorti. L’album y est resté presque une année... Un espoir de plus pour l’avenir !
Cyril G. :
Quels autres morceaux auraient figuré sur l’album "PAST TO PRESENT" si la maison de disque n’avait pas obligé le groupe, à engager Jean Michel Byron ?
A part "Goin' Home", quels sont les titres que vous auriez aimé ajouter sur cet album ?
Luke : C’était le seul... Alors nous avons écrit les 4 titres avec Byron. Aussi mystérieux que cela puisse paraître, il semble que jamais cela ne soit vraiment arrivé...
Je n’ai aucun souvenir de cette période ! La plupart des Fans non plus d’ailleurs !! Haha haha
Guillaume A. :
Comment Falling in Between est né et comment se sont faites les séances d’enregistrements ?
Pourquoi avoir tant attendu avant de sortir ce nouvel album studio ?
Luke : Bon, j’ai déjà répondu à quelqu’un ci-dessus, mais ça nous a pris une LONGUE PÉRIODE DE TEMPS pour faire cet album.
Nous ne nous sommes pas précipités sur son processus. J’ai bien peur que vous deviez attendre un moment, pour le suivant... Car nous sommes réservés pour une tournée qui durera 2-3 ans ! Ha Haha
De voir comment le commerce de la musique a changé, nous aurions pu abandonner et couper quelques morceaux, les finir et rafraîchir ensuite la tracklist, avec les nouveaux morceaux et les vendre sur Internet ou quelque chose comme ça... C’Est juste une idée pour le moment, mais passer 10 mois pour faire un album, c’est beaucoup trop pour moi, à ce stade de ma vie...
Je veux sortir et jouer !!
Jean Pierre F. :
Est ce que Totonetwork vous satisfait et son offre va-t’il grandir ?
Luke : Cela va VRAIMENT arriver bientôt ! Le site est toujours dans une beta version et il y a encores quelques bogues. Mais ensuite nous allons y mettre un tas de contenu sur là et ce sera beaucoup plus cool , plus fraît et plus grand! Soyez patient, c'est ça, la nouvelle technologie!!
Amusez-vous bien et au plaisir de vous voir tous bientôt !
Bye Pascal !!
Amitiés de Luke
2006
Interview Toto Fan France
Quel est l’accueil réservé à TOTO aux Etats-Unis lors de cette tournée ?
Luke : Nous obtenons les MEILLEURES revues de notre carrière aux Etats-Unis. Regarde le billet des semaines dernières dans le Billboard magazine !
Nous venons juste de revenir ici et nous faisons beaucoup de passages TV et des tonnes de presse. On a embauché de nouveaux gens de presse et de nouveaux agents et la tournée commence le 20 juin pendant 3 semaines avant que nous ne revenions en Europe.
Les pré-ventes du nouvel album semblent bonnes, donc je dirais que le vent tourne pour nous ici...
Êtes-vous toujours boudés par le public américain ?
Luke : ce n’est pas le public, mais la presse de Rock Américaine !
Ils nous détestent pour quelque raison. Le public (pas les Fans) pense que nous avons rompu il y a des années, puisque nous ne jouons jamais ici aux US, et tout ce qu’ils jouent à la radio,ce sont les vieux hits sur les stations de Rock Classique.
C’est difficile d’obtenir la diffusion de nos nouveaux morceaux à la radio, MAIS je remercie la radio satellite "XM-Sirius" de diffuser des titres de "Falling in Between".
Les réactions ont été stupéfiantes. Nous devons toujours gravir la route pour nous ici, mais nous sommes sur la bonne voie...
2006
Interview réalisée par Cyrille Delanlssays pour le Site AmarokProg, avec son aimable autorisation de diffusion.
TOTO, vous connaissez ? Une dizaine d’albums au compteur, des millions de vente, des grammy awards à la pelle, des tubes interplanétaires comme « Rosanna », « Africa » ou « Hold the Line » dont le riff fait désormais école... d’accord, mais TOTO c’est aussi une histoire de copains de lycée devenus des musiciens de studio ultra demandés, méprisés dans leur pays d’origine mais toujours au top dans le reste du monde comme en témoigna la tournée 2004 classée numéro 6 en terme d’affluence. Pas mal pour un groupe qui fêtera bientôt ses 30 années de bons et loyaux services et ce n’est pas tout, puisque le tout jeune quintet (Greg Phillinganes vient de rejoindre officiellement le groupe) vient de signer chez le petit label transalpin Frontiers Records. L’occasion de remettre le compteur à zéro et de repartir vers des sentiers où la liberté de ton fait loi. Résultat, « Falling in Between » est une totale réussite et synthétise ce que le groupe sait faire de mieux. L’occasion de tailler le bout de gras avec le légendaire guitariste Steve Lukather. La classe.
AmarokProg : Salut Steve ! Alors, pas trop fatigué après cette première partie de la tournée 2006 ?
Steve Lukather : Un peu oui, mais il faut dire que nous avons pas mal voyagé et participé à des émissions aux USA. D’ailleurs ce n’est pas évident de chanter à 7 heures du matin dans ce genre de programmes, mais cette tournée de promo était quand même sympathique. La première vague de concerts en Europe a fait complet sur pas mal de dates ce qui est une bonne nouvelle ! Alors c’est sûr, je suis un peu fatigué, mais tu sais, je n’ai plus 20 ans même si j’aimerai encore les avoir (rires).
AmarokProg : A ce propos, comment se sont déroulés les concerts ici en France et que penses-tu de notre public ?
Steve Lukather : Nous adorons tous la France ! Vous êtes l’un de nos plus fervents publics et je dirai même plus, des amis. Merci pour ça !
AmarokProg : « Falling in Between » est sorti en février dernier et la critique est globalement très enthousiaste. Quel est ton sentiment là dessus presque 30 ans après les début du groupe ?
Steve Lukather : C’est toujours bon d’avoir de bonnes critiques évidemment, surtout quand on a été cassé pendant des années par la presse « mainstream ». La raison est peut-être parce que nous sommes devenus un groupe « indépendant » ? (rires) De toutes façons, ce sont les fans qui nous donnent envie de continuer, pour le meilleur comme pour le pire. Nous avons travaillé dur sur ce disque alors peut-être est-ce également la raison pour laquelle il en ressort tant de vibrations positives…
AmarokProg : Ce nouvel album sort sur un petit label italien : FRONTIERS RECORDS. Pourquoi les avoir choisi ?
Steve Lukather : En fait ce sont eux qui nous ont trouvé ! Ils nous voulaient vraiment et ils ont fait des promesses… qu’ils ont tenu ! Ce disque se porte très bien à travers le monde surtout si l’on considère que nous avons déjà une longue carrière derrière nous. Nous apprécions beaucoup les gars de Frontiers Records et c'est réciproque d'ailleurs puisqu'ils nous ont signé sans avoir écouté une seule note de cet album. Bref, de bonnes raisons pour que ça fonctionne entre nous !
AmarokProg : Et justement, que penses-tu de ce nouvel album ? Peux-tu nous dire quelques mots sur chaque titre ?
Steve Lukather : Difficile de faire ça rapidement, ça me prendrait au moins deux heures ! (rires) Ce que je peux te dire, c’est que nous sommes très fier de « Falling in Between » et que nous avons tous travaillé d'arrache pied pour arriver à ce résultat. C’est un album honnête, fait avec passion et sans aucune retenue ni contraintes du style « il faut un tube », ce genre de choses, tu vois. « Falling in Between » c’est TOTO à son meilleur avec en plus le bonheur de jouer ces titres sur scène !
AmarokProg : Revenons quand même que premier titre (« Falling in Between ») si tu le veux bien. Il possède un riff très puissant et assez inhabituel pour TOTO. Dans notre dernier entretien, tu me disais d'ailleurs être un grand fan de DREAM THEATER et cette chanson retrouve cette énergie je trouve.
Steve Lukather : Oui, John Petrucci est un bon copain et un INCROYABLE guitariste. Les types de Dream Theater sont des vrais tueurs et je les adore. Ce morceau s’en inspire un peu je suppose mais tu sais, nous aimons les grands groupes qui savent vraiment jouer, j'insiste sur ce dernier point. Et dans ce cadre, je pense qu'ils remplissent leur contrat à 100% !
AmarokProg : On y retrouve également quelques invités prestigieux comme votre ancien chanteur Joseph Williams, avec qui vous semblez avoir fait la paix, et Ian Anderson de Jethro Tull...
Steve Lukather : C'est vrai, et Joseph chante mieux que jamais. D’ailleurs, je le vois bien retravailler avec nous de nouveau. Peut-être pour la tournée anniversaire de nos 30 ans de carrière ! On verra bien. En ce qui concerne Ian, j'ai toujours été un grand fan, et ce fut un immense honneur de l’avoir auprès de nous. Je n’aurai jamais cru ça possible en 1972 (rires). Sinon, tu retrouveras également Jimmy Pankow du groupe CHICAGO, L. Shankar qui joue souvent avec PETER GABRIEL, Lenny Castro, Ton Scott, Steve Porcaro… mais le mieux est de lire la pochette (rires).
AmarokProg : La grande nouvelle reste quand même l’arrivée d’un cinquième membre : Greg Phillinganes. Comment s’est faite la rencontre ?
Steve Lukather : Greg est un grand plus pour le groupe. Ca fait déjà un bail que nous nous croisions de temps à autre sur divers projets. Et quand nous avons eu besoin d'un clavier supplémentaire, Greg est apparu comme le seul choix logique pour nous... mais encore fallait-il le convaincre de nous rejoindre. Enfin, c’est formidable de l’avoir dorénavant à bord !
AmarokProg : C'est vrai que depuis « The Seventh One » (1988), David Paich semble un peu en retrait. N’est-ce pas dû au fait que tu as pris plus de place au chant ?
Steve Lukather : Non, non, je ne suis pas le chanteur principal. Il y a quatre chanteurs différents sur « Falling In Between » et nous avons toujours tous participé au chant depuis nos débuts. Le chant donne juste une idée de la personne qui est sur le devant de la scène, rien de plus. Dave est toujours un pilier de TOTO. C’est en tout cas mon opinion.
AmarokProg : Qu’est-ce qui a contribué au retour de Bobby Kimball sur l'album "Mindfields", quasiment 17 ans après son départ ?
Steve Lukather : Le temps, le pardon et le fait qu’il était en grande partie responsable du son « classique » de TOTO. Et puis nous avons beaucoup changé au fil des années et changerons encore, probablement. Mais le groupe tel qu’il est aujourd’hui est parfait.
AmarokProg : Justement, « Falling in Between » dégage une impression très cool, très sereine. Une variété de voix, des univers différents à tel point qu’il est difficile de comparer le comparer aujourd’hui avec un album comme « Farenheit » par exemple tant on a l’impression d’entendre deux groupes complètement différents. Comment définirais-tu le son de TOTO ?
Steve Lukather : Effectivement, les albums que nous avons fait sont assez différents les uns des autres. Pourquoi ? Je ne peux pas répondre objectivement à cette question, disons que je manque de recul, mais sur le fond tu n’as pas tort.
AmarokProg : « Simple Life » est une très belle chanson beaucoup pense qu’elle est trop courte. Que peux-tu leur répondre ?
Steve Lukather : En fait, « Simple Life» était prévue pour être l’introduction d’une pièce plus longue qui n’a finalement jamais été achevée. Mais ce morceau fonctionnait si bien que le reste du groupe a voulu l’inclure sur l’album. Je l’aime beaucoup et ça ne me dérange pas qu’elle soit si courte. Après tout, les Beatles faisaient des titres de deux minutes non ? Attention, je ne veux pas me comparer à eux mais tu comprends ce que je veux dire... peut-être que la seconde partie sera sur le prochain album, va savoir...(rires)
AmarokProg : « Bottom of Your soul » est également un superbe morceau qui m’a rappelé aux bons souvenirs de « Africa » ou « Home of the Brave ».
Steve Lukather : Tu sais, ces chansons sont juste l’expression de ce que nous ressentons et « Bottom of Your Soul » s’est faite très rapidement. C’est un de mes titres préférés.
AmarokProg : En écoutant ton travail, je remarque que ton jeu a pas mal évolué depuis ta collaboration avec Larry Carlton…
Steve Lukather : C’est vrai, mais je ne peux pas faire les mêmes plans encore et encore et Larry a eu une telle influence... j’ai énormément appris avec lui !
AmarokProg : L’édition japonaise de ce nouvel album propose un joli titre instrumental en bonus intitulé « The Referman ».
Steve Lukather : En fait, le trompettiste Roy Haargrove a fait un bœuf avec nous et comme nous avions besoin d’un bonus pour le Japon, c’était l’occasion. Tu le sais peut-être déjà mais chaque contrat avec le Japon exige un bonus... ne me demande surtout pas pourquoi, c’est juste comme ça. Alors voilà comment « The Referman » est devenue une amusante petite jam be-bop !
AmarokProg : Au-delà du Japon qui vous a toujours soutenu, au même titre que la France, penses-tu que les Etats-Unis pourront apprécier ce disque ou est-ce un cas vraiment désespéré ?
Steve Lukather : On essaye toujours via des émissions de télévision, toutes sortes de promos et actuellement une tournée planifiée sur deux ans. Nous verrons bien le résultat. C’est difficile pour tout le monde ici. Il y a beaucoup de groupes qui marchent bien aux Etats-Unis et pas ailleurs. TOTO est l’exact opposé de cela. Mais le monde est grand et c’est déjà une chance d’avoir le succès que l’on a partout ailleurs.
AmarokProg : J’ai quelques questions sur ton travail en dehors de TOTO si tu le veux bien. Ta carrière solo comprend quatre albums aux styles vraiment différents. Quel genre de musique voudras-tu aborder la prochaine fois ?
Steve Lukather : Comme je le dis toujours, parler de chaque album pourrait me prendre des heures mais pour résumer, je suis fier de tous mes projets en dehors du groupe. Mon but est de jouer une musique différente de celle de TOTO. C’est comme un hobby et je ne suis pas plus riche pour autant et dès que le temps le permettra, j’essayerai encore de nouvelles choses la prochaine fois mais je ne sais pas encore quoi...
AmarokProg : J’ai entendu dire que tu allais de nouveau collaborer avec Derek Sherinian, l’ancien clavier de Dream Theater ?
Steve Lukather : Il me l’a demandé, malheureusement j’étais déjà trop occupé. J’aime beaucoup ce qu’il fait et il s’entoure toujours des meilleurs. J’espère bien retravailler avec lui dans le futur.
AmarokProg : Par contre tu as participé à l’album « Fallen » de Tommy Denander. D’ailleurs presque tous les membres de TOTO participent au meilleur morceau. Comment cela s’est-il déroulé ?
Steve Lukather : Une collaboration exceptionnelle en ce qui me concerne, mais je pense qu’il n’avait pas vraiment besoin de moi. Tommy est un ami et un grand musicien.
AmarokProg : Sur l’album de NIACIN (Billy Sheehan, Dennis Chambers, Joe Novelo) tu joues un magnifique titre blues avec Glenn Hughes...
Steve Lukather : Encore des copains et j’étais très honoré qu’ils me demandent d’y participer.
AmarokProg : Revenons à la tournée de « Falling in Between ». Je crois que vous avez de nombreuses autres dates de prévues. Pensez-vous revenir prochainement en France ?
Steve Lukather : Oui, dès cet été si tout va bien et également en hiver. On adore la France et nous réaliserons un DVD de cette tournée lors des concerts prévus pour 2007.
AmarokProg : Sur scène, on retrouve deux titres de l’album « ISOLATION » qui semblait tombé aux oubliettes depuis des années. Pourquoi cette décision ?
Steve Lukather : Nous avons lu quelques commentaires sur notre site internet et avons essayé de jouer des choses que nous n’avions plus fait depuis longtemps. C’était sympa de déterrer ces titres et de les interpréter de nouveau.
AmarokProg : Le concert est splendide avec notamment trois écrans géants et une mise en scène assez inhabituelle pour vous...
Steve Lukather : J’aime les grosses productions ! C’est peut-être cher mais tellement gratifiant d’offrir un vrai spectacle aux fans.
AmarokProg : As-tu écouté quelques bons disques récemment ? Peut-être les nouveaux Eric Johnson (« Bloom ») ou Joe Satriani (« Super Colossal ») ?
Steve Lukather : Joe est un bon copain mais Eric est un extra-terrestre ! Il est définitivement trop bon (rires). Tu sais, c’est difficile d’écouter beaucoup de nouvelles choses étant moi-même pas mal occupé avec mes propres projets. Heureusement, mon fils me fait découvrir quelques nouveautés avec parfois quelques trucs vraiment excellents.
AmarokProg : Tu m’as déjà avoué plancher sur ton autobiographie.
Steve Lukather : Oui, je la ferais peut-être un de ces jours...
AmarokProg : Question piège : Quelles chansons de TOTO préfères-tu ? Lesquelles aimes-tu le moins ?
Steve Lukather : Oh non, ne me demande pas ça ! (rires) D’accord, il y a eu quelques loupés durant toutes ces années, surtout sur les premiers albums, mais j’avais 19 ans à nos débuts. Que puis-je dire d’autre ? (rires)
AmarokProg : Et bien merci pour cet entretien Steve. As-tu quelque chose à ajouter pour nos lecteurs ?
Steve Lukather : Merci pour tout et j’espère vous revoir tous très bientôt ! Peace.
Cyrille Delanlssays / AmarokProg
2003
2003
In our new interview Steve Lukather talks about his Christmas album "SantaMental" and his future plans.
How did you get the idea of doing a Christmas record?
It wasn't my idea, it was Elliot Scheiner who came to me. He has a record company with Al Schmitt, they have a small jazz label and he asked "Do you wanna do a Christmas record?" I was like "What about me reminds you of Santa Claus?" [Laughter] It was a wild card, I invited a bunch of my friends to do it and we had to do it quickly, it was low budget, so I pulled every favor I had and six days later I had a Christmas record. Jeff Babko did the arrangements and it was really a lot of fun.
How did you pick the traditional Christmas songs for the album? Were these songs kind of all-time favorite Christmas tunes of yours?
Some of them had to be the songs that everybody knows but we just tried to reharmonize them, changed the grooves and wrote solo sections. I did a couple of humorous ones, you know, Sammy is one of my favorites. And Edgar Winter is on Winter Wonderland, living in an Edgar Winter Wonderland [laughter]. It's just silly, I wrote a couple of Christmas songs for a laugh. I didn't wanna do a Kenny G Christmas, you know what I mean? I couldn't do it. There would be no point in it.
Why did you decide to add two original songs to the album?
They wanted us to write some new Christmas songs which is very hard...
That's the next question actually, what's the approach of writing a Christmas song? Is it harder than writing any other kind of music?
The hardest part is getting the Christmas bulbs off my ass [laughter]. It is difficult, very difficult... you know, you just kinda do it. It's a big challenge but I didn't have enough time to really think about it. My wife came up with the title "SantaMental" and I'm on the cover with a strait-jacket... [laughter] It's funny because the Japanese don't celebrate Christmas and they wanted to change the cover. They didn't want me dressed like Santa.
How did you choose the musicians on the album?
Friends... all friends. I cast it. I figured Eddie's gonna play on this one, this is right for him... I picked all the guys for the right tune so they would play in their style and do it in one take. You know, nobody could afford to pay all these guys, so it's like I play on their records, they play on mine, that's the way it works.
But you did the majority of the songs and the arrangements with Jeff Babko?
Yes, I needed somebody to do the record with, who had the time to do it, and I just grabbed Jeff. He's a brilliant musician. He's the hottest young cat in LA right now. I predict great things for him.
Did you have a concept of how the songs were supposed to sound and be arranged before you started recording or was it kind of a huge jam session?
No, we specifically wrote stuff out. The solo parts were improvisation, but all the melodies and harmonies were all very much worked out. We wrote out parts for everybody to read so we could go on fast. We didn't have time to have the cats sit down and spend three hours learning a Christmas song. Read the paper, let's groove...
What are your next plans? Are you going to do another solo album?
No, I'm gonna be busy with TOTO next year. I'll probably do another record with Larry down the line. I don't know when, schedules allow, whatever things might happen.
Very Special Thanks to Luke
© www.toto99.com 2003
2002
2002
"Through the Looking Glass" Preview Ñ 9 March 2002
As the new TOTO album "Through the Looking Glass" is already in its finishing stages, we reveal some details on the tracks and Luke exclusively answers your questions regarding this upcoming release in our special "Through the Looking Glass" Preview.
Steve Lukather and Larry Carlton have won the Grammy 2002 for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for "No Substitutions - Live in Osaka". After this fantastic success Steve Lukather kindly took some time to talk about his feelings and the impact this award might have on his and TOTO's career.
Luke, you have already won several Grammies in the past. And TOTO were also nominated for the past two albums, unfortunately without getting an award. So have you been surprised that you have won this time, or did you expect someone else to win?
Well Larry and I were BOTH surprised to get the nomination in the first place on a "jam" kinda record with 15 minute guitar solos, hahaha. I think this is a payback for 25 years of service. I don't think this is my best work BUT I am VERY grateful for this moment. It means more than I can say. I think it is sweeter this time as I can really appreciate what this means as a 44 year old guy being invited to that party and winning! I am still buzzin' about all this and the press has been amazing. What a GREAT way to start the year.
It´s been almost 20 years after the huge Grammy success with TOTO IV. What does this award mean to you? It is for a totally different kind of work apart from TOTO. Is that something that has a meaning for you regarding your reputation as a musician who is not "just" the TOTO guitarist?
This has been a validation that people still want to hear REAL people play music not just computers. The best things on the Grammy's were the bluegrass guys and the REAL R+B singers, the machine stuff is just that. My phone is ringing off the hook and the e-mails from all over the world are overwhelming. This has had a REALLY positive affect on my reputation as a player.
Do you expect/hope that this Grammy award will also have a positive effect for the upcoming months with the new TOTO album and world tour?
I got ALOT of positive feedback from the big press here about TOTO's new CD. 25th anniversary etc.. I think things may turn around. Lord knows we have paid some dues in the past 20 years but that only makes the success that much better as I appreciate it so much more now.
Very Special Thanks to Luke
© www.toto99.com 2002
2002
The upcoming TOTO album "Through the Looking Glass" will be a very special TOTO record. For the first time, the band decided not to write the songs themselves, but to pick up some of their all time favourite songs from the past and record them with new, modern arrangements in the classic TOTO style.
Tracklist - with original comments by Luke
1. Bodhisattva .. an old Steely Dan. We will be giving a paragraph for each song explaining why we did each song. That will come later.
2. Could you be loved, Bob Marley..KILLER version and our first single. We got a Jamaican rapper guy (I can't remember his name, Huge in europe) in there with James Ingram doing backround vocals as well.
3. While my Guitar Gently Weeps, Great arrangement, Steve Porcaro Rules on this one.
4. Maiden Voyage/Butterfly.. Herbie Hancock. Our classic instrumental tune. VERY cool.
5. Burn Down the Mission. Elton. We got Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsen on backgrounds with Steve P and Dave doing the FULL orchestrations.
6. Sunshine of your Love ..Cream. This is done in 7/4 time signature and has been re-arranged totally. Think heavy-be-bop.
7. House of the Rising Sun. Eric Burdon. This too is almost un recognizable. Very "Pink Floyd like.
8. It takes a lot to laugh, and a train to cry. Dave sings this one, it´s an old Bob Dylan song done ala Leon Russell. Cut all live. Classic Dave!
9. Watching the Detectives, yes thats right.. Elvis Costello. hahaha. We did this as a joke and we know how much Elvis hates us so I did an impression of him. Great track with me as "elvis". It came out so good we put it on the record.
10. Cant get next to you..Al Green. We did horns yesterday. James Ingram is on this as well.
11. Livin for the City, Stevie Wonder. We have a call into Stevie to guest on this one. He has played with us before, not mention all the sessions we have done together. The middle section is gonna be deep.
Questions and Answers - Luke replies to the fans
Why name of the album "Through the looking glass" ? Is there a connection to the song "Slipped Away" of TAMBU?? Because one line goes... "You're a world of blind ambition, staring through the looking glass."
When coming up with the title we were throwing around alot of different ideas and "Through the Looking Glass" really made sense with the music we are making. It's like looking back in time at some of our favorite artists. Its gonna be a really cool album cover. We are going to write a small paragraph on why we chose each song with a story of our connection with the material we chose. These songs were more than just a random choice of tunes. It will be explained song by song. The connection with Slipped Away is an accident but a cool one. It makes for a better story. haha.
I guess your cover album is much more than the so called usual ones. Isn't it a sort of hommage or TOTO tribute to very special musicians?
Well we are at our 25th anniversary and we were out of our deal with Sony records, FINALLY after being a slave to them for 24 years!. They never even said thanks or goodbye or good luck. We made them 100's of millions of dollars..what can I say! We just wanted to have fun and not have the pressure to come up with the "hits" etc.. It seemed like a great idea to pay respect to the music we loved as kids. You'll notice its almost all 70's music. That was our coming of age. We played alot of these tunes when we were in high school or even younger. We have just put OUR touch to the songs. They don't sound like the originals for the most part. I guess instead of digging our writing skills you will see our arranging, production and musician skills instead. You can't argue with the songs as they are almost all classics already.
Are you going to produce any videos for this album. If so for witch songs?
Videos.... why? No one will play them anyway. hahaha. IF we get a hit then maybe but I think Video's suck for the most part. We were never a "video friendly" band. I hated doing them and we spent WAY too much time and money on them and out of the 25 or so we did, maybe 4-5 ever got shown. You see my point. Aside from one or 2 good ones our videos were horrible. Hard to watch for me. hahaha. The hair.. the clothes.. what were we thinking?? hahaha
I'd like to know how the sound will be, is it like more "overproduced" (lika Toto IV , Mindfields etc) or more like Tambu´s "live-in-studio" sound? Also curious about the mixing, isn´t Elliot Scheiner with you anymore?
This new record is a VERY produced record for the most part. There's 1-2 live sounding things but most of it is very detailed with huge harmonies, Steve Porcaro's magic touches ( nice to have him back on it, he wont be touring due to his TV-Movie scoring career), lots of percussion and loops and some of the best individual playing ever on any Toto record. Plus Simon did a GREAT job engineering! It was all done at his house, just the 5-6 of us in the room. NO outside help. Simon even made us Tea at 4 almost everyday. hahaha. Steve Macmillan is mixing it. He's Trevor Horn's guy and is extremely talented. He helped us with post production on the Mindfields album. We wanted a fresh ear on the stuff. Simon may mix one or 2 depending but Mac has done an amazing job on the 2 he finished already. Elliot is AWESOME. He is SO busy as the KING of 5.1 remixes that I don't think he could have done it if he wanted to. He lives on the east coast, we're on the west etc.. We will work together again for sure. He just remixed my Candyman CD -5.1 for DTS that will be out this year. I can't wait to hear that!
Which song will be the japanese bonus track that us guys from Europe will miss?
NO BONUS TRACKS. Same album for everyone..at least at this point. hahaha. I always thought that was jive anyway and a pain in the ass. That was Sony NOT us!
Under which label will the album be released? Do you have a new deal with one worldwide label or do you have another strategy now?
We are doing license deals this time so we can OWN and CONTROL our career. Its about f**king time! haha. Negotiations are in full effect and should be done very soon as we are looking at a single coming in May and album in June with the world tour starting in June as well. We will post dates etc.. when we know for sure. Toto99.com will be the first to know! Thanks for asking and talk to ya soon
Will there be song clips published from a couple of the songs of the new album on the website?
I think we would love to put some song clips up as soon as we have firmed up our business end of things and the tunes are mixed and we have an exact release date. You will hear it first here at Toto99.com
Davey Johnstone....is that the former guitarist of Elton John ??
Yes, thats Davey and Nigel Ollsen with Elton. They did the Backround vocals on the original and those guys are all good friends as well as Elton. This is a great track!
Will you also use some acoustic guitars on the new album ? I like it when you are playing acoustic .
I play acoustics on the record. Ovation/Kamas. GREAT guitars and a great co. They sound awesome. I play Music Man LUKE electric on the whole record plugged directly into a small 1/12 Marshall with effects added at the console. VERY huge and clean sound. It goes to show you that the myth that I need this huge rack is bullnuts. The tape doesn't lie.
Who is doing the cover art and can you already reveal in which direction it goes this time?
Doug Brown is once again doing the art work. He is family and loves the band. We are shooting the back photo's and tour book on Mon. We haven't seen what he has yet but he always has alot of ideas to choose from. In the end its up to us anyway. I'm sure it will be wild.
When are you starting to rehearse for the tour? Any guest musicians with you this time?
Were not sure when rehearsals start. We gotta finish the record first. I would Imagine that Tony Spinner will be back out with us. We need him to play alot of second guitar parts as well as sing those really high parts. He is really talented and we will use more of that this time out. There will be other changes as well but nothing is firmed up yet and all subject to change.
2000
2000
Interview with Steve Lukather, March 31st 2000.By Randy Allar
He's back! Guitarist Steve Lukather is all over the place. Consider this. Lukather's first major exposure was with the rock band TOTO. TOTO was with the same record label for over 20 years. TOTO also has a tremendous following overseas.
Musicman has built a signature Lukather model guitar that is currently available for the masses. Lukather is looking ahead for another solo project, one that may cater more to instrumental fans. The one thing that is certain is the talents of this guitarist/vocalist.
One other thing that is hot on the coals is a pending release with another guitar legend, Larry Carlton. The Nashville based Carlton has just released a solo project called FINGERPRINTS. This creates a problem for the live Lukather/Carlton due out later this year on Steve Vai's record label, Favored Nations. Confused? Well, Steve Lukather called the studios of WCSB and perhaps the following will help clear things up.
- We were talking prior to going on the air and you had me howling. You are larger than life.
Oh, you've seen me naked?
- No and we don't want to go there, but thank you. No, we don't.
- The LOS LOBOTOMYS disc had two pianists.
Two penises. I just think that's the funniest word in the English language. Who looks at that and says, "I've got it. We'll call it a penis!"
- On the Toto disc, TAMBU, you have an instrumental track called "Dave's Gone Skiing." You know why we called it that?
- No idea.
We were suppose to be writing that day, and Dave (Paich, Toto keyboardist) called us and said, "I'm not coming to write; I'm taking the wife skiing. I'll see you later." So we wrote e that song and we had to call it "Dave's Gone Skiing." Some people immediately go to drug references, and we of course don't do that any more. That was an early '80's phase, you know? We called it that because Dave went skiing.
- So is Toto doing well?
We're doing okay, a bunch of old fags.
- You have two new discs out. One called MINDFIELDS and an import called LIVEFIELDS.
LIVEFIELDS is just a postcard from our tour.
- Will that be available in the states?
Yeah, it will be on our artist direct website, toto99.com. Get the plug in.
- You're pushing a CD called LUKE.
I put that out like three years ago.
- It's a great disc.
Thank you, man. I'm getting ready to start my next solo album. I'm writing songs for it right now.
- What's it going to be?
Well, you know? It's going to be a much different record. I never repeat myself. I usually go completely right, left, right, left. Never the same thing. It's going to have some instrumental stuff. I don't know. I can't think. (laughs) It's going to be good, I hope.
- Have you put out anything that wasn't good?
That depends on who you ask.
- Is Toto still on Sony Records?
No. You know what, LIVEFIELDS is the last record for them. I think they want us to resign, but I'm not sure we want to. After being on the same label for 23 years, overseas they've done real well by us and we've done real well by them, but in the states, it's a joke, you know. I mean they just don't care. You think if you made somebody $200 million, they'd be nice to you. I think it's time to move on. I don't know if Toto is going to make another record. I'm not saying that we broke up, I'm not saying anything. I just don't know. We've worked very hard over the last year and a half, and I think we have a few more dates this year. I'm going to do some stuff overseas, do some festivals, a couple of gigs in the states. I'm going to do some stuff with Edgar Winter this summer at the jazz/blues festivals. By the end of summer, I think Toto is going to go away for awhile. No offense to the guys. I have my own record to do, I'm involved in a new record label and video channel, which is, called INDEPENDENT MUSIC NETWORK and the record company is called Envision. It's going to be a really radical company. It's going against all the grain. It's being run by musicians and people who have billions of dollars. Our motto is "Get Huge!" You'll get the joke soon. The TV commercials are classic. They really take the piss out of corporate music. When you see it, you're going to crack up. You'll go, "Aw, that's Lukather." I never thought I'd end up on that side of the desk. I still do all my other stuff, but I'm going to try to up the quality of music. We live in a cookie-cutter society. What we need is another band that looks and sounds like The Backstreet Boys and In Sync.
- You have a live disc with guitarist Larry Carlton coming out soon.
Yes, that's in the can right now. We're waiting to figure out a time when we can release it where it doesn't stomp over each other's releases. Larry's got a Fourplay record coming out; he's got his own solo record out. I have stuff coming out; I'm not going to be around, so we're just trying to find a window. It's gonna be on Steve Vai's label (Favored Nations).
- That's a terrible thing to have so many releases coming out that you can't release another record.
Well, you have to time it right or there's a glob of it and people will overload on your stuff, you know?
- Do they overload on you?
I don't know. This is what I've been told.
- The people I've spoken to can't get enough Steve Lukather.
WellÉtell those three people I said "HI!"
- Recently you were playing with Edgar Winter.
Yeah, I was working over in Japan. We had a great time, man. It was killer. And because we had such a good time, we're going to take it on the road this summer.
- Are you going to be playing the states?
Yeah, we are. We have bookings overseas, but I think throughout the course of the year, we'll be playing here and there in some of the big cities, and of course Cleveland would be on that list.
- You have yourself a solo record called LUKATHER.
That was like 11 years ago.
- It featured a lot of players like David Garfield and Eddie Van Halen even made an appearance.
He's one of my best friends.
- How's his hip doing?
He got it replaced. He's doing fine. Top notch. It's not as bad as when you're 80. He's only 40-something years old. It's called jumping around the stage for 25 years when you're tanked to the gills!
- Your hips are okay, aren't they?
Yeah, I'm fine. I can even suck my ownÉohÉnever mind. You were diving for that radio mute button, weren't you? I know how far I can go. I'm not new here.
- You have a second release called CANDYMAN, which was released as Steve Lukather, and then changed to Los Lobotomys.
It was Steve Lukather overseas, and over here in the states, since it was a band record, we made it a band album.
- Is Los Lobotomys doing a record in 2001?
I don't know, we'll see. Maybe.
- There is a disc called NEVER WALK ALONE.
NO, it's bootleg. I actually have it. It's pretty bad quality, but it's not a bad show.
- I also like the purple pants that you are wearing.
Oh, you like that? You know how I got those? There's a story behind the purple pants.
- Why is there a story behind the purple pants?
When I opened for Alice Cooper, who is an old friend of mine, and Alice is a little more glam-rock. Reb Beach is playing guitar, and they had these purple pants. During the performance, if you made a mistake, then you had to wear the purple pants the next night. Well, when I saw them, I had to have them; I stole them and wore them for the rest of the tour as a joke. See, obviously I don't take myself that seriously.
Yeah, well his playing is that serious. Steve Lukather is one of the most entertaining musicians alive, both on and off the stage. The Lukather/Carlton release should be out soon, and should have some amazing playing. Also consider this. Lukather is thinking about his next solo release, which just might be heavy with instrumental compositions. Finally, another side band for Lukather, LOS LOBOTOMYS, is looking to release a second disc slated for 2001. Now that is some great news!
Thanks Randy.
2000
Upcoming projects :
You haven't played with TOTO in the United States for many years before you finally did some shows last year in May. Since then TOTO did quite a few gigs in the US and you'll probably add more TOTO shows in the States all over this year. How important is it for your to play with TOTO in your own country? Is this the first step on the way back in the minds of the people in the states? How do you see these shows?
We'll we have been playin gigs here this year and they have been really fun and the audiences have been really enthusiastic etc. Unfortunatly we are not gonna do a full scale US tour cause of many reasons. First is that we all have so many outside projects and Toto has been touring for about 14 months already and the other is that we can't make the $$ we can outside the US and I think that most of us want to be paid well to be away from our loved ones.
We love playing the States but the demand for us isn't as great and our record sales reflect that not to mention that we get very little support from our rec.
co. Its a catch 22. We are releasing Melanie to AC radio this May as its the only US radio format that will play NEW Toto stuff. Its a shot, we'll be doing TV and some more shows throughout the year in the US. We'll see you out there somewhere.
What's the main difference between the audience in the States, the people in Japan and the European fans, if any?
Well besides the cultural aspects of it I guess that we get a great reaction wherever we play. The audiences in Europe are our biggest with Japan next and then everywhere else after that. We love ALL our fans out there and its because of you guys that we still do this after 23 years!
TOTO is going to play some shows in the Carribean/Central America in April/May! Have you played there before? If not, what do you expect of these gigs? Are you going to change the set list for these gigs, maybe some Reggae elements in the show?
(Back in 1996 you did a Reggae version of "Somewhere tonight" in Europe. Would that be an idea for the Central American shows?)
I haven't been there but it will be a paradise kind of vacation gig. We always tend to be influenced by where we are so we might sneak a little reggae in there while we jam for a laugh as we love improvising. I haven't played the gigs in Central America so it will be a new audience, were looking forward to it!
What about the set list for the festival shows in Summer. Can we expect some surprises during the set, compared to the set list on the "Mindfields tour"?
Set list change? Maybe, its hard as we don't rehearse because everyone is so busy right now. Simon is working on his new project with gigs this summer, Dave is producing Boz Scaggs' new album, I hear Mike and Steve are doing some stuff as Bobby has his band and I am so busy its insane. I'm writing my album and will be working on it over the next few months for a Fall release ( I HOPE) and I'm gonna produce a few tracks on Eric Gales record for MCA and I have been offered a new and exciting gig with a new rec. co. called InVision rec that is partnered with a new video channel called Independent
Music Network thats gonna be a new huge force in the rec business. I'll tell you more as it comes along. The great thing is that I can still do all my other projects as well. I will also be touring Europe with Edgar Winter this summer after Toto is done so its gonna be a busy year to say the least!
Beside all the work with TOTO, you started working on your new solo record. Is there anything which you can already tell us about it (musical style, participating musicians)?
Well, since its still in VERY early writing stages I have a sound in my head that needs to come out. I THINK its gonna be a cross between Beck-Clapton-Gilmour-early Genesis (progrock)- with a funkier groove. This is my concept hahaha, we'll see what really comes out in the end. I will have some instumental stuff and some singing stuff ala Candyman without repeating myself. Longer songs to stretch out and play my guitar more. Players???
We'lI know that Vinnie Cauliata will be on it, John Pierce, Phil Soussan probably, I haven't really gotten into it that far yet but it will be WAY different then the LUKE album or any of the others really and I will tour behind it when its done.
What about a new TOTO studio record? Is there anything planned so far? Do you already have a schedule for this or do you first want to finish the solo record before thinking of a new TOTO album?
New Toto?? Hard to say when really. We are officially out of our deal with Sony and we are free agents for the first time in 23 years. I hear that the rec co wants Past to Present 2 with 3-4 new songs on it. That may happen. We haven't really talked about our future. We don't see each other much at home. A meeting is coming up so I will know more later. I THINK we may have one more studio album left in us but when we do it is hard to say. We love each other alot but I think after all this touring this year we may go away for while. Its the old story, How can you miss me if I never go away! Hahahahaha.
Very Special Thanks to Luke
1998
Avril 1998
Hey Steve!
Hey, what's happening?
Not much actually, what about yourself?
Just sitting here playing my guitar.
Cool, thanks for taking my call.
No problem man.
So what did I catch you in the middle of, in the studio?
I am just about to start something. Some weird project for John Kalodner. Actually it's a Christmas thing. Christmas in April! You have to do these things way ahead! But I am doing a track with the Lobotomy guys, Garfield and Phillips. We are doing a strange version of Chestnuts Roasting On The Open Fire, but kinda how Metallica would play it or something.
Sounds different!
Yeah, we're just having fun with that, and writing songs for a Toto album we are supposed to start recording in the summer. And I am trying to finish the Jeff Beck record, but who know's if that is ever going to get done. We haven't done anything on that since the end of October, stuff needs to be done. He takes 10 years between albums, now I understand why.
I heard that you had taken up with John Kalodner.
He is a really good friend of mine, he has been a very big supporter of me and my career, and all that sort of stuff. He is going to walk us through the next Toto record, we are going to go back to the original concept of the band. Stylistically speaking. Over produced, super obnoxious, stuff the critics will hate.
Great, stuff the fans will love!
Yeah, you know, five part harmonies, triple guitars, all the stuff that pisses them off. Sort of making fun of ourselves, but making fun of it.
Good, piss them off then.
Yeah, we've got the this record coming out next month, that is 20 years of unreleased material.
Yeah, I have the track listing here. It looks good.
It's quite a good record. I am actually surprised, we dug up some cool shit. I am listening, and going fuck, why didn't we put that on the record?! Some of it was unfinished, so I would throw a guitar solo on that was missing, or some background vocals that were missing. Most of it was already done.
Where have most of the songs come from?
We have got hundreds sitting in the vault. Some great stuff with Jeff Porcaro. For Jeff fans, this will be the record to get. It goes through most incarnations of the band. Stuff with Bobby, Jo, and a lot of stuff with Dave singing. There are a couple of live tracks on there too.
Even some from our first original demo. We haven't touched them up at all. We have done some cool liner notes too. Other than that, I have a bunch of stuff to produce and work on, life's pretty good at the moment.
You are a busy guy - you seem to play on a stack of records each year.
You know, I am not doing that too much anymore. I do one or two, but nothing like I was doing 10 years ago. I would rather do my own projects, you know, solo records and Toto, and write and produce for other people.
I am a big fan of your solo records.
Thanks man, I wasn't too sure if you were getting that stuff in Australia.
No we're not, but it's all available on import.
Well, you know, we get no support whatsoever from our Record Company down there. Sony kinda shits on us there. So that's why we can't afford to come down there.
Yeah. It has been about 6 or 8 years since you were here last.
We get no support from the record label, and most promoters think they are going to loose their ass. Very conservative. A lot of people I know haven't even been there before. My bud Eddie is there soon for the first time.
Yeah, I have my Van Halen tickets right now. Be here next week.
Ed and I are like family, you know. He called me up from Hawaii this morning.
He played on your first solo record.
Yeah, that's right! I sang backgrounds on their records. They are the last great rock n roll band left, except maybe for Aerosmith. At the end of this decade, they are going to flush the toilet on the whole 90's style.
Good!
Yeah, it's like okay guys, this was the decade of lets play and sing bad. There was some great stuff too, but it was hard to get through a lot of it. Maybe because I am 40 now, not 20. My kids play me a lot of stuff. And my girlfriend, she's like 26! There is just so much that is forgettable. None of them will have long careers. It's like they will break up or die! They won't get a gig with someone else, because they don't know how to play. That's not being crusty of cynical, it's just the facts.
Ha ha. When the media picks up on that it's not cool to play that kind of music again, what are they going to do? I watch this MTV shit, which I really hate. They have single handedly ruined the entire art of music. Turned it into a huge fucking McDonalds commercial. No imagination at all. I remember they way it was, when you used to look forward to digging a new album, a big album, a LP you know! You didn't need a magnifying glass to read the album credits.
You used to think, wow what were these guys thinking of when they recorded this, and maybe if you were lucky, maybe once a year you saw them live. Now it is shoved down your throats so much, that people just don't care anymore. It's like, music, oh yeah great.
What is going to happen now, though, is that it is going to change. It's time. I am looking forward to it. I have survived three decades in the music business.
What's cracking me up now, is the return of the 80's! Like disco came and went again. It just shows you that there is nothing new, it's justdressed up differently.
What about the style for the new Toto record, you say you are going to go back ?
Yeah man! We are just going to do what we do best, and be real obnoxious about it. Over the top production you know. Lots of synthesizers, guitars and solos, percussion and all. At the same time as making a good record, we are just going to take the piss out of ourselves. John Kalodner is going to be involved, and check our choice of material. He has done a lot of good for bands like Aerosmith and Journey.
And what about the vocal duties?
Well, I think we might throw it around a bit. Dave is going to do some, I will do some, and who knows, you might see an old familiar face or something like that. It all depends on how this record goes, this new old record.
We are all going to get together and go to Europe, if it all works out, with Steve Porcaro, Joseph Williams and Bobby Kimball. We are going to play a few secret shows to just see what happens. We have buried the hatchet, nobody is mad anybody anymore. That was 15 years ago, what am I pissed of at, you know?
Just get over it, eh?
Yeah, like come on, life is too God damn short. To be honest with you, I am just really happy to be making a great living still playing music. I am in my 22nd year of making music.
Is that right?
Yeah, I have just turned 40, and life is good to me. I get older and my girlfriend's get younger.
Ha ha, so how many records have you played on then?
They tell me between 600 and 700 records.
Are you serious?
Yeah!
So there isn't much chance of me getting the entire Steve Lukather collection then?
Nah man, why would you want to?!
Ha ha ha.
No man, seriously, some of it's crap, you know. When I was just a session man, I was doing something like 20 sessions a week, I didn't even know what record I would be playing on next. Hence the years of drug abuse!
I would get so fucking bored playing on all these crappy records, it was like 'wow, I got to get high or something here'. Don't get me wrong, it was a great time to be playing. Even if you were on a shitty record, musically you would be playing with the best cats in the world, so we had some fun, we tried to make the most of it, and give it out all, but it was very forgettable stuff a lot of it. The great ones were the great ones, and they still hold up, you know.
Some of your singers had problems with substance abuse, didn't they?
Well you can't do that shit, and sing man! It's as simple as that. Anybody that has ever done that shit will tell you that.
Really it isn't good for anybody, but at the same time, if you are a singer and you do something that numbs your throat out, and you scream because you can't feel it, and you trash your voice and can't sing anymore. That's like me sticking my fingers in fucking acid and trying to play. Eventually you won't be able to do it anymore.
But all the guys have got their shit together, and they are clean and they don't do it anymore. I like to drink and have a joint, I am over 21, my kids don't know that, but hey! I went through a period where I was completely straight, not a drink, nothing, about 8 or 9 months. I said, well that was cool, I can do that, I will have a little drink and hang out, that's cool.
There was never a point that I was blowing it or something, it just became a pattern, because everyone around me was doing it around me. You don't really realize, it creeps up on you. It's when you start feeling shit all the time, it's time to chill.
But everyone that lived through that era was into it, and if they say they weren't they are lying. Ha ha - or a freak of nature. I am just glad I have missed the heroin decade, the 90's. That shit you don't mess a round with. Apparently it is one of the best high's, but I have seen it destroy a lot of people.
The drag of it is, they make it cheap and affordable, so the kids can get into it. So fuckin' stupid. But you know, my daughter is going to be 13 soon. Don't think I am not thinking about all this. The advantage is I have lived through it, and I can recognize the signs. I have a brutally open dialogue with my kids.
That's probably the best way to be.
Yeah, they are going to do what they are going to do, so a lot of knowledge helps. Anyway, enough of that shit, what else do you want to talk about?
Well I have a buddy of mine here who is a mad Toto fan, so can I put him on to throw a couple of questions at you?
Yeah man sure!
How's it going Steve? Richard here.
Hey Richard, pleasure to meet you.
I just have a couple of general questions I would love to ask you.
Sure, shoot!
Who is your favourite vocalist singer, who would you would like to jam with?
Oh man, there are so many great ones. Peter Gabriel, Steve Wonder, Paul Rogers. Aretha Franklin, people like that, real singers.
I heard a rumor that you may produce Def Leppard?
Ha ha, here's the story with that. I am not producing their next album. Rick, the drummer, is my next door neighbor, across the street, and we used to hang all the time. At one time he and Phil come down to my studio and we talked about maybe doing a track or two together, but it never materialized. And they are in the studio with some one or other, I haven't seen him for a while. I love those guys, and that was that. Rick's a good friend. We all come from the same place.
So living next door, you have an instant jam session when ever?
Yeah, it's interesting, my son play drums, and Rick used to have two drum kits set up and he would go over and jam with him.
That was my next question actually, wondering if your kids have picked up any talent from their dad!
Oh yeah, my son's a drummer, and my daughter play keyboards and sings her ass off. She plays a little guitar also. She can play anything she wants.
She's going to be thirteen soon, I am about to have a teenage daughter, how fucking scary is that?
One question that has always bugged me - the Toto sword/rings logo - who came up with that?
I guy called Phillip Garace came up with that. He also designed the Grateful Dead's logo - the one with the skeleton playing the violin. He also did the penguin logo for Fleetwood Mac.
Another question, do you see James Newton Howard much?
Well he writes scores for every 'A' movie coming out of Hollywood. He is even up for an Academy Award this year. I haven't talked to him for a while, about a month ago. He misses the rock thing occasionally, but doesn't need to do it.
Well it has been a pleasure talking to you Steve, thanks.
It has been a please also mate.
Hey Steve. I have a couple more things to throw at you.
Are you still hanging out with Brett Walker? Brett! I really want to do something with him at some point. We just can't seem to get it together. You know he is a really sweet guy, very talented. I hope he gets the break he deserves. Really cool music. We keep threatening to write a tune, but not yet. We spent a little time together last year.
Yeah, he said you were a very cool guy, and it was great to hang out for a while. He said it was a real honor.
Oh shit man, I ain't no big deal.
Do you see Fergie at all anymore?
Shit I haven't seen him in years. Last time I saw him was in Minneapolis in '93. I have no bad feelings or anything, he's a nice guy. He didn't have a substance problem. He was freaked out in the studio man. He could not sing in the studio. He was fine live, once he learned it he was fine.
But getting a vocal out of him in the studio was really like pulling teeth. It became incredibly frustrating. It would take like weeks one on song to get a lead vocal. He is a great singer, and maybe he isn't like that anymore. We were too impatient I guess, and the more we pushed him, the more freaked out he was and the worse it became.
He was kind of a nervous guy, and he lost his voice out on the road a lot. I don't why.
Do you enjoy the singing live?
Yeah it's cool. I have gotten quite used to it. I haven't lost my voice once, because I take good care of it. It doesn't freak me out at all anymore. I wouldn't mind sharing it around a little though. I don't have a big ego, you know, whatever is best.
On the 'Absolutely Live' album, you have shared it around a bit.
That is my least favourite record. Don't listen to that record at all. I don't really listen to any of my records though!
My favorite is probably your debut solo record. I paid around $40 for that.
Why is that? You should be able to get that through Sony at the same price as anything else.
Yeah, it was import only at the time.
Fucking record company! We still sold like 20 million records, and they are embarrassed that we are on the label.
Hopefully Kalodner will be able to turn things around for you.
Yeah, there is stilll a stigma that surrounds the band. Each territory has a choice to release it or not. Even though they are supposed to they don't. Get us in a non English speaking country, and we are huge. We have been the band to hate for 20 fucking years! The only person that has to take more shit than us is probably Michael Bolton! They have just about killed him here too. He's just about over.
The negative press is catching up?
Yeah, you like to think it doesn't, but if people keep reading how un-cool something is, then. Everyone wants to be cool! The people that like us really like us, and the people that don't, really hate us a lot.
When are you going over to Europe?
I am going over twice to promote this record. Once in April myself, then May 26 I think, we are all going over to play. All of us on stage together for the first time in 20 years, it will freak people out.
That will go off!
Well, I don't know if it will be any good or not! Ha ha!
And the next studio album will be out when?
Starting it in the summer, and finish it toward the end of the year. We will be on the road through 1999. We would love to get down there. I had a great time last time I was there. Supply and demand. You guys are a long way away.
It costs us like $60,000 just to get out gear down there. We don't show up and play on rented twin reverb, you know. We are sticklers for the sound. A lot of people just got out any play along with their record, you know! Really scary. People that mime the lot. I have seen people with all this digital shit behind the stage, and I go 'Well, what's up here?' and they go 'Well, we can't pull this shit off live!'.
There is a lot more Milli Vanilli going on than you think. A lot of people don't even play on their own records!
Alright Steve, thanks for talking to us.
Sure man, I gotta blow, great talking to you. Bitchn' say hello to everyone down there, and call up our record company and bug them!
Very cool! Will do.
Byeeeee.
And that people, was Steve Lukather!
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