The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities abroad and was doing business in France, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, 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 documented Toto words so that the next generation could understand them. However, many of the words were replaced with foreign ones, such as dui from Bengali for verandah.
Origins
The company was founded in 1917 and its early years mirrored Japan's economic growth. In the first half of its existence, the company produced goods to meet demand for modern, contemporary urban housing. To accomplish this, it used the first tunnel kiln in the country that produced ceramics in a continuous flow. It also pioneered the use automation to control production, allowing for more efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding its operations overseas in the latter part of the 1980s to benefit from new markets and sales opportunities. The company founded the Cera Trading Company to import and distribute other products of other manufacturers in order to complement its own line of sanitary earthenwares and plumbing fittings. This strategy boosted sales and increased the company's market share in the world.
By the 1990s, Toto had shifted its emphasis on research and development for water-related household appliances. It also improved its distribution system to better serve the needs of customers and boost profits. The company used the same just-in time approach in its supply chain management and sales program. This resulted in a greater level of customer satisfaction.
Toto continues to invent with regard to toilet technology. The latest toilet, for instance, has a powerful tornado flush that is more environmentally friendly than conventional toilets. The company also uses recycled water in its production process and has a green procurement policy. Toto also produces bathtubs, faucets, and hand dryers that have higher energy efficiency than conventional models.
The first Toto museum opened in 2015. It hosts exhibits on Toto's most famous products and their evolution, the group companies (all of which are ceramics) and the history of plumbing, and other products like bath units. In an additional gallery, you can see Toto products that are sold throughout. The museum houses the bathroom equipped with a WASHLET and other toilet innovations.
Before the formation of Toto members of the group did sessions with various musicians. Boz Scaggs album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich as well as guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather as well as drummer Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also performed on albums by Steely Don, Seals and Crofts and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
It is common for a group with a name such as Asia to be a prog rock band however it's actually a fairly straight forward rock outfit. The band began as four-piece, and released two albums that were self-titled in 1979 and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. But even though the band have a variety of musical backgrounds their biggest hit came in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster, but not without difficulties. Record companies put the band on the position with the order "give us a hit record or we'll sack you" and the pressure was on them to meet the deadline. Toto was able to do this with the help from the hit song "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is due to their previous experiences since the members were session musicians for artists such as Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts before starting the group. Their sonic trademark has become the standard for the '80s, and has influenced many contemporary artists.
The album begins hard with songs like Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to write great AOR tunes that slowly creep into your head. The album also has some more mellow, jazzy tracks like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations. This song blends folk and distorted AOR that could appear completely unnatural, but actually is very effective.
After Toto IV, the band's fortunes began to decline. David Hungate left the band to pursue a solo career, and the band had a variety of drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the group due to drug charges. The band continued with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Toto released Isolation despite the turbulence. 첫가입 꽁머니 was not as popular as IV. However, the band managed to release another chart-topping album in 1992 with Kingdom of Desire. The album was the last of Toto's lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new singer.
Tours
The band has performed for millions of people around the globe, and has sold-out shows in Europe, North America and Asia and also Australia and New Zealand. The band has a wide repertoire, and its catalog has been played more than one billion times via streaming services all over the globe. The band's iconic music has inspired generations of fans.
Steve Lukather has forged a vibrant, intimate friendship with Joe Williams that is flourishing professionally around the globe. In 2018, the duo celebrated their 40th anniversary of Tours Around The Sun with a hugely successful tour around the world. The album with the same name debuted at 5 on the Billboard 200. The new tour of the band features their greatest hits and rarely performed live deep cuts, along with a selection of songs from Lukather and Williams the catalogs of their respective albums.
TOTO has a customer satisfaction rating of 20 according to 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 utilize their products or services. Detractors are those who evaluate the company poorly, and can even actively hinder people from using their services or products.
Join Toto to experience a unique cultural encounter in Asia. This highlights tour of the region that the French used to call Indochine provides luxurious accommodation, a day on a luxurious cruise ship in Halong Bay, and an exploration of the mysterious temples of Angkor Wat. You will also spend an evening in the charming city of Luang Prabang. This UNESCO World Heritage City is a feast for your senses. This is a once-in-a-lifetime excursion you should not miss!
Line-up
Turn Back, the band's third studio album it was a return to a traditional sextet style and it was a more consistent, more powerful effort that had a more grittier edge. The more experimental sound of Turn Back reflected the maturation in the group. The drummer Bobby Kimball's increasing virtuosity was reflected by the vocals of Joseph Williams, who had become more confident and mature. David Paich's keyboard skills were as well more refined, more precise, and less derivative on previous efforts.
After touring to promote their album, the band recorded an Amsterdam live performance that was released by Eagle Records as a 2-CD set entitled Falling In Between. The studio album came out a few months later, and the group went on a world-wide tour to promote the album. During this time keyboardist Greg Phillinganes filled in for Paich, and bassist David Hungate left the group to spend more time with his family.
In 1998, Paich & Lukather began looking through old tapes and demos to find songs that had never been recorded prior to. The album was released in 2001 and released as a double album called Then and Now. It was the first album in the history of the band not to feature any single song that had the word "A" in the title, and it also contained one previously not released track, "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth album, Old Is New was not a commercial success and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis, which restricted his singing capabilities. In addition, Hungate returned to Nashville and drummer Leland Sklar was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Downes along with the other original members of Asia - Wetton, Palmer, and Howe--convened a meeting in England in the early part of 2006 to discuss the possibility of officially reforming the band. This lineup, minus Howe (who was busy with Yes at the time), eventually became known as Toto XIV and toured extensively.
In 2010, the band reunited for another reunion tour with a slightly different line-up, including guitarists Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather, drummer John Pierce, bassist Shannon Forrest, and multi-instrumentalists Warren Ham and Dominique Taplin. The band featured a special appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.