The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities overseas and doing business in France, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the People's Republic of China. Toto believed that North America as a growth market for Washlet bidet seats and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto was recording Toto words to ensure the future generations would be able to read the words. However, many of the words were replaced with foreign ones, such as dui, which is Bengali for verandah.
Origins
Toto's early history that began in 1917, mirrored Japan's rapid economic growth. In the early years of its existence, the company manufactured goods to meet demand for modern and contemporary urban housing. To do this, it used the first tunnel kiln in the country that produced ceramics in a continuous flow. It also pioneered automation for production control, which allows for greater efficiency and a more consistent production.
In the late 1980s, the company began expanding overseas to profit 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 increased the firm's global market share.
By the 1990s, Toto had shifted its focus to research and development of household appliances that use water. It also improved its distribution system to better serve the needs of customers and boost profits. The company adopted a just-in-time approach to supply chain management, and it used the same method in its sales strategy. This resulted in a greater level of customer satisfaction.
Toto continues to invent on the toilet technology. Its most recent toilet, for instance it has a powerful tornado flush that is more ecologically friendly than conventional toilets. The company also uses recycled water in its production process and has a green purchasing policy. Toto also manufactures bathtubs, faucets, and hand dryers with higher energy efficiency than typical models.
The company's first museum opened in 2015 and features exhibits on Toto's most iconic products and their development as well as its group companies (all that deal with ceramics) and the history of plumbing and products like bath units, and in a separate gallery, Toto products sold around the world. The museum even has a bathroom that features a WASHLET toilet as well as other toilet-related innovations.
Before the formation of Toto members of the group did sessions with various musicians. Keyboardist David Paich, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and guitarists Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather all played on the album Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs. They also played on records by Steely Don, Seals and Crofts and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
It is common for a group with a name like Asia to be a prog band however it's actually a relatively straightforward rock band. The group began as a group and recorded two albums - 1979's self-titled debut and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. However, even though the group have a variety of musical backgrounds, their biggest success was achieved in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster, but not without its own set of issues. The record companies placed the band under pressure to deliver a hit single or else they would pull them. Toto was able achieve this with the help from the smash hit "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is due to their prior experience in the music industry, as the band members had been session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts prior the group. Their sonic signature has since become the standard for pop music from the 1980s, and has influenced many modern 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 tunes that slowly creep into your head. The album also features jazzier, slower tracks like The Little Things and Chinatown. And the album ends with Great Expectations, a song which combines folk and distorted AOR and should sound totally wrong, but works wonderfully well.
After Toto IV The band's fortunes took a turn towards the negative. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career, and the band went through numerous drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the group due to drug charges. The band continued to play with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Despite the turmoil, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation however, which was not as successful as IV. The group managed to release a chart-topping album, Kingdom of Desire, in 1992. This album marked Toto's final lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new vocalist.
Tours
The band has performed all over the world to a global audience of millions, and has sold-out shows across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and New Zealand. The band has a wide collection of songs, and their catalog has been heard over a billion times on streaming services across the world. The band's music has been influential to many generations of fans.
Steve Lukather and Joe Williams have forged a deep colorful friendship that is thriving professionally on a global basis. In 2018 the duo celebrated their 40 Tours Around The Sun with an incredibly profitable global tour. The album that bears the same name reached #5 on Billboard 200. The new tour of the band features their greatest hits and rarely performed live deep cuts, as well as some of the songs from Lukather and Williams the catalogs of their respective albums.
TOTO has a Net Promoter Score of 20. This score is a measure of the likelihood that customers will recommend the brand. Promoters are people who give a positive score to the company and encourage others to utilize its products or services. Detractors are those who rate the company poorly, and may even actively hinder people from using their services or products.
Join Toto for a unique cultural experience in Asia. This highlight tour of a region that the French used to call Indochine offers luxurious accommodation, a day on a luxurious cruise ship in Halong Bay, and an exploration of the mystical temples of Angkor Wat. Also, you 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
Turn Back, the band's third studio album, was an ode to the traditional sextet style, and a more consistent, stronger effort that had a more grittier edge. The more experimental sound of Turn Back was a reflection of the growth of the band. The drummer Bobby Kimball's increasing ability to play was evident in the vocal delivery of Joseph Williams, who had become more confident and mature. David Paich's keyboard skills were also more sophisticated, sharper, and less derivative on previous efforts.
After touring to promote their album, the group recorded the band's Amsterdam live show which was released on Eagle Records as a 2-CD set entitled Falling In Between. The group released a brand new studio album just a few months after, and went on a world tour support 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 searching through old tapes and to-topia.com demos for an album that would feature songs that had never been recorded before. The album was released as a double-album titled Then And Now in 2001. It was the band's first album without one single track titled "A". The album also included a previously unreleased track "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth album, Old Is New, was a commercial failure and vocalist Williams suffered from a bad laryngitis condition which limited his singing capabilities. Hungate also returned to Nashville and Leland Sklar's drumming was replaced by Shem Von Schroeck.
Downes along with the other original members of Asia - Wetton, Palmer, and Howe--convened an event in England in early 2006 to discuss the possibility of reforming the group. This lineup, minus Howe who was occupied with Yes during that time, was renamed Toto XIV. They 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.