The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding its production facilities abroad, and doing business in France and Germany, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan, Thailand and the People's Republic of China. The company considered North America as a growth market for Washlet's bidets and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto was documenting Toto words to ensure the future generations would be able to read them. However, many words were replaced with foreign ones, such as dui, which is Bengali for verandah.
Origins
The early history of Toto that began in 1917, was a reflection of Japan's rapid economic expansion. In the beginning of its existence, the company made products to meet the demand for modern and contemporary urban housing. To achieve this, it used the first tunnel kiln in the country to make ceramics in a continuous flow. It also pioneered automation for production control, which helps to increase efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding overseas in the latter part of the 1980s to benefit from new markets and sales opportunities. The company created the Cera Trading Company to import and sell other products of other manufacturers in order to expand its line of sanitary earthenwares and plumbing fittings. This strategy increased sales and expanded the firm’s global market share.
In the 1990s, Toto began focusing on research and development for water-related appliances. It also improved its system of distribution to better serve its customers and boost profits. The company adopted a just-in-time approach to managing its supply chain, and it used the same method in its sales strategy. This led to a higher level of customer satisfaction.
Toto continued to innovate toilet technology. The latest toilet from the company features an environmentally friendly, powerful tornado flush. The company also uses recycled water in its production process and has a green procurement policy. Toto also produces faucets, bathtubs and hand dryers that have higher energy efficiency than standard models.
The company's first museum opened in the year 2015, and it has exhibitions on Toto's seminal products and their evolution as well as its group companies (all having to do with ceramics), history of plumbing and other products like bath units, and in a separate gallery, Toto products sold around the world. The museum also has a bathroom that includes the WASHLET toilet, as well as other toilet-related innovations.
Before forming Toto, members of the band did sessions for various musicians. Boz Scaggs' album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich, guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather and drummer Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also performed on albums by Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
With a name like Asia you'd think that the group would be prog kings and queens but they're actually a pretty straight forward rock band. The group started out 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 wide range of musical backgrounds, their biggest success came in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a major blockbuster, however it did not come without its own set of issues. The record companies put the band under pressure to deliver the top single or they would drop the album. Toto was able achieve this with the help from the hit song "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is a result of their prior experience since the members were session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts prior the group. Their distinctive sound has since become the standard for pop music from the 1980s, and has influenced many contemporary artists.
The album opens with a strong and pounding sound with tracks like Running Out of Time and Unknown Soldier showcasing the bands ability to write great AOR songs that slowly build their hooks into your mind. But the album also contains some slower, more jazzy tracks, like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations. This song is a mix of folk and distorted AOR that could seem like a complete blunder, but works very well.
After Toto IV The band's fortunes took a turn for the worse. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career and the band had to go through various drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the band following drug-related charges. The band remained with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Despite the turmoil, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation, which was not as successful as IV. The band managed to release an album that was chart-topping, Kingdom of Desire, in 1992. The album was the last of Toto's lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new singer.
Tours
The band has entertained millions of people across the globe, and has sold-out shows across Europe, North America and Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The band's repertoire is huge and their catalogue has accumulated over one billion streams on streaming services across the globe. The band's music has influenced numerous generations of fans.
Steve Lukather has forged a colorful, deep friendship with Joe Williams that is flourishing professionally around the globe. In 2018 the duo celebrated 40 years of Tours Around The Sun with an incredibly profitable global tour. The album of the same name debuted at 5 on the Billboard 200. The latest tour of the band features their most popular hits and rarely-performed live deep cuts as well as an assortment of songs that come from Lukather's and Williams individual catalogs.
TOTO has an Net Promoter Score of 20. This score measures how likely it is that customers will recommend the brand. Promoters are people who give a high rating to the company and encourage others to use its products and services. Detractors are those who rate the company poorly, and might even actively hinder others from using their services or products.
Join Toto for an unforgettable cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour offers luxury accommodation, a day on an elegant cruise ship on Halong Bay and an exploration of Angkor Wat, a mystical temple that was once the home of the French called Indochine. Also, you'll spend a night in the charming town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city that will delight the senses. This is a trip you don't want to be missing!
Line-up
The album's third, Turn Back, marked a return to the classic sextet arrangement of the previous albums. It was a more ferocious, consistent effort that had an edge that was more pronounced than Hydra. The more edgy sound of the album was a reflection of the maturation of the group and featured drummer Bobby Kimball's improved virtuosity on drums, and a more confident, mature vocal delivery by singer Joseph Williams. David Paich's keyboard skills were as well more refined, more precise and less akin to previous recordings.
After touring to promote their album, the band recorded the band's Amsterdam live concert which was released on Eagle Records as a 2-CD set entitled Falling In Between. A new studio album followed shortly after, and the group went on an extensive world tour in support of 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 & Lukather began searching through old tapes & demos to discover songs that had never been recorded prior to. It was released as a double-album titled Then & Now in 2001. It was the first album in the history of the band not to feature a single song with the word "A" in the title, and it also contained one previously not released track, "Kari-Anne".
By 첫가입 꽁머니 , 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 that restricted his singing capabilities. Hungate also returned to Nashville and Leland Sklar's drumming duties were replaced by Shem Von Schroeck.
Downes, Wetton Palmer and Howe, the founding members of Asia, met in England in the beginning of 2006 to discuss the possibility that the band could be revived. 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 a special appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.