20 Trailblazers Lead The Way In Toto Asia
The Band Toto Asia
Toto was expanding production facilities overseas, and was doing business in France and Germany, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan, Thailand and the People's Republic of China. Toto believed that North America as a growth market for Washlet bidets and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto was documenting Toto words to ensure that the future generations could comprehend them. Many words were substituted with foreign ones. For instance dui, which is Bengali for verandah, was being used.
Origins
Toto's early history which began in 1917, mirrored Japan's economic growth. In the beginning of its existence, the company produced products to meet the demand for modern, contemporary urban housing. It was the first tunnel kilns in the country to continuously produce ceramics. It also pioneered the use of automation to control production, which allows for more efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding internationally in the late 1980s to take advantage of new markets and sales opportunities. The company created the Cera Trading Company to import and distribute other manufacturers' products to complement its own line of sanitary earthenwares as well as plumbing fittings. This strategy boosted sales and increased the company's global market share.
In the 1990s, Toto had shifted its focus on research and development of water-related household appliances. It also upgraded its distribution system to better meet the needs of customers and to increase profits. The company adopted a just-in-time method of managing supply chains and used the same method in its sales program. This led to a higher degree of customer satisfaction.
Toto continues to invent in the toilet technology. The latest toilet, for instance, has an extremely powerful tornado flush that is more ecologically friendly than traditional toilets. The company uses recycled water for its manufacturing process and has a green buying policy. Toto also produces bathtubs, faucets, and hand dryers with greater energy efficiency than conventional models.
The first museum of the company was opened in 2015 It has exhibits on Toto's seminal products and their evolution, its group companies (all that deal with ceramics), history of plumbing and products like bath units and, in a different gallery, Toto products sold around the world. The museum has a bathroom with a washbasin and other toilet innovations.
Before forming Toto the members of the group performed session work for a variety of musicians. Boz Scaggs album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich as well as guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather and drummer Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also played on records by Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
You would expect a group with a name like Asia to be a prog rock group however, it's actually a fairly straight forward rock band. The group was formed as four members and released two albums in 1979, the self-titled debut album and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. Although the band have a diverse musical background their biggest hit was in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a huge blockbuster but not without its issues. Record companies put the band on the spot with the ultimatum "give us a hit record or we'll take you off the market" and the pressure was on them to give it. Luckily for Toto, they did, with the help of the smash hit single "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is a result of their previous experience, as the band members were session musicians for artists such as Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts prior to forming the group. Their distinctive sound has since become the standard for '80s pop, and has influenced many contemporary artists.
The album opens up hard with songs such as Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to create great AOR tunes that slowly creep into your head. Suggested Website includes some more jazzy, slower tracks such as The Little Things and Chinatown. The album closes with Great Expectations. This song mixes folk and distortion AOR, which should sound completely wrong but actually is very effective.
After Toto IV the band's fortunes began to wane. David Hungate left the band to pursue a solo career. The band was dominated by drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball left the band following drug-related charges. The band continued with Michael Porcaro, Steve Lukather and Michael Porcaro.
Despite the turbulence, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation, which was not as successful as IV. However, the group managed to release another chart-topping album in 1992 with Kingdom of Desire. This album marked the conclusion of the original Toto lineup and was also the first album featuring a new singer, Simon Phillips.
Tours
The band has performed to millions of people across the world, with sold-out shows in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The band has a huge collection of songs, and their catalog has been played more than one billion times on streaming services across the globe. The band's music has influenced 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 their 40 Tours Around The Sun with a hugely successful tour around the world. The album with the same title reached #5 on Billboard 200. The new tour of the band includes their best hits and rarely live cuts, alongside a selection of songs from Lukather and Williams' individual catalogs.
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 are highly satisfied with the company and actively encourage others to utilize their products or services. Detractors are those that do not like the company and actively discourage people from using its products or services.
Join Toto for a unique cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour of a region the French once called Indochine offers luxurious accommodations, a day on a luxurious cruise ship in Halong Bay, and an exploration of the mystical temples of Angkor Wat. 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 which you'll never want to miss!
Line-up
The band's third album, Turn Back, marked an reversion to the classic sextet format of previous albums and was a more powerful, consistent effort that had an edge that was stronger than Hydra. Its edgier sound was a reflection of the maturation of the group, with drummer Bobby Kimball's improved virtuosity on drums, and a more confident, mature vocal delivery by singer Joseph Williams. Keyboardist David Paich's work also was more refined, sharper and less cloying than earlier recordings.
After touring to promote their album, the band recorded their Amsterdam live concert that was released on Eagle Records as a 2-CD set entitled Falling In Between. A new studio album was released a few months later, and the band embarked on a long-distance tour to promote it. In this time, 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 demos for a new record featuring songs that were never recorded before. It was released as a double-album titled Then And Now in 2001. It was the band's first album without the single track "A". The album also included a previously unreleased track called "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth album, Old Is New was an uncommercial success and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis, which restricted his singing capabilities. Hungate also returned to Nashville and Leland Sklar's drumming duties were replaced by Shem Von Schroeck.
Downes along with the other original members of Asia--Wetton, Palmer, and Howe--convened an event in England in the early part of 2006 to discuss the possibility of officially reforming the group. This lineup, minus Howe who was occupied with Yes during that period, was later 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 also featured a guest appearance by singer Michael McDonald, and a backing singer named Mabvuto Carpenter.