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. North America was seen as a market that would grow for bidet and washlet toilet seats, in contrast to its "base" markets in Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto recorded Toto words to ensure that the future generation could understand them. However, many of the words were being replaced by foreign ones, like 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, Toto produced products to meet the demands for modern, new urban housing. It was the first tunnel kilns in the country to produce ceramics continuously. It also pioneered the use of automation for production control, which helps to increase efficiency and consistency.
The company began expanding overseas in the late 1980s in order to profit from new markets and sales opportunities. The company established the Cera Trading Company to import and distribute other products from other manufacturers to enhance its own range of sanitary earthenwares and plumbing fittings. This strategy increased sales and increased the company's market share.
In the late 1990s, Toto had shifted its emphasis on research and development for household appliances that are water-related. It also upgraded its system of distribution to better serve its customers and increase profit. The company also employed the approach of just-in-time in its supply chain management and sales program. This led to a higher level of customer satisfaction.
Toto has continued to innovate with regard to toilet technology. Its latest toilet, for example it has an extremely powerful tornado flush that is more ecologically green than traditional toilets. The company uses recycled water in its manufacturing process and also has a green purchasing policy. In addition to toilets Toto produces bathtubs and faucets, as well as hand dryers that are more efficient in energy use than conventional models.
The first museum of the company opened in the year 2015, and it has exhibitions on Toto's seminal products and their development, its group companies (all related to ceramics) as well as the 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 a WASHLET toilet and other toilet-related innovations.
Before the formation of Toto members of the group performed 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 appeared 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 rock group however, it's actually a fairly straight forward rock band. The group started out as a quartet, and they released 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 huge blockbuster, however it did not come without its share of problems. The record companies put the band under pressure to release a hit single or they would rescind the album. Luckily for Toto they did and they did it with the aid of the smash single "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery is a result of their prior experience. Before forming the group, the members worked as session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs. Steely Dan and Seals and Crofts. Their distinctive sound has since become the standard for '80s pop, influencing many modern artists.
The album begins with a hefty dose of hard rock with tracks like Running Out of Time and Unknown Soldier showcasing the bands ability to write great AOR songs that slowly get their hooks into your mind. The album also contains slow, jazzier tracks like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album ends with Great Expectations. This song mixes folk and distorted AOR, which should appear completely unnatural, but actually works very well.
After Toto IV The band's fortunes turned to the downside. David Hungate left to concentrate on his solo career and the band was through various 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. It wasn't as popular as IV. The band managed to release a chart-topping album, Kingdom of Desire, in 1992. This album marked the end of Toto's lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new vocalist.
Tours
The band has performed to millions of fans across the globe, and has sold out shows in Europe, North America and Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The repertoire of the band is extensive and their catalog has accumulated more than a billion streams on streaming services worldwide. The band's iconic music has influenced multiple generations of fans.
Steve Lukather has forged a colorful, deep friendship with Joe Williams that is flourishing professionally all over the world. In 2018, the duo celebrated their 40 Tours Around The Sun with an incredibly successful global tour. The album with the same title was ranked at #5 on the Billboard 200. The band's new tour features their greatest hits and rarely live cuts, along with some of the songs from Lukather and Williams' individual catalogs.
TOTO has a customer satisfaction rating of 20 Based on its Net Promoter Score which measures how likely its customers are to 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 that have negative opinions about the company and actively discourage people from using its products or services.
Join Toto for a unique cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour offers luxury accommodations, a day aboard a deluxe junk on Halong Bay and an exploration of Angkor Wat, a mystical temple that is what the French called Indochine. Also, you'll spend a night in the charming town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city that is a feast for the senses. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip that you shouldn't be missing!
Line-up
The album's third, Turn Back, marked the return to the traditional sextet format of previous albums. It was a more ferocious, constant effort with an edge that was stronger than Hydra. Its edgier sound was indicative of the maturation of group and included drummer Bobby Kimball's increased proficiency on the drums, as well as a more mature, confident vocal delivery by singer Joseph Williams. David Paich's keyboard skills were also more sophisticated, sharper and less akin to previous efforts.
After touring to promote the album, the band recorded a live show in Amsterdam that was released as a two-CD set entitled Falling In Between Live on Eagle Records. The group released a new studio album just a few months after, and went on a tour around the world to help 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 and Lukather started looking through old demo tapes and tapes to make a new album featuring songs that had never been recorded before. official website was released in the form of a double-album called Then and Now in 2001. It was the first album by the band not to include any single song that had the word "A" in the title, and it also contained one previously unreleased track, "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The fourth album, Old Is New, was a commercial failure and singer Williams was suffering from a serious case of laryngitis that limited his singing abilities. Additionally, Hungate returned to Nashville as a drummer, and Leland Sklar was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Downes, Wetton Palmer and Howe, the founding members of Asia were in England in the early part of 2006 to discuss the possibility that the band could be reformed. The lineup, with the exception of Howe who was busy with Yes at the 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 had a special appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.
