‘Hopefully, maybe some day’: Reunited Toto is still touring, but no concrete plans for studio return yet

Share this:

Though Toto is convening again for another summer tour — this time in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the band’s breakout No. 5 1978 single “Hold The Line” — new music doesn’t appear to be on the horizon.

“I can’t say we’ll never do it again — but there are no plans,” says longtime guitarist and vocalist Steven Lukather in a talk with FaceCulture, adding that there are some legal issues in the way of recording a new Toto album, as well. “Hopefully, maybe some day. We don’t want to have to do it. We want to do it because we want to do it.”

The impetus for Toto’s more recent tours, after Lukather disbanded the group in 2008, was to raise money for fellow co-founding member Mike Porcaro, who is suffering from ALS. David Paich, who had gone into semi-retirement after writing hits like “Hold the Line” for Toto, initially broached a one-off benefit reunion with Lukather — who agreed to do it, but on one condition.

[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: Original Toto singer Bobby Kimball has decided to mount his own tandem anniversary tour focused on the single “Hold the Line,” which featured his vocals.]

“‘Great, I’m in,'” Lukather says he told Paich, in the clip below. “But, we’ve got to have (founding keyboardist) Steve Porcaro, I want Joseph (Williams) to sing, I want the guys we went to school with — the real heart and soul guys — to be on the front lines with me. David said: ‘I agree, 100 percent.’ We put it back together, just to do a quick little tour, to raise some money for Mike and his family — and to help us, as well. It was so successful, and so much fun, and the band never sounded better. We brought in (bassist) Nathan East to sit in for Mike, and Simon Phillips — thank God — came back. Business was great, and we thought: ‘You know what? We could do this in the summer time.'”

Joseph Williams initially joined Toto in 1986, following the ouster of original lead singer Bobby Kimball, and has been back with the band since 2010. Keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who had been in the band from its inception, quit after the initial tour with Williams in 1988. Drummer Simon Phillips initially joined Toto in 1992, after the death of co-founding member Jeff Porcaro.

Toto kicks off its 2013 tour on May 30 in Brussels, with additional dates through June in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Finland. (For more information, go to http://www.totoofficial.com/events.)

Lukather added that a DVD focusing on the 35th anniversary tour is planned.

Something Else!