Semi-recent Kimball interview

[The_Noble_Cause]

http://30daysout.wordpress.com/2008/08/ ... ball-toto/

Says he would have liked for TOTO to soldier on, I agree!

[BlackWall]

Thanks for posting this.. I guess I can understand Luke wanting to give it a rest, but I wouldn't be so final about it.. I hope to see them again, with David in the mix.

[weatherman90]

Yeah I think (hope!) that in a few years Bobby, Luke, David, Mike, and Simon can all do it again. I would love to see Joe and Fergie join in on a reunion tour but that might be dreaming.

[JohnH]

Yeah I think (hope!) that in a few years Bobby, Luke, David, Hungate, and Simon can all do it again. I would love to see Joe and Fergie join in on a reunion tour but that might be dreaming.

Sad to say that inside knowledge has that it's looking like Mike won't be coming back to playing with anybody.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Sad to say that inside knowledge has that it's looking like Mike won't be coming back to playing with anybody.

The hand injury sounds as legit as Perry and Augeri's chronic hip and throat conditions.
Wish I knew what was really up.

Can't really call it TOTO without a Porcaro, but the musicianship stands for itself.

[JohnH]

That's why Steve now appropriately calls it an illness. Or "when Mike fell ill." It's not an injury. It's very sad.

John

[The_Noble_Cause]

After multiple Google permutations, I have come up with one claim of Alzheimer's on Wikipedia - which was later erased.
Hate to pry, but curiosity combined with advanced search engine technology makes it hard not to.
Mike was ace when I saw him in 2006.
As a fan, I wish him the best.

[WalrusOct9]

As do I...I had the pleasure of meeting him in '05 before the Long Beach show and he was incredibly gracious, talking to me for several minutes about Toto and music and whatnot, when in reality he could've been doing anything else. He seemed pretty floored that someone my age (I was 23 at the time) from the States would fly halfway across the country to see his band, and was just an all around class act (as were all the guys). I really hope he's okay, the world can't afford to keep losing talented players like that.

[JohnH]

It's alot like Alzheimers but it's not a brain disease. It can't be too much longer before it's public.

[essbee]

Yeah if TOTO ever does a reunion it would have to be with Dave H. or Lee....and Steve Porcaro would have to be involved..Gotta have at least one Porcaro in the group...
Best wishes to the Porcaro family....

[The_Noble_Cause]

Yeah if TOTO ever does a reunion it would have to be with Dave H. or Lee....and Steve Porcaro would have to be involved..Gotta have at least one Porcaro in the group...
Best wishes to the Porcaro family....

I would never go so far as Bobby as to say the band "traded up" with replacement musicians, but Greg really shines on the Falling in Between cd.
Not a big fan of his militant Blue Man Group posturing, his stange presence is more distracting then anything.

[WalrusOct9]

I thought Greg added a lot to the band onstage, he was always smiling and doing silly things...it may have been a little distracting, but I think it helped keep the band loose and in a good mood onstage. He obviously was really happy doing what he was doing, and that came out in spades in his onstage demeanor, which I really liked.

I think Greg was a bit more of a flashy player than Dave, but I can't really say I prefer one over the other stylistically...I will say you don't ever "trade up" when you're replacing someone who who was a part of the original recordings that make up your entire setlist. (and that is no slight on Greg, who obviously is a monster talent and a really nice guy...Toto was very lucky to have him)

[Joe Vana]

I thought Greg added a lot to the band onstage, he was always smiling and doing silly things...it may have been a little distracting, but I think it helped keep the band loose and in a good mood onstage. He obviously was really happy doing what he was doing, and that came out in spades in his onstage demeanor, which I really liked.

I think Greg was a bit more of a flashy player than Dave, but I can't really say I prefer one over the other stylistically...I will say you don't ever "trade up" when you're replacing someone who who was a part of the original recordings that make up your entire setlist. (and that is no slight on Greg, who obviously is a monster talent and a really nice guy...Toto was very lucky to have him)

All true about Greg P.......but.....I would take Paich 100 out of 100 times.....

JV

[WalrusOct9]

I would too, since Dave wrote most of the material and really defined the Toto sound, especially in the early days before Luke really established himself as a creative force. Still one of my all-time favorite keyboard players along with Tony Banks and Ryo Okoumoto.

But I think Greg did an incredible job stepping into a really tough spot, just as Simon had a decade earlier, and like Simon, he managed to keep the flavor of Toto and his predecessor while still adding a unique flavor musically, rather than simply being a robotic hired gun playing parts note-for-note like a keyboard-wielding Tommy Thayer.

[JohnH]

As a keyboard player myself I will tell you Greg was amazing...but you can't beat having the original guy who wrote everything onboard. Greg is also super nice and a great sense of humour, got to meet him at the Vegas show in 2006.

John

[essbee]

Ever see any old video footage from when Steve Porcaro was in the band..The guy was a maniac behind his keyboard!!
Got to see him during the 'Isolation' tour...
I guess I was very lucky to se all three Porcaros together live...just wish Bobby had been there....