Mr. Lukather Comments...

by **hydraturnback** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:25 pm

I understand that for the 'average' viewer on Breakfast TV that Bobby Kimball may not be a household name. I can also understand for him to sell some tickets that there will need to be a referance to TOTO on the poster - it makes perfect business sense to say that the original lead singer of TOTO is now on tour, rather than just Bobby Kimball on tour.

He is/has been PART of the Toto legacy - FACT.

However, that does not make it justified. Why didnt Bobby finish recording his latest CD and release his new material (just as LUKE has done, just as Joe Williams has done etc)?? One would assume that Bobby is reasonably secure financially?

He seemed pretty "relaxed" on the Africa video - he seemed pretty oblivious to the "crucifixion" as I put it.
It almost looked like he didn't give a shit, and THAT is the point of all this - it seems there was a total disregard of the past/legacy/fans - whatever you like to call it. I think that it was more the MANNER he has agreed to this tour and the subsequent quality of the tour - THAT is what has left a sour taste in most peoples mouths.

As for the 'earnest' live vocal you mention - my god, what has the world come to where that is acceptable? I would have rather his mimed on that one...

regards
hydra

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:33 pm

hydraturnback wrote:As for the 'earnest' live vocal you mention - my god, what has the world come to where that is acceptable? I would have rather his mimed on that one...

regards
hydra

As I said during the height of Journey tapegate hysteria, if given the choice between listening to pro-tools or a shit vocal, I'll take the shit vocal everytime.

by **DracIsBack** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:29 pm

The_Noble_Cause wrote:
DracIsBack wrote: It's the "billing yourself as Toto" that's the problem.

As someone else asked already in this thread, is there proof of this?

It's been discussed at length in Lukather's various blogs on www.totonetwork.com

Some notes:

"Bobby is touring southeast Asia as Mr. Toto. Unreal. Just like the old days when he was out of the band. I dont begrudge a guy for making a living but this is JIVE!

Check out the commercial for his tour on melodicrock.com. Go to the noticeboard and then artists and hit Toto. Look for "Mr. Toteaux is at it again" and dig the commercial.
Now, here is the thing. I KNOW that in MY contracts I SPECIFICALLY have in them they CANNOT use Toto as the hook. They CAN say "formely of" and I can sing MY Toto songs or any Toto song IF I wanted to BUT this is a very fucked up TV spot using Live in Amsterdam footage with US in it! VERY misleading and in a foreign country people will expect it is the REAL Toto. It is not!
I am curious as to what you guys have to say about this.
I do NOT hate Bobby at all. BUT this is bullshit and you cannot tell me that he doesnt know about it. I make a POINT to know about MY solo advertising and I want the Toto legacy to be clean and respected. I dont care if he sings Toto songs. Thats all he ever does but he has never written a hit for Toto or anyone else. It seems jive to me and I dont want to start any shit with him. I love the guy but this shits all over the good name of the band and another reason I never see myself ever IN Toto again! It has now started to be watered down to a cheesy top 40 band status. Jeff must be rolling in his grave.

Then reread Andrew's posting:

SOME people think *I*/ WE Toto, said it was OK for Bobby to do all this. It could not be FARTHER from the truth. ALL the the guys are pissed off at him and we will NEVER work together again. I think what I saw and heard was an abomination of our legacy and the cheese factor is unreal.
He used our name and likeness to sell his karaoke shit version of Toto, a band and legacy that we were proud of, and the records that we made meant alot to us and worked REALLY hard on them. It is definitly NOT cool what he did and our ex-mananger sent mail after mail telling him to stop. He never even replied or said he was sorry!
Nope, that was the last nail in the coffin of Toto, with HIM anyway. NEVER again and the worst part is he will CONTINUE to do this worldwide!
All the lawyers in the world cant fight the rules in every different country as the rules are different and it would be too expensive and stressful for us to hassel it! It just sucks, that all I can say."

by **JohnH** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:21 am

Thanks Drac...this becomes more clear after your post. I had thought it was Fergie that was doing this a few years back-- but it was Bobby too apparently. Jesus I hate feuding bands and there always has to be at least one member screwing it up somehow.

John

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:08 am

DracIsBack wrote:
It's been discussed at length in Lukather's various blogs on www.totonetwork.com

Some notes:

"Bobby is touring southeast Asia as Mr. Toto. Unreal. Just like the old days when he was out of the band. I dont begrudge a guy for making a living but this is JIVE!

Check out the commercial for his tour on melodicrock.com. Go to the noticeboard and then artists and hit Toto. Look for "Mr. Toteaux is at it again" and dig the commercial.
Now, here is the thing. I KNOW that in MY contracts I SPECIFICALLY have in them they CANNOT use Toto as the hook. They CAN say "formely of" and I can sing MY Toto songs or any Toto song IF I wanted to BUT this is a very fucked up TV spot using Live in Amsterdam footage with US in it! VERY misleading and in a foreign country people will expect it is the REAL Toto. It is not!
I am curious as to what you guys have to say about this.
I do NOT hate Bobby at all. BUT this is bullshit and you cannot tell me that he doesnt know about it. I make a POINT to know about MY solo advertising and I want the Toto legacy to be clean and respected. I dont care if he sings Toto songs. Thats all he ever does but he has never written a hit for Toto or anyone else. It seems jive to me and I dont want to start any shit with him. I love the guy but this shits all over the good name of the band and another reason I never see myself ever IN Toto again! It has now started to be watered down to a cheesy top 40 band status. Jeff must be rolling in his grave.

I had not read this yet from Luke. It helps put things in better perspective. Thanks.
Also, the "Mr. Toteaux is at it again" is actually one of my threads on this forum.
Awesome to know Luke checks in here from time to time.
Henceforth, I will shut the fuck up.

by **brandonx76** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:11 am

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Henceforth, I will shut the fuck up.

LOL Sure guy! (7,000 posts later) :lol:

by **Tomulator** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:32 am

DracIsBack wrote:
The_Noble_Cause wrote:Sounds pretty good to me.
Of the dueling guitar rivalry, I wonder who is the more bibulous paranoid egomaniac, Neal Schon or Steve Lukather?
I used to think Neal hands down, but Luke seems to overreact to almost everything.
Bobby's gotta eat, I really don't see the problem here..

Luke wears his "heart on his sleeve", by his own admission and says what's on his mind ... good or bad. He also changes his mind. Not sure that's an ego as much as outspoken.

I don't think he's ever been against Bobby going out and doing Toto tunes. It's the "billing yourself as Toto" that's the problem. It's a sensitive one with them because they've lost gigs and promo opportunities and also suffered a damaged reputation in some spots (remember this band prides themselves on musicianship) due to Bobby and Fergie going out and marketing themselves as "Toto" without permission.

not "Former singer of Toto"! They actually billed themselves as "Toto".

If Steve Perry decided to tour as "Journey" without Neil, Ross etc, it would be the same thing.

Good thing Mr. Perry respects the legacy of Journey as much or MORE than the current members do.

He would NEVER crap all over the image of the band like Bobby has decided to do...

TOTALLY get where Luke is at on this one.

It truly saddens me, however.

:cry:

by **Rockindeano** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:20 am

Lukather.!! Goddamm dude, that was just fucking ballsy beautiful! I know you were/are/always be pissed at me for my Toto smack in the past, and I never really meant it, but let me have a chance to redeem myself. Been out of action(thanks Andrew)

Let me rake this motherfucker over the internet coals. Will light his short puny ass on fire. Go back and post all his horrifying performances on this site and others. Really lay the wood to him. "Bobby Kimball sings like shit" should be his advertisement. That was a fucking awful video and an even worse vocal.

Think about it Luke. By the way, the only thing I didn't like about your band, was Kimball.

by **WalrusOct9** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:49 am

Tomulator wrote:
DracIsBack wrote:
If Steve Perry decided to tour as "Journey" without Neil, Ross etc, it would be the same thing.

Good thing Mr. Perry respects the legacy of Journey as much or MORE than the current members do.

He would NEVER crap all over the image of the band like Bobby has decided to do...

TOTALLY get where Luke is at on this one.

It truly saddens me, however.

I agree with most of this, but just to play devil's advocate, Steve Perry doesn't NEED to go out as 'Journey' or any variation using the Journey name, everyone with any interest in the band knows who Steve Perry is. With all the members coming and going in Toto over the years, especially singers, Bobby doesn't have any kind of real name recognition, so anything he would do outside of a new, original solo LP is going to have to reference Toto somehow to sell any tickets. I do think he could have done it in a much classier way and with the consent of Paich and Luke. They're protective of the legacy, but not malicious or unkind people, and if Bobby was like "This is what I need to do to make a living outside of the band," I'm sure they would have been accepting of it under certain conditions. The crappy part, to me, isn't as much the music (I saw a few actual concert clips on Youtube, and while they weren't awe-inspiring, it wasn't the trainwreck the TV show would've indicated) as it is the way Bobby has gone about it. A shame, really...I think a simple phone call or email could have prevented all this drama and left the door open for something down the line. Bobby, I love you man, but that wasn't very bright.

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:14 am

Bobby is the last of the mohicans.
Would you go out of your way to stomp on a praying mantis, or field dress a polar bear?
Maybe its the faintly revolutionary Che' vandyke he sports, I just think he commands a little more respect than he's getting.

by **JohnH** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:23 pm

Ok I'm looking at the Bobby in bagalland video again. I still don't see where it says this IS Toto. How could anybody think this is supposed to be toto? The sign says: "Toto's greatest hits: Bobby Kimball. Toto lead vocalist. " Well that's what he's doing...I guess he's just not sposed to use the name at all. Yes the performance sucks.

John

by **Joe Vana** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 3:08 pm

WalrusOct9 wrote:
Tomulator wrote:
DracIsBack wrote:
If Steve Perry decided to tour as "Journey" without Neil, Ross etc, it would be the same thing.

Good thing Mr. Perry respects the legacy of Journey as much or MORE than the current members do.

He would NEVER crap all over the image of the band like Bobby has decided to do...

TOTALLY get where Luke is at on this one.

It truly saddens me, however.

I agree with most of this, but just to play devil's advocate, Steve Perry doesn't NEED to go out as 'Journey' or any variation using the Journey name, everyone with any interest in the band knows who Steve Perry is. With all the members coming and going in Toto over the years, especially singers, Bobby doesn't have any kind of real name recognition, so anything he would do outside of a new, original solo LP is going to have to reference Toto somehow to sell any tickets. I do think he could have done it in a much classier way and with the consent of Paich and Luke. They're protective of the legacy, but not malicious or unkind people, and if Bobby was like "This is what I need to do to make a living outside of the band," I'm sure they would have been accepting of it under certain conditions. The crappy part, to me, isn't as much the music (I saw a few actual concert clips on Youtube, and while they weren't awe-inspiring, it wasn't the trainwreck the TV show would've indicated) as it is the way Bobby has gone about it. A shame, really...I think a simple phone call or email could have prevented all this drama and left the door open for something down the line. Bobby, I love you man, but that wasn't very bright.

I am simply stunned by ALL of this....as a singer who shared a stage with all involved I will not comment on the performance....

BUT...

SELLING TOTO shirts....

TOTO Merch in general...

That is ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL if he profited even one fucking penny from it...

Respect is hard to earn....BUT, even harder to regain once lost!!!!!!!!

Say what you will about Luke's comments.....but...they LET BOBBY back in after years of toiling around to small fests and bars....and his thank you to that was???

I am without fucking words if even 10% of it is true....

JV

by **LtVanish** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:12 am

Hopefully Bobby will not be able to pull this off here in the states. I can already picture some of my friends going to see "Fake Toto" at a Casino or something and calling me and saying "Are you out of your mind?, Toto sucks, this is the greatest band of all time?"

by **Saint John** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 7:02 am

Rockindeano wrote:Lukather.!! Goddamm dude, that was just fucking ballsy beautiful! I know you were/are/always be pissed at me for my Toto smack in the past, and I never really meant it, but let me have a chance to redeem myself. Been out of action(thanks Andrew)

Let me rake this motherfucker over the internet coals. Will light his short puny ass on fire. Go back and post all his horrifying performances on this site and others. Really lay the wood to him. "Bobby Kimball sings like shit" should be his advertisement. That was a fucking awful video and an even worse vocal.

Think about it Luke. By the way, the only thing I didn't like about your band, was Kimball.

Rockindeano in the Toto forum... :lol:

I thought the performance was ok. It's the selling of merchandise that's shitty. I'm guessing he's doing it because he can get away with it in foreign countries...again, that's shitty. I saw Lukather at Durty Nellies not too long ago and the dude played while hacking up golf ball-sized phlegm balls. Much respect to the man for that. I haven't always agreed with some of his sensitive issues in the past, but this is a no-brainer. Kimball is out there making money off of the back of something he didn't start. They should settle this like adults...a fist fight. :lol:

by **Tomulator** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:56 am

Saint John wrote:
Rockindeano wrote:Lukather.!! Goddamm dude, that was just fucking ballsy beautiful! I know you were/are/always be pissed at me for my Toto smack in the past, and I never really meant it, but let me have a chance to redeem myself. Been out of action(thanks Andrew)

Let me rake this motherfucker over the internet coals. Will light his short puny ass on fire. Go back and post all his horrifying performances on this site and others. Really lay the wood to him. "Bobby Kimball sings like shit" should be his advertisement. That was a fucking awful video and an even worse vocal.

Think about it Luke. By the way, the only thing I didn't like about your band, was Kimball.
Rockindeano in the Toto forum... I thought the performance was ok. It's the selling of merchandise that's shitty. I'm guessing he's doing it because he can get away with it in foreign countries...again, that's shitty. I saw Lukather at Durty Nellies not too long ago and the dude played while hacking up golf ball-sized phlegm balls. Much respect to the man for that. I haven't always agreed with some of his sensitive issues in the past, but this is a no-brainer. Kimball is out there making money off of the back of something he didn't start. They should settle this like adults...a fist fight.

Maybe Bobby can make it a "pay-per-view" event and make a little jack on it!

by **Tito** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:24 am

[quote="Andrew
One man is not Toto. That's the point. And when the founding member says the band is over...then it's over.[/quote]

Is this your philosophy with Journey too (2006 in particular)? Neal has it going full steam ahead.

by **WalrusOct9** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:12 am

Heh, good point. I think Cain is only there to provide the requisite number of shitty ballads per album.

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 6:18 pm

Bobby has apparently just seen these comments (on MR no less!) from Luke and has responded in kind on his FB page. See rebuttal below. Man, I love it when rock stars talk smack!

Hi gang. I hope everyone is doing well, and having a great time with their lives. Being happy is the most important factor in anyone's life, so keep that in mind. A friend of mine just sent me something that I'm going to totally ignore, because I refuse to let anyone's opinion of me change my life. I'm more busy trying to make myself Happy, and have fun onstage doing what I've been doing for decades, and having the time of my life at it. I was a little disappointed in these comments, because when I was reading that I was the tribute band of Toto, because I was singing Toto Songs without the band, this brought to mind that Toto is out doing the songs that I sang, which made them a household word, but they're doing those songs without me, "The Original Vocalist" who sang most of those songs. It makes me wonder who's really the Tribute Band. I've heard over 200 "Toto Tribute Bands" around the world, but I've only heard one "Bobby Kimball Tribute Band". The name of that band is "Toto". Here's what my friend sent to me recently: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Mr. Lukather's Comments...
"SOME people think *I*/ WE Toto, said it was OK for Bobby to do all this. It could not be FARTHER from the truth. ALL the the guys are pissed off at him and we will NEVER work together again. I think what I saw and heard was an abomination of our legacy and the cheese factor is unreal.
He used our name and likeness to sell his karaoke shit version of Toto, a band and legacy that we were proud of, and the records that we made meant alot to us and worked REALLY hard on them. It is definitly NOT cool what he did and our ex-mananger sent mail after mail telling him to stop. He never even replied or said he was sorry!
Nope, that was the last nail in the coffin of Toto, with HIM anyway. NEVER again and the worst part is he will CONTINUE to do this worldwide!
All the lawyers in the world cant fight the rules in every different country as the rules are different and it would be too expensive and stressful for us to hassel it! It just sucks, that all I can say." ////////////////////////////////// Well,....I'm having a great time onstage without that sort of pain-in-the-ass line of thinking from anyone. I will continue to do what I love, and I'm having so much more fun at it now, because I have nobody trying to rule my life, or give me Orders anymore. I think the most important thing about music is having as much fun as possible, and just being yourself, without having to take any Orders from anyone. I don't give Orders to anyone onstage either. I want everyone around me to be "themselves" and stay as happy as they can be. That keeps me in a very pleasant atmosphere, and it's much easier to remain happy in this sort of surrounding. I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that wasting their time trying to rule another person's life. I spend my time doing my best to do what makes me the Happiest. Life is all about just being Happy anyhow. The sooner one learns this, the better their life becomes. I'm not posting this to make anyone mad, but I thought is was interesting enough let you see it. Please remain Positive, and Happy with your life, and do anything that makes you feel great. Have fun my friends.....Bobby

by **G.I.Jim** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:40 am

I think it's pretty sad for Bobby to be out there using the name. Yeah, he sang on some of their songs, but so did a lot of others. Namely Lukather. Luke's probably sang lead on more hit songs than Bobby, and it's Luke's band! Tour as "Bobby Kimball FORMERLY of Toto". There's nothing wrong with that, but don't use Toto images or sell shit with their names on it. What an ass.

And the clips I saw had me cringing too. It sounded TERRIBLE!! :shock:

Luke and the gang should record a NEW album just to show Bobby what Toto's REALLY all about (and NOT because I secretly just want a new album

). Show him who's boss Luke! :wink:

by **Marzdog** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 4:27 am

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Bobby has apparently just seen these comments (on MR no less!) from Luke and has responded in kind on his FB page. See rebuttal below. Man, I love it when rock stars talk smack!

Hi gang. I hope everyone is doing well, and having a great time with their lives. Being happy is the most important factor in anyone's life, so keep that in mind. A friend of mine just sent me something that I'm going to totally ignore, because I refuse to let anyone's opinion of me change my life. I'm more busy trying to make myself Happy, and have fun onstage doing what I've been doing for decades, and having the time of my life at it. I was a little disappointed in these comments, because when I was reading that I was the tribute band of Toto, because I was singing Toto Songs without the band, this brought to mind that Toto is out doing the songs that I sang, which made them a household word, but they're doing those songs without me, "The Original Vocalist" who sang most of those songs. It makes me wonder who's really the Tribute Band. I've heard over 200 "Toto Tribute Bands" around the world, but I've only heard one "Bobby Kimball Tribute Band". The name of that band is "Toto". Here's what my friend sent to me recently: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Mr. Lukather's Comments...
"SOME people think *I*/ WE Toto, said it was OK for Bobby to do all this. It could not be FARTHER from the truth. ALL the the guys are pissed off at him and we will NEVER work together again. I think what I saw and heard was an abomination of our legacy and the cheese factor is unreal.
He used our name and likeness to sell his karaoke shit version of Toto, a band and legacy that we were proud of, and the records that we made meant alot to us and worked REALLY hard on them. It is definitly NOT cool what he did and our ex-mananger sent mail after mail telling him to stop. He never even replied or said he was sorry!
Nope, that was the last nail in the coffin of Toto, with HIM anyway. NEVER again and the worst part is he will CONTINUE to do this worldwide!
All the lawyers in the world cant fight the rules in every different country as the rules are different and it would be too expensive and stressful for us to hassel it! It just sucks, that all I can say." ////////////////////////////////// Well,....I'm having a great time onstage without that sort of pain-in-the-ass line of thinking from anyone. I will continue to do what I love, and I'm having so much more fun at it now, because I have nobody trying to rule my life, or give me Orders anymore. I think the most important thing about music is having as much fun as possible, and just being yourself, without having to take any Orders from anyone. I don't give Orders to anyone onstage either. I want everyone around me to be "themselves" and stay as happy as they can be. That keeps me in a very pleasant atmosphere, and it's much easier to remain happy in this sort of surrounding. I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that wasting their time trying to rule another person's life. I spend my time doing my best to do what makes me the Happiest. Life is all about just being Happy anyhow. The sooner one learns this, the better their life becomes. I'm not posting this to make anyone mad, but I thought is was interesting enough let you see it. Please remain Positive, and Happy with your life, and do anything that makes you feel great. Have fun my friends.....Bobby

Typical lead singer... I, I, I, I, I, I, I.

Uncle already.

by **Brett** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:15 am

Anybody wanna tell Bobby the comments he's reacting to now were made 4 years ago?

by **DracIsBack** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 6:48 am

Geez - I forgot this thread existed. Bobby, I guess, didn't.

by **Andrew** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:44 am

It's a old old comment that isn't relevent in 2012. Hope Bobby can see that.

by **JohnH** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 3:18 pm

Oh my god..... I'm sorry four years later ,... Jesus!!!

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 4:18 am

Andrew wrote:It's a old old comment that isn't relevent in 2012. Hope Bobby can see that.

Somebody clued him in. To which he replied, "The truth of the matter is, I received that post only about a week ago, and I didn't notice any date on it, i thought is was brand new, and that's why I didn't understand why is was on such a great web page like MelodicRock.com. The owner of MR.com is a good friend of mine, and I love reading the info on his site...."

I think Bobby has too much time on his hands. What's up with the new Frontiers project w/ him doing some songs by the Work of Art guys?

by **lordreo** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 1:32 pm

I think Bobby has too much time on his hands. What's up with the new Frontiers project w/ him doing some songs by the Work of Art guys?

I was wondering the same thing. Is this still happening?

by **TotoStu** » Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:06 pm

Deleted

by **St.George** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:34 am

I'm a HARDCORE fan. And I have no interest in Bobby performing with Toto again. Bobby disrespected US, the fans, and also the legacy with that crappy performances. In fact, it seems Bobby doesn't care at all about the fans: it looks like money is the only thing that moves him. After what happened, for me, it's quite embarrassing to see Bobby onstage. My conception about him changed a lot. So I prefer to see Joseph Williams, who was always more discreet and respectful with the band and the fans.

by **TotoStu** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:46 pm

Deleted... so sorry

by **Marzdog** » Fri Dec 28, 2012 9:23 am

ChickenStu wrote:Williams is an awesome singer and seems like a really cool guy. But if I'm honest I'm NOT a fan of his Toto era. The two albums he did with them are much too "pop" for me and kind of cheesy. I get the feeling that to play to his strengths Toto would be performing a lot of stuff from that era now - and that's not something I'm really interested in seeing.

Keep in mind that at the time Joseph was fronting TOTO, the band was involved in many 80s projects with other artists, including Michael Jackson. So I think it is fair to say that some of their writing led them down that "pop" path.

I don't think, however, you can take anything away from either record. In their own ways, each is still very recognizably TOTO, and that for me, is what I love about this band.

MR

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