It’s 2024, and millions of people are listening to TOTO.
You almost certainly know the pop-rockers from their iconic 1982 hit “Africa,” but the often soft, funky and sometimes heavy rock outfit has been responsible for a number of other radio hits, like “Hold the Line” and “Rosanna.” Decades of album releases and touring later, the band is in the midst of a resurgence—currently No. 155 on Spotify’s list of the most popular artists in the world, with a monthly listener count in the 30 million range, and “Africa” nearing 2 billion streams.
TOTO brings the “Dogz of Oz” tour to Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage this Saturday, Aug. 31.
“It’s a little wink-wink to the fact that this isn’t the original TOTO,” said Steve Lukather during a recent phone interview regarding the tour name. Lukather is the vocalist/lead guitarist, as well as the only continuous member of the band throughout its storied run.
“We’ve got guys who are in heaven right now, and we’ve got people who just can’t do it anymore medically,” he said. “I’m just doing this to keep the music alive with the best players I can find that all have a history with us at one point or another. People are showing up more than ever, so I’m just going with the flow, man. It’s been a great gift, and a nice last chapter of my story.”
Lukather turns 67 this year, making him one of the oldest members of Spotify’s global top-artist chart.
“Spotify numbers are staggering,” Lukather said. “We did 85 million streams in the last 28 days, and 83 million the month before that. We’re looking at 4 billion streams—and it’s not all ‘Africa.’”
TOTO has been experiencing a “big resurgence” in live venues across the world.
“What’s interesting is that, all of a sudden, people dig us,” Lukather said. “We went out and did the arenas with Journey for a couple of years, and that woke up the United States. We’ve always done well overseas, and with the U.S., it was like, ‘Come on guys! I’ve got a great bunch of cats who are world-class, legendary dudes. We’re doing the music justice, and we’re having a great time doing it.’”
Lukather said he’s been blown away by the amount of fans coming to see the band play live.
“We’ve got three generations of people who come with people who liked us from the old days,” he said. “There are the musicians who want to just check us out, and then there are the kids of the families, and the kids have kids. In Europe and Japan, and all these places, once they like you, they like you forever, and they just keep buying your shit and coming to the show. It’s been great. … I never saw this coming, but I figured, ‘OK, let’s take this ride.’ It benefits everybody. The guys who aren’t around anymore, their families get money, and everybody benefits from this. I still love playing the stuff.”
A TOTO live set will, of course, include the three aforementioned hits, but Lukather and company also tackle deep cuts across their 40-year catalog.
“People think we’ve only got four records,” he said. “There are more than that, and they’ve done really, really well. We’ve quietly been very successful, and that’s OK with me. It was always the tortoise and the hare thing.”
With many years of writing, recording and performing comes drama, rumors and being dissed by critics. While things are great now, Lukather hasn’t forgotten some of the early struggles.
“We took a lot of shit for a lot of years. They misunderstood who and what we are, trying to make up backstories that weren’t even real,” Lukather said. “We all went to high school together. We knew each other since we were kids, and the whole studio-musician thing kind of happened. We’re constantly updating our Facebook pages with old pictures. I know who started the band, and if nobody showed up and nobody was interested in this, it’d be over. … There are some bands that go out every summer, and they do the same thing with the same guys, and we just haven’t done that.”
Lukather said he views TOTO’s recent surge of success as a victory lap.
“My train of thought is just like, ‘It’s the last chapter, the epilogue of my life, and I still feel like a punk-ass kid as long—as I don’t see any mirrors around me.’”
Lukather has also been performing with Ringo Starr in his All-Starr band since 2012, touring the world with the Beatle and playing Ringo songs, TOTO songs and other jams from the members of the All-Starr band.
“Being around Ringo is like being around one of the most brilliant souls on planet Earth,” Lukather said. “He’s a very special man, a very special human being—wise, funny, everything. He’s as funny as he’s ever been; like in the old Beatles movies, he’s still that guy at 84 years old. He’s become a really important person in my life. I consider him one of my closest friends. I know that sounds weird to say that about Ringo, but after 12 years, we’ve gotten really close, and I talk to him all the time. We’re friends off the gig.
“It never gets old when you turn around and go, ‘Fuck, that’s Ringo Starr,’ or if I get a FaceTime from Ringo when I’m out with somebody—but he’s still a regular human being and a regular dude.”
TOTO will perform at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 31, at The Show at Agua Caliente, 32250 Bob Hope Drive, in Rancho Mirage. Tickets start at $65. For tickets or more information, call 800-514-3849, or visit aguacalientecasinos.com.
