Steve Lukather says Toto are done making albums: “There’s not gonna be another”
The guitarist alluded to the band’s legal blues with the late Jeff Porcaro’s estate as the reason why.
Photo: Andrew Benge / Redferns
Steve Lukather has declared that Toto are done making albums, alluding to the band’s past legal blues with late drummer Jeff Porcaro’s estate as the reason.
Lukather suggested that while he and singer Joseph Williams will continue producing new solo albums, they’ll only be busting out the Toto name when they perform live.
“There’s not gonna be another Toto record,” Lukather told Misplaced Straws in an interview published on 21 June.
“Joe and I can make records that have some of the cats on it,” he said. “We can go out and play as Toto. We get the audience, we pay off the people that sued us and we go forward.”
Back in 2018, the three remaining members of Toto – Lukather, Williams and David Paich – were sued by Porcaro’s widow, Susan Porcaro-Goings, who alleged the band short-changed Porcaro’s estate of its revenue share from the band’s name. The legal dispute cost the band “almost a million dollars” according to Lukather in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Further along in his interview, Lukather said he harboured no resentment on the issue anymore. “There’s no malicious vibe or no ‘I’m going to get even with everybody’ or anything like that,” he noted. “It’s such a waste of time. I’m 63 years old, man. I don’t want to play [games] anymore.”
He continued: “It’s behind me now. I let it all go. Peace and love to everybody. I don’t carry around any hate. I’m like, ‘Okay, life changes. I’m sorry.’ It broke my heart too.”
“It’s like getting over a divorce, you got to get back on the horse again and do it. That’s what we plan on doing.”
Last Friday (25 June), Toto released With a Little Help From My Friends, a live album taped in Los Angeles on 21 November 2020, featuring the band’s 15th line-up. The band also recently announced plans for the 2022 Dogs of Oz World Tour.