It’s not every day you get to chat with someone like David Paich — singer, songwriter, keyboardist and a founding member of Toto. You can hear his vocals and expert tickling of the ivories on the powerhouse hit-making group’s 35th Anniversary Tour: Live In Poland, available on CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
Paich is known for many things — co-writing both of Boz Scagg’s hits “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle,” working with legends like Michael Jackson and Aretha Jackson, and singing the lead vocals on Toto’s Grammy-winning hit “Africa,” (not to mention lots of other Toto hits). In the following interview, Paich is ever-so forthcoming about Toto, the music business and his love for the Rascals.
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In listening to 35th Anniversary Tour: Live In Poland, reviewing your history and how many band members have come and gone — how do you view Toto presently.
That’s an interesting question. In the beginning the band was like Led Zeppelin in that we had one core unit, no extra players and no changing personal. But moving down the line you have Steve Porcaro, Steve Lukather, myself even Joseph Williams-who has even be with us for a while-and after 35 years you do swing in the occasional stand-in guys. You have to make heavy decisions if you want to keep going, it’s the question between either going out with some original guys and extras, or do we not exist anymore. Especially as we have been out playing now to channel awareness about Mike Porcaro’s ALS as that very much fuels our future, you just have to find how you want to do it.
I’d have to think that over the years you have run across one or more of the ‘newer’ cats you find yourself on stage with these days, right?
Yes, we all grew up together, playing the same places around the same time. Even with someone like Nathan East or the various drummers that come in and out, we all have been playing the same music scene for so long that no matter who is in the band it’s not all that much different than playing high school dances back in the day with all these guys. It’s like 30 years later we have just turned on a time machine. Often times I’ll look over at Steve, Luke or Joseph and flash right back to those highs school proms playing with these guys.
Listening to the live album, as much as going back over even Toto’s hits, the intricacies of the music, even the truly commercial tunes, certainly puts me in mind of prog and even jazz when I really listen deeply. Am I hearing all those influences correctly?
Another really good question. Yes, it was always our idea to take jazz — (original Toto drummer) Jeff Porcaro and I were raised by jazz musician fathers — into a more rock mode with our music. I mean rockers slouch off jazz as higher math, with is true when you listen to guys like Herbie Hancock and guys like that. But what we wanted to do was to be the best of the rockers applying jazz subtleties to our arrangements and see how it came out. We just didn’t hear music on the radio that we liked and were fortunate enough that when we went national that our stuff hit.
I got to ask you something, totally off subject though but as you’re from the East coast. Can you tell me about the Rascals reunion that Steve Van Zandt and Marc Brickman put together? When I read that Marc was involved I really wanted to see it. I am a huge fan of all he does in light and sound. Did you get to see that show?
No I didn’t, though it rolled through the New York area twice. From what I heard, and even the little bit I saw on TV, it was supposed to have been fantastic.
Yes I heard it was, and with Marc Brickman involved I knew it would be killer. See, for a guy like me, I am still a huge fan. the Rascals, the Beatles, Stones…I mean I love all those guys. Love that go-for-it East coast Steve Van Zandt let’s-do-this attitude. Dino Danelli was a huge influences on Jeff Porcaro. It really is amazing that sometimes groups really do get a second lease on life to do it all again.
From the startling stage visuals on the DVD, Toto is quite the act to catch live — as much for your musicianship as your staging. For a band with such commercial crossover that struck me as a pleasant surprise.
Well, when we go out we like to take the full production, lights and sound, we’ve always viewed our performances like a mini-Genesis show. We hang with people like Dave Gilmour and we want our own version of The Wall…a mini wall. We’ve always thought of Toto more akin to Yes and Genesis, in how we approach performance.
Can you tell me what’s in the immediate future for Toto?
We just came back from a very successful tour of Japan, sold out Budokan, played Osaka. But we’re going to reacquaint ourselves with the U.S. now going out with Michael McDonald, playing the Greek Theatre in LA. There maybe even be a PBS thing coming. We’re geared-up for the back 9 holes so we’ll see what it’s in store for us.
And your own piano sound, how has that evolved, or how you tour as a piano player these days?
Like Keith Emerson taking out his big Hammond organ years ago, I used to lug around my 9-foot Baldwin. But these days there are great piano samples that make it all so much easier to bring a small keyboard that sounds great and consistently stays in tune.
How about how you view the music business — or how have you surfed it unscathed?
That’s a really interesting question. I have to kind of detach to deal with it. No matter who you are and what level you are at you just have to keep band members and managers around you that you trust and stay vigilant to the business. Lots of people with major details get managed baldy or the wrong record company gets involved, all this is nothing new. But we kept an eye on it as best we could, we never had to leave the country for tax reasons, we tour for as long as we want to and pretty much don’t have such horrible war stories. We still love to do it.
