" Steve Lukather "
Steve "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American Gramm Award winning guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has also released several solo albums and, as a studio session guitarist, has arranged, composed, and recorded on over 800 number one albums. While his work with Toto is predominantly based on pop rock music, Lukather's solo work spans many genres including rock, prog, jazz and funk.
Notable session keyboardist David Paich and session drummer Jeff Porcaro asked Lukather to join in forming their band, Toto, in 1976 when Lukather was nineteen years old. He has been a member of Toto ever since. Lukather's talent at guitar playing and his association with Paich and Porcaro, already established session musicians, allowed him to obtain a great deal of session work in the 1970s and 1980s. He is a prolific songwriter, writing or co-writing many songs for Toto and other artists. His career to present has seen hundreds of performances and album appearances with Toto and other famous musicians. Lukather suffers from tinnitus, which developed in the early 1980s. "Yes I have tinnitus, what a drag. I wear earplugs now 'cause of it. I found that it was all the years wearing headphones that did me in more than live playing. I used to have the real expensive plugs, but I found some 2 dollar ones that work just as good and you don't feel bad losing them... My hearing is damaged though. I always have to say "WHAT???", hahaha. Be careful guys, this could happen to you!"
Notable session keyboardist David Paich and session drummer Jeff Porcaro asked Lukather to join in forming their band, Toto, in 1976 when Lukather was nineteen years old. He has been a member of Toto ever since. Lukather's talent at guitar playing and his association with Paich and Porcaro, already established session musicians, allowed him to obtain a great deal of session work in the 1970s and 1980s. He is a prolific songwriter, writing or co-writing many songs for Toto and other artists. His career to present has seen hundreds of performances and album appearances with Toto and other famous musicians. Lukather suffers from tinnitus, which developed in the early 1980s. "Yes I have tinnitus, what a drag. I wear earplugs now 'cause of it. I found that it was all the years wearing headphones that did me in more than live playing. I used to have the real expensive plugs, but I found some 2 dollar ones that work just as good and you don't feel bad losing them... My hearing is damaged though. I always have to say "WHAT???", hahaha. Be careful guys, this could happen to you!"
Lukather was born Steven Lee Lukather on October 21, 1957 in San Fernando Valley, California. He started out playing keyboards and drums and then taught himself how to play the guitar starting at age seven when his father bought him a Kay acoustic guitar and a copy of TheBeatles album Meet the Beatles. Lukather indicates that the album "changed his life" and that he was greatly influenced by the guitar playing of George Harrison in particular.
In high school, Lukather met David Paich and the Porcaro brothers (Jeff, Steve, and Mike), all of whom would be eventual members of Toto. Lukather, who had been a self-taught musician thus far, began taking guitar lessons from a musician named Jimmy Wyble who expanded Lukather's knowledge of different aspects of music like orchestration. It was during this period that Lukather became interested in the idea of being a session musician with its opportunities to play with a variety of famous musicians.
Jeff Porcaro, who was playing drums with Steely Dan, became a mentor to Lukather and furthered his interest in session work. After Lukather completed some successful album and tour work with Boz Scaggs, Paich and Porcaro asked Lukather to join them in forming Toto in 1976 along with Bobby Kimball, David Hungate, and Steve Porcaro.
In high school, Lukather met David Paich and the Porcaro brothers (Jeff, Steve, and Mike), all of whom would be eventual members of Toto. Lukather, who had been a self-taught musician thus far, began taking guitar lessons from a musician named Jimmy Wyble who expanded Lukather's knowledge of different aspects of music like orchestration. It was during this period that Lukather became interested in the idea of being a session musician with its opportunities to play with a variety of famous musicians.
Jeff Porcaro, who was playing drums with Steely Dan, became a mentor to Lukather and furthered his interest in session work. After Lukather completed some successful album and tour work with Boz Scaggs, Paich and Porcaro asked Lukather to join them in forming Toto in 1976 along with Bobby Kimball, David Hungate, and Steve Porcaro.
Lukather came about after Toto had been recording and playing for eleven years and the band consensus was to take a break. Since Lukather had a number of songs written that did not appear on Toto albums, he decided to pursue a solo album. His intention was to present a dimension of his musical work that fans would not be familiar with, and he collaborated with many notable musicians. Among the people involved in Lukather were Eddie Van Halen, Richard Marx, Jan Hammer, and fellow Toto members Jeff Porcaro and David Paich. Lukather has stated that the album is produced in a very simple manner and that one can hear a lot of ambient studio noise such as counting off on various tracks. He also credits bands Pink Floyd, Cream, Led Zeppelin, and guitarists Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton as influences on the album. The single "Swear Your Love" came from the album.
