Rather Have the Story: STEVE PORCARO of Toto and more...

[@susancorgi]

Steve Porcaro is a living legend in the synth and keyboard world!

[@deetgeluid]

Oh yeah, and he wrote one of Michael Jacksons biggest hit.❤

[@Millennial_Mike]

The crazy thing is... even if you discounted every amazing thing SP created with Toto etc... He also randomly wrote Michael Jackson's best song.

[@malcolmmcleod6020]

I met Steve off the plane when they (Toto) did their last New Zealand tour, and he is a MUCH nicer person when you are chatting to him in person - he is just Mr Nice Guy!!!! Then in the concert, he looked out, spotted me, and gave me a big wave and smile!!! A truly nice guy, who I'd be happy to spend more time with.

[@plathplath]

Malcolm McLeod, lucky you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaDbm52GmM-cmNE&start_radio=1

[@RaincloudmusicTFS6]

Steve's had a brain tumour removed a few years ago. So thankful he's still doing his thing! 🎹

[@larswillsen]

This is what I like about my old generation, man we had fun with the gear from those days :-)

[@PabloGarcia-sf7bn]

Steve's influence cannot be overstated. His parts were majestic. I don't give two figs how many tracks he used. I read about the work involved for the solo in Rosanna. Worth it. The parts are amazing and the sounds are still delicious. In any other band he would be hailed as the tremendous player that he is. But he was in Toto. Thats how good that band was. What a huge influence on what came later. Thanks for the work man. It was the Best.

[@andyinoregon]

Music fans owe so much to the Porcaro family. My wife and I first discovered Steve's older brother Jeff drumming on early episodes of "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," and then got to see him live when the TV duo performed in concert at Fort Wayne, Indiana's Memorial Coliseum on Sunday March 19, 1972 -- when he was still just 17. Fast-forward 2 years and we're attending our first Steely Dan concert at The U. of Toledo in April 1974, and who do we recognize tandem drumming alongside Jim Hodder but a just-turned 20 Jeff Porcaro. He was so good Becker & Fagen made him the session drummer for their 1975 album "Katy Lied." Then later that same year he did the same on Boz Scaggs' Grammy-winning "Silk Degrees."

[@markgabriel5797]

Steve Porcaro. All class, all the time!

[@andypearce5537]

The intro to Hydra!!

[@briankehew579]

Exactly!

[@LisaBellaDonnaMusic]

This is a true precious gift. Steve is such a beautiful collection of talent, technology, and musical brilliance. He’s been such an inspiration to me for decades. Grateful for this! Thank you Brian! ❤️🙏🏻❤️

[@ratherhavethestory-therhsp6780]

Thanks so much - it was great to have him along.

[@fullsentimental997]

Le seul survivant de cette illustre fratrie. Un homme, qui a l'air tellement simple.

[@eldergeektromeo9868]

Absolutely love the entire Porcaro family: all musical genius, from dad on down! Thank You for the music, guys!

[@robc1961]

Steve is a legend in his own right. All of this analog and early digital stuff that you had to have a brain to use took so much time to master. He did it successfully and it shaped the sound of the time. He is a genius when it comes to his craft. It's a lost craft because of automation and advanced digital. The brain is not needed nearly as much with reproduction of almost anything in a box. True musicianship is a thing of the past unfortunately.

[@kevinkaatz883]

The synth and guitar solos on Roseanne are simply divine

[@briankehew579]

Steve is very kind; he gives credit to EVERYONE around him in this interview - always sharing the contributors that made his projects happen. Certainly could have a bigger ego if he wanted, he knows what he does, but really take time out to mention everyone involved.

[@LisaBellaDonnaMusic]

Thank you for this Brian! 🧡🙏🏻💛

[@maevey3]

Yes, he comes across as just the loveliest guy.

[@TheJollycoppers]

That's the Porcaro Family for ya. Interviews with their Joe, their Dad, shows the great character and integrity that was foundation of their upbringing. Same can be said for Jeff and Mike, based on the words of those in the industry.

[@briankehew579]

@@TheJollycoppers Nice to hear, thanks.

[@briankehew579]

@@LisaBellaDonnaMusic Next time you're in the LA area, engraved invite to come talk with us!

[@johnmarshall7495]

I love Steve Porcaro...class act and brilliant musician.

[@carriersignal]

I really love listening to Steve tell his stories and give his view on things, great guy, but I also miss Jeff very much. His character, what little I have seen, is something I have to a degree modeled my own self to be. He truly seemed a genuinely awesome guy in every way. All the Porcaros were sheer class.

[@DennisAlvarezMusic]

I really enjoyed this. And I'm a guitar player. I bought a Yamaha V-50 in 1989 when I decided that I wanted to start playing as a single. It was the first all-in-one work station with a sequencer, a drum machine, and a digital synth in one unit. I still have it. I had to chuckle when I saw the Roland MC sequencer. I had the MC- 500. I can't believe I was able to do gigs with that and a synth module, the Roland U-220. I still work a single, but all I need now is my laptop. It's so much smaller, lighter, faster and sounds so much better! So I guess that makes me a confirmed "midiot" :-)

[@steveg219]

Thank you Brian and Steve, great questions and discussion! Special thanks for the recognition of Keith Emerson!

[@briankehew579]

Truly, Keith deserves ALL the attention he still receives. What a major talent and incredible influence on the world.

[@steveg219]

@@briankehew579 👍🏼👍🏼🎹

[@leohernandez7193]

Wow! I really enjoy listening to Steve’s stories and all his extraordinary experiences. He added so much to the Toto sound. Unusual and subtle, almost subliminal. He is a brilliant and fascinating musician.

[@sadboi7537]

You’re the man Steve! Most underrated keyboard player ever.

[@pedrosura]

I would love a Masterclass from Steve. There is just something magical about the way he describes ideas..

[@peevee605]

Steve P is a very humble genius. I owe him and his brothers Jeff RIP and Mike RIP for recording the music that made me wanting to be a musician and later on, it saved my life. Steve is second to none.

[@johanvancauteren6203]

fantastic interview!

[@michaelmani3853]

So Much talent in this family!! What a pioneer

[@Billfish57]

I don't even play keyboards but listening to Steve is so much fun, I loved all the Toto years and players so much, these guys were just great. I stayed for the whole video. I miss the days of real music so much, thought it would never end, just get better, I was so wrong. The 70's was my time for music. I put up with the 80's, didn't like it much at the time, but looking back, it was fantastic compared to now and the last 30 years of crap. Computers have ruined music pretty much. I prefer people playing with no click tracks.

[@ArvidNielsen]

A class act - as a musician, and - judging from this and other interviews - as a human being.

[@plathplath]

Arvid Nielsen, spot on! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaDbm52GmM-cmNE&start_radio=1

[@jonathandaniel7424]

So many powerhouses in Toto that seem to get the spotlight. But Steve P deserves it just as much and frankly is so humble and down to earth you can't help but hang on every word. Really cool to see a high profile musician not be a "drama queen."

[@ralphthompson1767]

I could listen to Porcaro for hours. He is a true innovator, and did some fascinating stuff.

[@donfarrell]

Two things, in particular: (1) Keith's Notes. Just going to take some time to ponder Keith's Notes. (2) The very real creativity behind being a recording/performing keyboard musician in the time when that instrument was taking a quantum leap forward, technologically. Steve was attracted to the sound the synths could make when they sounded (eh, I'm gonna paraphrase here) like a human...blowing a raspberry. He was so correct about that human resonance that they have to label the sound as Toto's sound. I've just had a better day.

[@brianglock3099]

Bought James Newton Howard and Friends when it was released, great album. Rebought it on CD a few years ago. Always enjoy hearing Brian and Steve.

[@briankehew579]

I still listen to it - very unique stuff! And better "tunes" than most fusion/instrumental albums!

[@tomrhea1952]

Brian, you are doing an incredible job of preserving "history" for posterity. As I advised the Smithsonian (and was assiduously ignored), anything that is so old that it's under a lot of dust will still be there when we eventually dig it up. In general we won't lose that artifact-in a curious sort of way it is "preserved." On the other hand, this kind of "history as now" will be totally relevant and useful 100 years from now, and this is the way we should be doing "historical research." Thanks! (Now I don't have to spend my time doing this!)

[@briankehew579]

You can do your own podcast next time you're out here!

[@Keyboardnut99]

I had breakfast with Steve in a hotel in Amsterdam what a fab guy! He was on tour and made time for me ! He loves new tech and is a true trail blazer and synthesist ....Cheers Steve keep up the good work

[@kevincrouch2732]

Great vlog - Toto such a big part of my life and Steve always a good listen so creative, professional and knowledgable - Kevin UK 😎

[@tasteapiana]

I don't know Steve and never met him, nor have I ever been a huge fan of Toto, but there's something about everything I've ever heard from him (and his family members) that oozes class, as well as groove. They're all just tasteful individuals. Just listening to him talk and observing how pleasant he is in conversation leads me to believe he truly is one of the greats throughout the industry. As a guitarist, back in the early 1980s, keyboards were a threat and an annoyance to everyone as much or more so than they were a benefit to the palette of sound happening at the time. Many groups were just abusing them as if there was an unspoken arms race going on among the geeks in control of them (on the development side and the instrumentalist/user side) likely being cheered and pushed on by producers who were under the gun for THE NEXT BIG THING. Steve is one of the very few who didn't get caught up in that so much that it drug down his musical input which, to my understanding, is the same as walking across a mine field unscathed - that sh t had to about drive him crazy at times spiraling in the inner monologue of ''YES! but, no, that's cheesy. Yeah, I dig that but, no, so and so did that already''. Similarly, and in contrast to him, is Lukather who dove all the way down that rabbit hole of technology (after Toto had had some success) to the point that his guitar sounded like it had been processed, sent over a telephone wire, processed again, printed on a Xerox machine, scanned, reprocessed, sent back across the telephone wire, then put through a ton of effects and a Marshall just to remind us that it was originally a guitar - but it was all supposed to be kosher because it had BRADSHAW stamped on it (as if that meant something more than a guy named Bradshaw was able to stay housed and eat for making ridiculous rigs for super desperate showboat guitar players who had no, or were losing their, mojo). Considering that environment, for Steve Porcaro to come out of it worthy of any praise whatsoever, he's a bad ass who stuck to his guns and never strayed from being tasteful in order to chase after all that ME ME ME stuff that so many others around him did.

[@briansnead4787]

I don't know why you're taking shots at Lukather, but he could play circles around most anyone in that era besides EVH. Sorry, as a drummer, I want to watch and play with a badass guitar player. If he was losing his edge, how was he in conversation as one of the most sought out session players? Lukather is a true pro. He's tasteful and team player who understands when he's the rhythm and his playing was always tasteful. I listen to bands like Pantera and Megadeth so I like shredding guitars. Luke is a legend! He can run circles around 95% of most guitar players. Toto was a superband of virtuosos. But to call him losing his edge. He has been killing for years.

[@tasteapiana]

@@briansnead4787 I never said or implied Lukather was losing his edge, nor did I ever comment upon his playing. I only described the gear he used, like, effects processors. Lukather is one of the top 10 electric guitarists of all time and he's a great guy besides that. That said, the equipment he used for a couple of decades sounded like trash, even he has mentioned that he regrets having used the big racks of effects instead of much more organic amps and pedals. It simply irritates me that someone like him, a stellar guitarist, would play so good and yet smother it in cheap sounding garbage effects just to be cool when he didn't even have to try, just plug in to an amp with a handful of pedals and rule the world. I honestly think it was the drinking that pushed him to make some really bad gear decisions that, in my opinion, hurt his career and, ultimately, his band.

[@andretonelli]

Thanks so much for this. Steve talking about vintage synths is about as good as it gets!

[@briankehew579]

Agreed!

[@ericwilhelm2941]

I am at 10:20 and i got to stop to write a short comment . just from listening and realizing what a work ethic and determination and just pur LOVE for the Music to make things work not only in ToTo .Steve is extraordinary. And i can say that i actually met him briefly while on tour with ToTo in 2019 . he is just a great guy . kind and no EGO ...... ok, i watch the rest now

[@briankehew579]

Agreed, a very positive guy, with deserved success.

[@johnnybegood2693]

Wow.. thank you! Had to watch the whole 'story' at once immediately.. I just love the guys and their vibe.. great times, great music - still!

[@drumusic333]

What a great interview! Steve P. is my favorite in the world of keyboardists. Love to hear all the stories, especially when he ties in his brother Jeff (I'm a drummer and Jeff's my mentor). Thanks for doing this interview...awesome!!

[@volbeatdbv9846]

What a legend...the entire family is one of the most talented ever..

[@darrenedwards8433]

Another excellent interview from RHS! I love Steve's tribute to Keith Emerson.

[@briankehew579]

Yes, he and so many of us were influenced to guide our own careers by his work!

[@flopasen]

Steve is so cool, it's a joy to listen to him talk about how it used to be done in the golden era of synths!!

[@srnballard6844]

Fantastic interview! I could listen to him over and over again. Brilliant!

[@djvartan]

Really enjoyed this interview.

[@XDrummerSteve]

Steve is a class act!

[@stephenanthonythomas3533]

Wow! Loved every second of this one Brian! Thank You!💯🎇

[@Eighty8Music]

Great job! Steve’s a great interview, but you also are a great interviewer. Thanks for this. Steve is a giant who’s shoulders us keyboard players are standing on

[@plathplath]

Greg Norlin, "...Steve is a giant who's shoulders us keyboard players are standing on..." 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaDbm52GmM-cmNE&start_radio=1

[@bengtwahlstedt1021]

Love you man !!! ❤

[@nigelmikaele]

There are so many elements and parts of toto songs that sound like film sound tracks.. "childs anthem" the middle part of "Carmen" could be a chase scene in a movie..

[@jacey714]

Steve is a true legend. A milestone in music history~

[@Roderick_Legato]

Great interview! I loved the tribute to Keith Emerson. And Steve, you're not 'geeking out', you're speaking our language.

[@awendt7421]

Thanks again, Brian and Steve! Rather Have The Story is now my favorite podcast!

[@ratherhavethestory-therhsp6780]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@kevinpaige5746]

Great stuff! Thanks Steve. PS- I got to play a song with you at the House of Blues in LA back in 1995-ish. Moffet on drums, Rory Kaplin. Boy, I was intimidated as hell. LOL

[@donniedarko2439]

Porcaro President!! ❤

[@capdan]

This is pure gold.

[@briankehew579]

Ha! Thank you...

[@afargreencountry6324]

What an amazing family.

[@BarryWarne]

awesome all around ~ my first synth was a Ralph Dyke modular that we had access to in High School and I met him once

[@briankehew579]

He's a name that ought to be brought out more often!

[@klangkombinat-de]

Great interview! and on your keyboard stand are : DK Synergy , Roland Jupiter 8, Doctor Click, Roland System 100/104 Sequencer, SCI Model 700 Programmer and bonus: Oberheim DS2A-Sequencer on the shelf´:)

[@briankehew579]

Nicely done! There are a few more hiding in there, but you've hit the main parts of it...

[@whitsundaydreaming]

I wonder if either of you consulted with my late uncle Dave VanKoevering who was Bob Moog’s early marketing guy. He was responsible for demonstrations and setup for the MiniMoog and other systems. I remember him dropping many big names in the music business when he’d visit us. “Switched On Bach” was the big album at the time.

[@briankehew579]

Sure, I knew Dave and Becky very well. Good friends - almost family to me. I have a lot of his historical paperwork here after he passed.

[@McShwee]

Seems like a great guy-really enjoyed this

[@steixeira60]

Fascinating interview - thank you so much! Genius.

[@micahwoori5616]

My teenage hero 🧡

[@peterkeys88]

I love this stuff, thanks for making these!

[@GlassTarantulah]

Amazing interview with the G.O.A.T synth genuis!

[@SuperBillNYC]

Great interview. Thanks for bringing my attention to the Emerson tribute show. I bought the download and LOVED IT! I loved the comment about Bob Moog seeing the come back of modular synths. A great anecdote. Thanks!!

[@briankehew579]

Yeah it was surprising how GOOD it is!

[@stephenanthonythomas3533]

Been a Steve Porcaro fan ever since I bought the first Toto record. Big Hero of mine and I loved how you guys got to do the drill down into the synth-geek side of it.

[@jakobole]

The intro on "Taking it Back" has Steve written all over it.

[@markcossman200]

​@@jakobolewhat a great song on a great album!!!

[@tonyatkinson4496]

This was great. I also loved hearing stories about Jeff.

[@briankehew579]

Of course, he's such a special light within the world of music; his corner of the world is untouched by anyone else!

[@mcgintymusic]

This is great. Thanks so much for the deep dive. As someone who spent many years playing in cover bands, I appreciate that you acknowledge how important that experience can be. I mean, it worked for The Beatles!

[@duncanparsons]

What a lovely hour :-) "We might do more in the future" - oh, yes please!

[@rodgre]

So glad you mentioned the Sheffield Labs CD with JNH. I loved that CD a lot. Might be the only uses of DX synths that I really enjoy!

[@suitandtieguy]

Moogfest 2014 Keith Emerson Band show was beautiful. i was ABSOLUTELY okay with his performance, i thought it was the best since seeing ELP in 1992 and it made me so sad he didn't feel the same way.

[@briankehew579]

His note choices (regardless of finger skills) were always exceptional. I have some films of him just messing around, and even with crippled fingers, he plays GREAT stuff!

[@grooveduststudio]

we all have are heroes steve is one of mine - loving the long format interviews and in depth back stories.

[@bebotinoandrich2592]

Steve Porcaro LEGEND! End of story

[@OFR]

Yep!

[@synthetic88]

Amazing interview. I loved that it went into the geeky details that Keyboard magazine used to talk about. Instant subscribe and can’t wait to dig into more.

[@carlrydlund7456]

The “Blip”!!!! Nothing sounds like it!

[@edjefferson9175]

I still have the original cassette tapes that came with my (long gone) DX7. If I remember correctly he was featured on those tapes?

[@ericwilhelm2941]

A M A Z I N G

[@veronaraven3099]

Great family from the Hartford area...fun fact Joe Porcaro was a drummer in the Hartford Symphony!

[@Ben-Jamminalot]

Love the Frank Zappa references 🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🖤

[@DavidLee07]

It's wonderful to have a deeper discussion that includes the elements of music and technology rather than just the showbiz stories. Thanks for talking to Steve and putting these interviews together. They deserve to have a wider audience.

[@robertandrewjunior1410]

I really enjoy these interviews, Brian. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@mattiasputtonen8982]

That was great!

[@RaincloudmusicTFS6]

Steve and Paich have been a big part of my formative years of playing.

[@djfobtronics]

Awesome interview! Steve is one of my all time faves.

[@Digiphex]

This is great. You did a fantastic job interviewing and Steve's stories of the old tech we all struggled with but loved were fascinating.

[@letmeadow4729]

Brian , I love you on the Sunset Sound Roundtable. When you coming back

[@briankehew579]

Thanks! We'll do more when the subject is something I know about. Hoping for something good soon.

[@roseyz5719]

Beautiful interview/conversation. Keep up the great work 👍

[@davegross7014]

Great conversation!!

[@ratherhavethestory-therhsp6780]

Thanks, Dave!

[@kapwapoedolomitetalabritne8841]

The most identical voice like to His brother Jeff

[@MM-rr1kp]

steve if you see this, a question. there is a video on YT in a studio. Jeff, Luk and Mike do a manic depression jam. also there are keys played. was that you? if ypu were there who said at the end abiut the dad telling kids about a hard day at work? did this hapoen often? what year was it? sounds like Luk played a little Van Halen best of both worlds before the jam awesome to see jeff and everyone smiling and that yell at the end

[@MiddleMalcolm]

It's Michael Omartian in that video. I believe Terry Christian has it on his KZbin channel.

[@jakoblaban429]

I love these chats, the geeking and anecdotes. You and all your guests I've seen are so sweet and easy going. Keep up the great work! This is a great format. Sending my love and looking forward to future content on here.

[@ratherhavethestory-therhsp6780]

Glad you like them! I have more friends, and all of them are interesting in their ways; watch for more - thanks!

[@station2station544]

Best video on youtube

[@stevehofer3482]

Great interview! Very informative. I have a few CS-80-related questions for Steve if he is lurking. 1. In your Keyboard magazine interview, either you or David said that you were going to send your CS-80s to Yamaha for them to customize the main panel presets. Did you ever do that? What other modifications did Yamaha do for you. 2. Do you remember when it was that you had your CS-80 shipped from Japan? There seems to be some controversy regarding when the CS-80 was truly available. 3. Do you still have any of your CS-80s? 4. Do you use any of the current (or at least more recent) polyphonic-aftertouch controllers, if so, what do you like?

[@briankehew579]

I don't know but he says it was new for the first Toto album - there's a good date. And it's VERY easy to modify the presets, whether they did or not, it's just resistor changes mainly. I'm pretty sure they still have one or two in storage at least. Thanks for watching...

[@stevehofer3482]

@@briankehew579 Thanks Brian - great job as always.

[@dr103]

Terrific podcast Brian. It would be fantastic if you can have an interview with Pete Townshend.

[@mattiasengstrom5598]

Thank you!

[@mikehulett6029]

The lav mic was picking up Steve just fine, but the interviewer’s mic must have been a couple feet from him! Great interview though!

[@ratherhavethestory-therhsp6780]

Not exactly but good ears! The problems were actually a lot worse than you can perceive. It took a lot of fixing to get it usable, but we saved it.

[@kevinkaatz883]

Ya had to bring up that Jerry's menu, which almost discouraged one from ordering. Did Jerry's on Ventura close cause the Scamdemic? I live 5 min from Steve, often pass by his place trying to avoid traffic on Laurel. One-time I saw him unloading groceries.

[@davidsharp3110]

Wonderful interview.

[@tonelab]

Great interview Brian, instantly subscribed 👍🏻

[@monmixer]

I pulled that trick on a very high strung house engineer one day just to see what he would do. We were in rehearsals in the theatre that the show was going to happen in and walked across the stage during a pause and had that cellephane wrapper in my hand I worked close to the microphone. We were using body mics but we were also doing area miking. It wasn't 45 seconds and he up on that stage running around like chicken with his head cut off. I felt bad and told him. He looked at me with a scorn then he smiled and went back to the console. lol. I was an engineer also and he asked me for help a lot so he didn't hold it against me.