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Steve Lukather

Versatile musician, guitarist, vocalist, composer, producer and arranger Steve Lukather was born in Los Angeles on October 21 in 1957. Before his father bought him a guitar (a simple Kay acoustic) and a copy of Meet the Beatles at the age of seven, Luke started to play drums and keyboards. "I love keyboards, I write all my songs on keyboards except for the real obvious 'burn' tunes. I find it much easier, you have all these great synth sounds and you play a C chord and it's sounds like God, and you start thinking melodies as opposed to chops." (Lukather, 1986).

The guitar and the Beatles album changed the life of the young boy. "Just the sound of it overcame my whole soul, if you want to call it that. I knew that's what I wanted to do. I remember George Harrison played a solo in I saw her standing there and just the sound of the guitar bending and the reverb struck a nerve inside of me." (Lukather, 1993).

In the years following Lukather taught himself how to play the guitar. He hung out with older friends who showed him how to play and how to set the chords. At high school he met the Porcaro brothers who were a couple of years older than him. Jeff Porcaro and David Paich were already doing session stuff. "I was selftaught until about 15 and then I started taking lessons with (classical/jazz/country player) Jimmy Wyble. He taught me how to read and I took a lot of other classes, like orchestration. I wanted to learn. At that point i was really intrigued by the whole session thing. It wasn't something I wanted to do since I was a little kid. I didn't know anything about it until I was in high school. I always thought it was kind of cool to be able to play on all these great artists' records." (Lukather, 1993).

During his high school period especially Jeff Porcaro turned out to be like a brother and mentor for Steve Lukather. "Jeff was like my mentor; he was a guy I looked up to. He and the whole Porcaro family had so much to do with my getting a break in the music business. Jeff was already in Steely Dan when I met him. That was 1972, and growing up in that whole environment was a gift. We learned the whole Katy lied Steely Dan record before it ever came out. In my high school band I was playing with Mike Landau, John Pierce, Steve Porcaro and Carlos Vega. Everybody else has since gone on to do really well. Growing up in that environment ..." (Lukather, 1993)

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176

Interview

Something Else! Interview: Steve Lukather, of Toto

Something Else! Interview: Steve Lukather, of Toto

Source: Something Else!

Steve Lukather was gearing up for a summer tour in Europe when he got the news: Rare recognition had arrived for him, not just as a co-founder of the often-overlooked band Toto but—and this is rarer still—as a sideman. Lukather was recently honored by Gibson.com, the legendary guitar-maker's official Web site, as one of the Top 10 session players of all time—a diverse list that included Steve Cropper, Jeff “Skunk" Baxter and Chet Atkins, among others. So, we asked him ...

117

Performance / Tour

Steve Weingart Performing with Steve Lukather in California & Japan

Steve Weingart Performing with Steve Lukather in California & Japan

Source: All About Jazz

Keyboard virtuoso Steve Weingart will again be performing with Steve Lukather (Guitar, Vocals) at forthcoming shows in California and Japan during October 2008, in support of Lukather's “Ever Changing Times" CD released earlier this year. The “No Jazz Tour" also features material from each of Lukather's solo albums, and some rarely performed Toto songs. Oct 2 2008 Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, California Oct 3 2008 Canyon Club, Agoura Hills, California Oct 21 2008 IMP Hall, ...

122

Performance / Tour

Steve Weingart Touring with Steve Lukather

Steve Weingart Touring with Steve Lukather

Source: All About Jazz

Having recently returned from international tours with Simon Phillips, Victor Wooten and Warren Hill, LA keyboard maestro Steve Weingart will be touring across Europe, Japan and USA with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, alongside fellow LA band members Eric Valentine, Carlitos Del Puerto and Arkasnsas blues guitarist Tony Spinner, in support of Lukather's “Ever Changing Times" CD. Billed as the “No Jazz Tour"--tickets. Steve Lukather (Toto): Guitar, vocals Steve Weingart (El Grupo, Dave Weckl): keyboards Carlitos Del ...

96

Technology

Steve Lukather Launches New Website

Steve Lukather Launches New Website

Source: All About Jazz


97

Performance / Tour

Steve Lukather & El Grupo at BB Kings, NYC

Steve Lukather & El Grupo at BB Kings, NYC

Source: All About Jazz

Steve Lukather & El Grupo are scheduled to perform 2 shows at BB Kings, New York City, on Saturday October 29, 2005 at 8.00pm and 10.30pm. Visit bbkingsblues.com for ticket information. Following the success of his European Summer Tour 2005, in England, France, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, and shows in Los Angeles which were recorded for a forthcoming live CD, Lukather will perform two shows at BB Kings in New York City before returning for a further three week tour ...

108

Performance / Tour

Steve Lukather Summer Tour 2005

Steve Lukather Summer Tour 2005

Source: All About Jazz

"Reigning King of Session Guitar" Steve Lukather (Guitar, Vocals) and Steve Weingart (keyboards), Joey Heredia (drums) and Oskar Cartaya (bass) will be touring on the following dates in June and July 2005. * June 29th: Robin 2 in Bilston, Wolverhampton, UK Tickets: www.therobin.co.uk Box office tel: 01902-401211 * June 30th: Mean Fiddler, London, UK Tickets: www.meanfiddler.com & www.seetickets.com 24hr Ticket hotline: 0870-060-3777 * July 1st: Elysee Montmartre, Paris, France Tickets: www.fnac.com www.ticketnet.fr www.elyseemontmartre.com Box Office Tel: 0892 692 392 * ...

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