Simon:

I think this time there is a very good possibility that all our solos will be included in the DVD. They are an integral part of the show with this set list. The only reason we decided to omit them from LIA was because I felt mine wasn't particularly great and Luke also felt his similarly so. Dave's actually was quite good - but we made an artistic decision to only include the band songs and have more of them. I would have to take a look and a listen to that solo again to see if there was any need to release it.

Simon:

We have been discussing a new DVD - just a case of the right gig to record/shoot. We did the last one in Holland, and a previous DVD was done in Paris - so we are looking at a different location where we can have full production and a good place to shoot in - preferably 2 nights this time.

Simon:

We are hoping that this new CD, Falling In Between, will sell really well and stay in the charts for a long time. I would really like to see a hit single out of "Bottom Of Your Soul". I think it's possible because I love the song and most people seem to love it too. I'd like to see Toto back on top again!!

Simon:

Well - I really needed a break to get my health back together so it was both a recuperation from my illness and a much needed rest too. It is impossible to get better whilst touring and that's what did me in last year. In a way it did me a lot of good. I think I am playing better this year and I feel great and really enjoying being on tour again. Dave will join us later this run for the last few shows - it will great to have him around for little while - we miss him. Greg is doing a wonderful job though and is really finding his feet in the band.

Simon:

Now we have a new set to play we are enjoying the gigs immensely. I think the band is playing well and especially as we have made quite a few changes to the way the operation works internally. We are definately ready to make a new CD. We just need to get off the road for a second so we can concentrate on writing some new material. We are actively looking at playing more shows with an orchestra. Hawaii worked out great and we have another orchestral date in Atlanta this summer.

Simon:

Thank you for your belief in us. We realize that our live show is what we are all about nowadays. The record business (sales and radio/video airplay) has no place as such for an act like us at present. All I can say is that we will be musicians for much longer than most of the artists you are hearing today and therefore we just have to be creative in the way that we promote ourselves. We will do another record - that's for sure. We are just not sure how we will market it and we are looking at all sorts of strategies to exploit a new CD.

Simon:

Not necessarily - we could keep touring like we are for quite a while - as long as we change the set occassionally. There is plenty of material to choose from. However, I think our real fans would love to hear some new music and believe me we would love to make some new music too. But on pure business terms I don't believe it is necessary anymore. We would probably sell our usual number as we have a good fan base who would buy a new CD - but given the cost of production, marketing and advertising - we are not breaking any new ground.

Simon:

We actually did consider mixing the Yokohama tapes but when I listended to them they didn't sound that great. They were recorded on to ADAT without any timecode - using the BRC timecode. I mixed one track for a CD rom to accompany "Livefields" and the sync was all over the place. It is so important to have good source material to work with and dealing with live recordings is always more tricky. So, no plans as yet!

Simon:

We have 3 main FOH sound engineers - Colin Northfield, Dirk Schubert and Jon Ostrin. Depending upon their availability and territory that we are touring - Colin usually does Europe, Dirk or Jon usually do the US and other territories. However last summer no-one was available and we had a new guy called Anthony King who did very well considering this is a tough band to mix - lots of stuff going on. Same goes for monitor engineers and back line crew. When we our Europe we tend to use an English crew and for the US and others a US crew.

Simon:

Thanks for your concern - I have fully recovered and actually we have just finished rehearsals for our upcoming Far East/South American tour - it's good to play again. I haven't played a drum kit in nearly 3 months so I am really looking forward to playing in front of an audience once again.
Unfortunately I wasn't even in any condition to write music so nothing but a few scetchy ideas. I can't tell you what the music will be like as we haven't exchanged ideas yet.

Simon:

It's hard to say whether it will be the last. The state of the record business is such that it really doesn't matter whether we make a record or not - business wise that is. We are really doing it for our own pleasure and for our fans that we hope will go out and buy it. It's just the way the business is these days and unless there is a big change it just makes more sense to tour. We would all love to play some new music, but we would still have to play the old hits anyway.

Simon:

It's always a good idea to have some idea of concept before you start a project - even if you end up changing due to unforeseen events. It is a live concert so I wanted to give the listener a good seat in the hall. However I also wanted to exploit the surround canvas without resorting to cheap tricks - things that sound great at first but get tiresome after a while. In other words, not to distract from the music. Then the next move was to listen to what had been recorded and how and if there were any problems. In fact I found the hall a little dissapointing in that there was much less reverb than I had imagined. The Heineken Hall is actually quite dead - especially from stage, which is probably good if you are at the concert, but can sound a bit lifeless or small once recorded. I had 13 channels of audience made up from about 27 mics - sounds good on paper but actually only 7 channels were really useful. If one uses too much ambience the listening experience can get tiring. However the audience were great joining in on some of the songs so I featured them whenever possible. The most difficult part is making the lo end work well with the 3 different modes of playback. DTS, Dolby Digital Surround and Dolby Stereo. The surround set-ups utilize bass management and everyone's system is different. Some people have active sub woofers which they love to turn up way more than they should, the center speaker is usually a different type of speaker cabinet and the surrounds can also be different. We have to have a reference so typically we use 5 identical full range speakers and a sub. A bass management system is also utilized and the room has to be carefully set up. Some engineers don't mix with a bass management system and some do - it's just down to experience really and it's all so new too. Remember a lot of titles released on DVD have partially mixed surround sources and are not true discrete 6 channel mixes. Much easier when it comes to making a stereo fold-down - but I don't go for that. I want to hear a full surround mix. On the other hand a live concert has it's restrictions. In the end it's all down to taste. I hope you enjoy it when you get a copy!

Simon:

Well - really need to take a break from touring to start with and some time away from the band would be good for all of us. I would like to stay in LA for a while and do some writing and maybe some production/engineering. I am going to re-release all my solo CDs as my Lipstick deal is over - hopefully I can make them available to everyone then. I have also been thinking of writing another solo album - I think it's about time. The main thing the band has to concentrate on is a new album so I hope we can get around to that after a couple of months off.

Simon:

There are always favourites and those favourites can change as the tour goes on. I would say Bodhisattva, Africa, the Waiting For Your Love medley is fun to play - it's quite challenging, I Won't Hold You Back and White Sister were the favourites from the last tour but as we haven't played for a while I am looking forward to playing the whole set again.

Simon:

You know I was never aware of any of those comments, if there were indeed any. My objective was to learn the songs and interpret them the way I do naturally. One of the main reasons the band asked me, and not someone else, was because I had a distinctive style and would approach the songs from a different standpoint - and not copy what Jeff did. I am sure there were some people that did compare the way we played and maybe still think that Jeff's way was better suited - but things change. Life changes and you have to move on. My joining, and the fact that the other guys felt it was right, has made it possible for Toto to continue for another 10 years after Jeff's passing. I am sure he would feel that all his time and efforts were worth it that the band has now reached it's 25th year!!

Simon:

The songs that they had chosen for the Kingdom Of Desire tour remained the same from day one of rehearsal. Remember I had had many years of learning new sets/songs for many different situations. Actually I had 15 days total of rehearsal - which actually was a luxury. I remember having 4 days to learn a set list for Al Di Meola's Electric Rendevous tour in 1982. But please remember that learning the songs in rehearsal is one thing - but actally owning the songs, playing wise that is, takes much longer!

Simon:

Oh, I am sure after 10 years they kind of know what to expect now - although I do like to keep them on their toes - ha ha ha. I just like to be creative - especially when playing the same set night after night - to me it's important to keep the flow of new ideas and to always be looking for the best way to play a particular song.

Simon:

Actually I disagree - I found it way too busy. I love percussion - but in the right setting. Like in a latin band for example - then the drummer takes more of a back step in the music. But Toto is a rock band and I find the way we have it now compliments the music better. We don't use samples to replace percussion - we are using some loops on some songs but they could not be created by a percussion player. If you are referring to "Africa" - that song was created using a loop when it was recorded - and now we are using that same loop - just in digital form.

Simon:

That was a one off broadcast - we don't normally do that. But I cannot say that we would never do something like that on day.

Simon:

Unfortunately we didn't - maybe some snap shots but nothing serious. It was just us and I was engineering as well as playing so my hands were pretty full.

Simon:

There is a video made of the 1990 tour. There are other shot but probably not on sale of more recent tours. We are working towards a DVD of the Mindfields tour - just got to finalize a deal and then mix/edit the show!

Simon:

Actually we were asked to do "Where are they now" which we gracefully declined.

Simon:

No plans as yet although am always up for going there. It is just so damn expensive to ship people and gear there to tour. I hope there will be an opportunity to do so soon.

Simon:

You cannot compare the two bands. I played a show with The Who last year on June 6th in New York City and then flew to Sweden to play a show with Toto on June 8th - that was a culture shock!!!! I don't think in terms of better or worse when comparing 2 different kinds of music - how can you when you are talking about those 2 bands. All I can say is that I am extremely lucky to be able to play in both bands - they are both fantastic.

Simon:

No plans as yet. I always love traveling further afield to play. I came with Toto to Bangkok in '92 - Kingdom of Desire tour. We certainly had fun there!!!

Simon:

It was no problem for me (I am used to my style) and I think there were some real differences to the other guys having played those songs so many times with Jeff. It was never a problem - just different. In the light of the situation we all felt it was a good thing. The main reason after all for asking me to play was that they knew it would be different. They knew I had a distinctive style, just as Jeff did, and they thought that was the best way to go. I think the fact that we are still playing together nearly 9 years later says it all!

Simon:

I had made my decision to move to LA in 1991. I needed a change in my life and big changes were about to happen anyway. There is a lot of paper work and bureaucratic bullshit to go through when you move from one country to another and I started that process in '91. It was a complete coincidence that Toto wanted me to play with them at the same time that I was moving to LA. I actually left UK on August 31st 1992 to start rehearsals with the band.

Simon:

No plans as yet.. we have footage shot in Japan of the Mindfields tour and we have kicked around the idea of making a DVD with 5:1 sound - just haven't made any decisions yet.