COOL HAND LUKE…
Steve Lukather, session musician par excellence and lead guitarist with recently rejuvenated MOR legends Toto chats to TIM SLATER about his career and his recent reconciliation with YouTube…
kicked a few bad habits he is enjoying a renewed zest for life. “I did it hard for a long time but I’ve reinvented my whole scene; I’ve lost 25lbs, I don’t drink, I’m not married any more…I even got a vasectomy!” he laughs. “This is an interesting time in my life. If people want to party on that’s ok by me but I did it for 100 people’s lifetimes. The bottom line is that I wasn’t feeling well and now I feel great! I wanna be a better player, not just 100% better but 150%. I’m feeling really reinvigorated!” Lukather’s total overhaul of his lifestyle also includes his sound; the huge
Eddie Van Halen may get all the love for his manic guitar solo on the uncharacteristically rocky hit single, Beat It, but the killer guitar hook driving the tune was written and arranged by Steve Lukather, as were most of the other important guitar parts on this monumental LP. As a seasoned session player Lukather is used to being something of an unsung hero when it comes to public knowledge of his musical contributions but among the world’s elite studio musicians Steve Lukather is a legend. His ability to come up with incredibly intuitive and sympathetic parts – often during the first take – guaranteed that whenever a producer was looking for a killer guitar part for a track, Steve Lukather was the man to call. Besides his session work, Lukather is also a founder member of LA based FM friendly rock band Toto (which is completely comprised of first-call session musicians), surviving the sharp end of the rock star lifestyle and its many attendant temptations and distractions. Now in his mid-50s, the ever-ebullient guitarist and composer admits that he has felt middle age gradually creeping up on him and recently taken a long hard look at himself… “My playing was suffering,” the guitarist admits during a transatlantic ‘phone call punctuated by interruptions from a failing cell phone battery, “I reached a point where the usual gig-drink-sleep routine wasn’t working for me anymore. Now I’ve improved in leaps and bounds, I’m playing differently and it’s great!” Well known for his hard partying ways, Lukather insists that since he
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effects racks from days of yore are now consigned to the back of the garage (or whatever the equivalent is for an A-List LA session dude) in favour of a more honest stripped down tone. “I’m trying to get my tone as pure as my body and soul,” Lukather insists, “I threw out all my old gear, I’ve got a weeny little pedal board; no racks or bullshit. I’ve really gone back to a full organic sound, a real natural tone from my guitar and tube amplifier without any bullshit in between, I’m even playing with a cable – no wireless!”
ive time Grammy Award winner, multiple Grammy nominee, guitarist and songwriter Steve Lukather has played on more hit records than he can remember. Undoubtedly, one of his finest moments – although often unaccredited – was his enormous contribution to Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982).
In 2008, after 30 years as the sole constant member of Toto, Lukather
broke up the band, citing his dissatisfaction with being the only founding member among a revolving procession of talented but largely anonymous session musicians. However, a ‘phone call from original Toto keyboard player David Paich tempted Lukather to revive the band, ostensibly to help out ailing former band-mate Mike Porcaro (bass) with his medical bills. With the pressure now off, Lukather says that he is enjoying playing with Toto again on a part time basis. “As long as it’s fun we’ll keep doing it for the right reasons. Everybody
wins: Mike gets a big chunk, the fans are happy and we don’t have to spend six months making a new Toto album. We’ve all got our own things going on, no one wants to jump back on the rat wheel full time!” Despite the enormous acclaim that his success has granted him, Steve Lukather has his fair share of critics, most notably among armchair guitarists offering their personal opinions of his work on YouTube. Originally irritated by this new trend, Lukather is now resigned to accepting it as a fact of life. ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, seems to be his MO these days, “YouTube can be so brutal! Everybody gets their ass kicked, at first I took it personally but then I realized that there’s a handful of people who hate everybody! They’re either little punks or bitter old guys who didn’t make it.” “Via Facebook I have gone from having a few thousand followers to 55,000! That’s over a thousand new subscribers a month and my Twitter following is, like, 16,000 plus!’ the guitarist states proudly, “I know how to play it, I answer people’s questions on my fan page. Between all of these people I am reaching millions. My accessibility is helping my career, not hurting it. I have a lot more time on my hands now that I’m not fending off a hangover!” PM
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