STEVE PORCARO - Studio Musician, Songwriter and founding member of Toto

everywhere I was everywhere I love jazz but you also know I saw a kid play in Connecticut just before shortly after before we moved I was at some kind of convention, I don't know what it was, there was a very young kid playing like a theater organ. He'd never seen that before, with the built-in drum machine, you know, and everything, you know, everything, but he was just in love. I couldn't take my eyes off this guy and it was a keyboard. I knew you know, yeah, a little bit about the keyboard, but all those bells and whistles and the buttons and stuff that always appealed to me. that and you listened to a wider variety of music, as well as a wider variety of music like Jeff and Mike.

I mean, yeah, well, but I have to say that a lot of those guys what I brought to the table a little bit was that they introduced me to progressive music like yeah and Emerson Lake and Palmer and then Jeff left that stuff real quick, yeah, because no I mean, there was no rhythm, there was no, yeah, yeah, a deep pocket that he really identified with, but I stayed at that party for a long time for quite a while. It's strange that composition writing came into play. Where did that start? You know, from very early in school.

I knew I wanted to write songs when I took the time to learn something by ear, it really sunk in, even even the teachers who would have liked it, they would have transcribed you know, jazz solos and stuff, there was a big difference for my. From what I did myself and it really seemed to take root in me when someone, when I was just reading music or something, and then it wouldn't really become part of my playing Jersey, you know, in the drum world, a lot of the drummers study Rosanna's rhythm mhm you know what Jeff didn't have the brilliance of that we wrote it where that song came from with you with that beginning we were like against the wall with the record company the last two The albums didn't do so well like the first one and it was really time for us to do it big and that was Paige, who was doing everything she could, you know, we were the ones giving it our all.

Paige had this great Shuffle II, a kind of groove with this song that they almost like before we started recording almost all the songs, just him and Paige would notice the shape, you know, sometimes David would show up and just have a verse and, of course, and you know. What I mean is that it would be the melody that I wanted to cut, but I didn't have it all laid out and I would end the arrangement with Jeff sitting there being his drum machine and all that, you know, they really always wanted it. to please each other, you know it was a collaborative writing, it was a collaborative writing and no, not like you would think, no, you know, nose to nose, we all brought our own thing to the table, you know, in the early band days of touring with The Band, what it was like at the time, you know, the industry has changed dramatically now and it's a completely different place now, but at that time record labels were working on your tour and what it was like to be in the center of it.

At that moment it was wonderful, you really felt the support of the record companies and you really felt that you are part of an industry that now you know are the record companies here and everything and everyone is independent and everyone's independent contractors and that's just a Completely different feeling, it's like everyone is in their own individual silos, they have their own little place now. What I have weird is down so what's up with the music industry now as far as writing and composing are you working on any TV and movies that have that old shirt for me yeah you know III after the band You know, I had a lot of years to myself and I was just in my

studio

playing with my synthesizers, this is what I would love to do, it's where That's when I'm happiest, my friend James Howard started doing very well doing film work.

He was helping him do some things and he helped me get into the film world a little bit and I did that for a while. In fact, when I started again with Toto, I just started this program, I justified how it is ready for something like that, yes, that is very delicate, it is incredible with cinema and this is a huge thing with cinema, it was not until the cinema. that I learned the beauty of the deadline in its entirety. I was a little advanced in the sense that they didn't trust me with the songs. I would have done that.

I had a song on most albums, but there was no pressure from it. Hi Steve, you have to have your song ready at a certain time it was like if you had it right, if you didn't there were enough

songwriter

s in the band so we were all always horrible with deadlines, we were always adding another month to the mix and It was two more weeks and it wasn't until the movie where James Howard turned to me one day and said, do you want to try to do this? And it was like I didn't know if he could have done anything by Thursday.

I had never done it. do that, yeah, you know, and I discovered that not only could I, but I loved having my own

studio

since I've had it. I'm never short of ideas for the beginning of songs. I'm just playing with that stuff. on something and I get really excited, but the art of finishing a song, nailing that third verse, Larry, you know, doing whatever it takes to finish a song is a whole different art in itself, you know, so you have to feel that you have to feel that. scene and adapt to that, I mean, that requires an incredible depth of compassion that we really have to feel from that, right, yeah, that's the fun thing, that's fun, I'm justified, it was the mostly guitar score, no I play a note. guitar how incredible you mentioned James Newton Howard this is a talent that is so incredible mm-hmm everything he has done a composition a beautiful girl are you still involved with him were you involved with him with your co-writing no, not at all him He was just kind of a mentor to me.

I've had many mentors over the years and he was definitely one when it came to film work. Yeah, he just took me to meetings and offered to write the main title if he could write the. I did the episode and the change with a couple of his friends and I was very lucky to be one of them. Wait as a mentor. What do you think they saw in you? You know, it's a good question. You just know the fact that he would follow through. I've always had a certain energy, but I am. You know, the way I've grown, the way I've chosen, the decisions I've made, they're not the ones I would suggest to anyone, you know, the way I've never stuck with a teacher. but instead, I had all these different teachers, what he did was he made me feel unique.

You know no one did what I did. You know, the reason I had a career in studios was because I saw the world very early. In the early '70s, the really good studio

musician

s didn't want to know about synthesizers and the really good synthesizers didn't want to hear them play for the most part, yeah, I mean, of course, there were exceptions, but I saw this huge chasm. at that time, now everyone does everything, now most keyboard players are genius with common sense, but guys like David Foster didn't know they would play it, but when it came time to dial in a moke bass sound, they loved having me around, so These guys that I thought I would have to compete with like when I was in high school, you know, I could never be like my brother Jeff or my brother Mike, you know, I knew it, but I saw this opening. there and so I got out in a certain sense and then these guys that you know we're going to be my competition or something ended up wanting to have me around in the session, the dial and how you know each other and that led to, but really but it's been beautiful with ups and downs. of what they are what motivates you my ideas that's why I have a recording studio in my house that's why I just said a young age I just put two and two together I was taking organizing classes at Dick Grove and one of the things you learn when you write for a big band, learning to write for big banners, doing block harmony with saxophones, being able to write, having a melody and octaves and completing, you know, five parts. lock harmony right away on a Dan, you know, in high school I had this digital sequencer and I was immediately thinking if I could do 32 notes, black harmony, you know, with flutes, you know why not, I know how to lock harmony Yes, and I know how. working the sequencer, you know, it was always that kind of excitement of putting two and two together.

I don't think there's anyone else doing this, you know what I mean, I'm sure there are a lot of arrangers out there, but they don't know it. What I know about meaning and the synth guys weren't hearing it in a different part of life. Black people are not black harmony. And you know what I mean. I'm worrying or thinking about it, so I've always tried to exploit my unique difference. things and that's something I always recommend to young people is to try to create your own things, boy, what a beautiful life when you talk about creating your own things, that's really what I think the next generation needs to understand, oh yeah, in a big To close out what we just said to the next generation, to the next generation of

musician

s that are out there, they've heard your music, they're familiar with what you're doing and they really want to go to the next level, you know?

We are here at this ASCAP convention to be a part of trying to inspire this next generation. What would you say to this next generation to give them hope to achieve their dreams in the music industry? It's just carving out your unique voice when you're following people, myself, but in my film career James was a big hero to me and I wanted to write like him and I wanted to emulate him and what I ended up writing was stuff that sounded like bad James Newton Howard music. . Yeah, you know what I mean, instead of just following my own path, my own strengths, figuring out what you like about yourself, what you do better than everyone else, if there's nothing you do better than The rest of you better start discovering something out there. a million opportunities there are a million pieces of software and pennies and stuff to get into a master pick some things that will make you unique and write it down whether it's a synthesizer or if it's about being an engineer you know if it's knowing how to really design Well , whether it's knowing how to organize very well, what effort is, having your strengths, what you bring to the table or people like having you around, I just wanted to be around, I wanted to be useful in the studio, well, I'm sure you did.

I did it for sure and I will continue to do it in the process of this crazy music industry, so it's amazing to have you guys sitting here, the passion of Picaro as I've known you all, it's been amazing to witness and be a part of and it's just beautiful and I'm talking about royalty because there really has been an incredible gift that your family has given to the world and continues to give to the world and you really are an incredible person who has a deep passion and you're still doing it Steve, oh yeah. Thank you very much on behalf of the sessions you have done great, thank you.