August 2022
For those who have visited Boomerocity for any length of time at all, y’all already know that we and Toto have a pretty good working relationship with each other. As proof, one only needs to check out our interviews with Steve “Luke” Lukather and/or Joseph Williams (the links to them are listed further down this page beneath the press release for "Forgotten Toys").
Boomerocity has had the privilege of meeting Toto’s founder on a couple of occasions backstage at Toto concerts but never had the opportunity to interview him.
Until now.
Despite of all the albums he has played on and all the songs he has written and performed (as well as performed and recorded by many others), it is only now that David Paich has decided to release an album of his own.
Titled, “Forgotten Toys,” it is seven masterfully written, performed, and recorded songs with the most amazing musicianship (both Paich’s and a few of his well-known friends) that you would come to expect from a group Paich written tunes. Intricate. Precise. Full. Consuming. Illuminating. These words and more hopefully give you an idea of what you can expect while listening to “Forgotten Toys”.
Our interview with David Paich, below, is relaxed informative, and fun – much like what you would expect – not only from Boomerocity interviews – but especially from interviews with any of the boys from Toto. In his signature graciousness, Paich shares with us all the story behind “Forgotten Toys” and what was involved in putting the album together.
If you’re a fan of Toto or any artist or band that our generation loves, then, a) David’s probably had something to do with 80% of those songs or artists; and b) you’ll definitely want to watch this interview and share it with others. You can order your copy of “Forgotten Toys” by clicking on the album cover on this page.
You can follow David Paich on Facebook and Instagram and with his band and band mates at TotoOfficial.com.
The Boomerocity Interview With David Paich
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DAVID PAICH AND THE PLAYERS CLUB / MASCOT LABEL GROUP
ANNOUNCE RELEASE OF HIS DEBUT SOLO ALBUM
TITLED FORGOTTEN TOYS ON AUGUST 19
Click Above To Order Your CopyLos Angeles, CA -- David Paich and The Players Club / Mascot Label Group have announced the release of his debut solo album titled FORGOTTEN TOYS on August 19. Paich shares, “This is a recurring dream about a distraught girl, riding neath the moonlight. It has perplexed me over many a night…”.
Boz Scaggs. Mötley Crüe. Steely Dan. Bryan Adams. George Martin. Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones. P!NK. Aretha Franklin. Miles Davis. The Doobie Brothers. Stevie Nicks. Dolly Parton. Jessie J. Cher. Rod Stewart. Tina Turner. Michael McDonald. Joan Baez. Ray Charles. Elton John. Barbra Streisand... and countless others. If you’ve listened to music in the last 50 years, including any of the iconic artists above, you were hearing David Paich. Music is the soundtrack of our lives, and David is one of its architects.
He initially embraced music by his father—jazz icon, musician, and arranger Marty Paich. “I met Jimmy Webb when I was 10 years old, when my father was working with him,” he recalls. “My dad nudged me towards songwriting because I had the ability to write poetry. Somehow, my father saw my lyrical potential. I followed in Jimmy’s footsteps until Elton John’s first record came out in 1970. That really cemented my musical path. I continued to soak up all the great songs from then on.” Together, Paich and his father notably co-wrote “Light The Way” for Ironside, winning an EMMY® Award for “Best Song or Theme” back in 1974.
With Boz Scaggs, he co-wrote the songs "Miss Sun", "Lido Shuffle", and Grammy Award-Winning "Lowdown" from the multi-platinum album Silk Degrees.
Around that same time, Paich and childhood friend, iconic studio drummer Jeff Porcaro wiggled their way onto two Steely Dan albums, which helped form some of their musical direction. Paich and David Foster co-wrote “Got To Be Real” with Cheryl Lynn, catapulting her to disco stardom. All these accolades solidified him as one of the go-to studio musicians for music’s A-list. Paich decided it was time for him and Jeff to form their own band, which you now know as Toto.
With his TOTO bandmates, David arranged and performed songs on Michael Jackson’s legendary albums, Bad and Thriller. “One of my greatest memories is collaborating with Michael Jackson, on the bestselling album of all time, Thriller, Helping arrange the Jackson/Paul McCartney duet, “The Girl is Mine”, is still a musical highlight in my career.”
Over the past several years, David, along with TOTO has had a major renaissance in popularity like few bands at this point in their career and now have a multi-generational global fan base. In fact, “Africa” has amassed over 1 billion streams worldwide and is one of the most covered and sampled songs in music history, including by Jay-Z, Pitbull, Ellie Goulding, and Weezer.
As a six-time Grammy® Award Winner, Paich has contributed to over 2,000 albums, shaping the sound of popular music as a songwriter, performer, producer, arranger, vocalist, and primary composer of the seminal band TOTO. With TOTO, Paich has released 17 albums, sold over 40 million records, and garnered over 3 billion streams worldwide. Paich wrote or co-wrote TOTO’s biggest hits, "Hold the Line", "Rosanna" and “Africa”.
Like most treasured mementos and keepsakes, we hold on to songs forever. We dust them off when we need them, put them back on the shelf, and discover them again months or sometimes years down the line. With his diverse catalogue, he has been kicking around song ideas for a solo album for some time. The COVID lockdown presented Paich the opportunity to revisit those songs, and the result being a collection of tunes that he has carried in my head for years. He shares, “It seemed like it was time to put something together. Some of these really are forgotten toys. It had been a while since I’ve been in my studio, and I found myself listening to these little pieces continuously. I kept rediscovering them, hoping to fit the tracks together like a musical puzzle.”
For as much as it may be a “solo” album, Paich couldn’t help but invite a few friends to play. Joined by Joseph Williams as co-producer and sometimes co-vocalist, he welcomed everyone from Toto’s Steve Lukather to Brian Eno, Michael McDonald, Ray Parker Jr., Don Felder, and Steve Jordan of The Rolling Stones.
The album cover artwork provides a poetically nostalgic representation of the concept. It features a variety of memories Paich’s wife has held onto over the years. “I hope this will give everyone a glimpse into another side of me, one they’ve never heard in a musical context.”
Music is the soundtrack of our life. For David, music is much more than the soundtrack of his life. As one of its architects, it is his life.
Boomerocity Interviews With David's Band Mates, Steve Lukather and Joseph Williams
