I remember when I was a kid - back when I was about 9 or 10 years old - when I was still in grade school and those days when I could go home early because of a half-day schedule. I was usually alone in the house because all else was either in school or in work. I would usually eat my lunch, open the T.V. set (while still on my uniforms) and start to browse on channels looking for a cartoon available on an early afternoon slot maybe - and sad to say, they weren't available not until 3 or 4pm. There were these usual noontime shows from 3 or 4 networks back then like Eat Bulaga from channel 2, Lunch Date from channel 7, and two other programs I seem to forget the titles and hosts as well. Then there were this vintage movies from Sampaguita pictures where you see the younger versions of Miss Nida Blanca, Susan Roces, Fernando Poe Jr., Eddie Gutierrez, and the comedy king, Dolphy on his funny antics. In shear sadness, I would usually open the VHS to watch a movie of taped episodes of Tom and Jerry or the Mickey mouse series or may be go outside and wait for my friends to come home to play.
After spending sometime to those channels which finally placed me in complete boredom, I found this program which featured mushy classic 80's music playing on ABC channel 5. So during the first time I sat down with it, I heard Chaka Kahn singing '"Through the Fire" with that all electrified voice and 'hair' as well. Then there's The Jets singing "Cross my Broken Heart' while doing a weird dance steps and Swing Out Sister with "Am I the same girl" . Suddenly, without any history of love into music, I was glued to it unknowingly. Sooner than later, I was already singing along to the sounds of James Ingram, Rick Astley, Madonna, Peter Cetera, Air Supply and many more just to name a few. On my sessions with this program, there's this band I heard, Toto.
The first song I heard from the band was I'll Be over You, and after that I felt this good rhythm inside me that connected with it. This song has two versions, one where you can hear lead singer Steve Lukather on lead vocals and the other version wherein Michael McDonald doing a second voice. The second version was way better and heavier. Toto was known for their light rock or progressive rock notes on their first two albums, they had started venturing on pop music at this time, and this was the first pop song they've done that hit the charts. Since then I figured, they were like music gods I may say. They were able to combine rock, pop, funk, jazz and r & b at the same time. This music video that was shot on a roof top delivered a good vibe. It was all good. Then and then ,everyday after I came home from school, this program has become one of my personal favorites and I always wait for a Toto song to be played.
It's really funny, because one night I found myself and my sister waiting for our dad to sleep while we were watching T.V. He was like the boss of the remote control and we didn't had the chance to choose any channels when he was around. I was waiting for a Toto special to be aired that night for their long-awaited concert here in our Republic. It was an agitating moment as the program was to start at 10:30 PM and it was like just few minutes and our dad was already asleep at the couch....still holding the remote. Grrr! Then I noticed my sister, fixing the VCR for reasons I didn't know then, She turned it on, placed some old VHS tape then manually changed the channel (Why didn't I think of that?). Then whoala! The Toto special! We were both waiting for the special and all along, both of us didn't know that we like Toto. The program started with the album logo of a an inverted spear or sword surrounded by different stones. Then the first song played was "Hold the Line". We both watched the show while recording it on the VCR while our dad was sleeping. Because of my child-body strength, I never had the chance of finishing the special for I too dose down to sleep while sitting on the sofa.
Song after song, I had become a fan. From "I'll be over you" to "Rosanna" then to "Pamela" and etc. I was enjoying my youth with this band and their type of music. They were like pop stars on rock star bodice. Nevertheless, I enjoyed their song. I never had the chance on seeing them live because I was too young then. I was all into their CD (which I lost then) and to radio and t.v. replays.
Presently, the band has been on mini concerts and word tours. Their songs are continually being played on radios and sang at bars and resto's here in Manila. They even had a place on the 80's folder of my mp3. For more information regarding the band follow the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toto_(band)
