Mike Porcaro

Mike Porcaro
Mike Porcaro playing a Peavey Cirrus5 live
Background information
Born	May 29, 1955 (1955-05-29) (age 56) South Windsor, Connecticut
Genres	Hard rock, pop rock, progressive rock, neo-progressive rock
Occupations	Musician, bassist
Instruments	Bass guitar, double bass, cello
Years active	1973-present
Associated acts	Toto, Boz Scaggs, Seals and Crofts
Website	www.mike-porcaro.com
Notable instruments
Peavey Basses Hofner Basses Fbass

Mike Porcaro (born Michael Joseph Porcaro, May 29, 1955, South Windsor, Connecticut) is best noted as the bass player in the Grammy Award winning band, Toto.

He is the middle brother of Toto members Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro. Their father is jazz drummer/percussionist, Joe Porcaro.

Toto

He played bass on a few unofficial sessions with the band since their early days in the late 1970s, but was not made an official member until 1982 (shortly after the release of Toto IV); replacing David Hungate, who departed for a session career in Nashville. According to Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Porcaro would have been an original member of the band, but the record label wanted to retain the successful chemistry of the line-up from Boz Scaggs' critically acclaimed Silk Degrees album (as Hungate, Lukather and other members of Toto were Scaggs' backing band at the time). He quickly replaced Hungate on bass for the album's music videos and subsequent tour.

Porcaro also played cello on the song "Good for You" on Toto IV, as well as "After You've Gone" on the 1999 album Mindfields.

Sickness

Porcaro stopped performing with Toto in 2007 after a growing numbness in his fingers that made it increasingly difficult for him to play. He was replaced by Leland Sklar for the remainder of the tour and Toto disbanded in 2008.^[1] On February 26, 2010, it was announced via official press release that Mike Porcaro was suffering from ALS and that former band members of Toto, including Steve Porcaro, would do a short tour through Europe in support of him in the summer of 2010.^[2] The regrouped Toto continue to tour and perform for Mike's benefit in 2011. Nathan East was the guest bassplayer for both the 2010 and 2011 tour.^[3]

Bass playing

Porcaro endorses Peavey, Status Graphite basses, Fbass, Sugi and Hofner bass guitars.

He has also influenced In Flames' bassist, Peter Iwers.^[4] Along with Toto, Mike has played numerous sessions in Los Angeles, and toured with Michael Franks on his very first tour. He appears in the video for the song "JoJo" by Boz Scaggs.

Awards

In 2009, Mike was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame alongside his brothers and fellow Toto bandmates.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Official TOTO Website - Leland Sklar". www.toto99.com. 1947-05-28. http://www.toto99.com/band/guest/sklar.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-20. 
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Official TOTO Website - Leland Sklar". www.toto99.com. 1955-12-08. http://www.toto99.com/band/guest/nathaneast.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-20. 
4. ^ Interview^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Toto « Musicians Hall Of Fame News". Musicianshalloffame.com. http://musicianshalloffame.com/blog/?page_id=183. Retrieved 2011-07-20. 

External links

• Mike Porcaro's page at Toto99.com

Persondata
Name	Porcaro, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 29, 1955
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death