NHOR : Where do you feel that Steve Lukather fits in the music scene of today, and what are your expectations for this album? SL : Where do I fit in? (Laughs) You know, I don't really fit in anywhere. I think that's a big problem. Some people, when they're metal, they're metal, and that's what they do. If they're jazz, they're jazz, or if they're rappers, they're rappers. I've always cross pollinated in between all styles. In my youth, and a large portion of my adult life I was a session musician, playing on albums as divergent as McCartney, Elton John and Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, and eveything in between. Cheap Trick and The Tubes one day, then Aretha and Alice Cooper the next day. I just morphed with the situation. With the music of my old band we reflected a lot of the styles of music that we liked. Since there wasn't a particular pretty boy pop star in the band, we were just kind of the band to rake through the coals.

But that was only in the United States. Everywhere else in the world we were respected, and people liked that about us. We quietly sold 30 million records, and with my own personal solo career I've also done really well over there. In Asia, Europe, South America, Mexico...basically any non-English speaking country, with the exception of the UK, where I've done really well. But America's always been an anomaly, so we kind of stayed away. Also financially, it wasn't very viable. Why go out and lose money when you can play arenas elsewhere and make lots of money? There was a huge misconception about my old band, and myself, regarding what kind of musician I am. Although I did an album with Larry Carlton, an instrumental, jam band type of record, and we won a Grammy a couple of years ago. And that was a U.S. based thing. - Read the full interview

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