Toto to repay Weezer by covering alt-rock band's song “Hash Pipe”

Dan Weir

7 years ago

Credit: Heather Porcaro

Credit: Heather PorcaroThe Toto/Weezer love affair doesn’t look like it’ll be ending any time soon. After the alternative-rock act released a viral cover of Toto’s “Africa,” the veteran pop-rock band has revealed that it’s taking on the Weezer song “Hash Pipe.”

Toto guitarist Steve Lukather confirmed in a post on his Twitter feed Saturday that his group’s cover of “Hash Pipe” will be released on August 10.

“We had a lot of fun doing it,” says Lukather. “I dug into [Weezer’s] catalogue and came out a fan of their music. The fact [that] we were smoking hash before [frontman] Rivers [Cuomo] and the lads were even alive made it that much funnier to us.”

Weezer released their version of “Africa” in May, following a long-running fan campaign trying to convince the band to cover the much-memed ’80s hit. Last month, they performed “Africa” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a guest appearance from Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro. Prior to covering “Africa,” Weezer also released a rendition of Toto’s “Rosanna.”

In other news, Toto launches the North American leg of its 40 Years Around the Sun tour tonight in Vancouver, Canada. The band recently announced that founding keyboardist/singer David Paich will be sitting out the trek to focus on his health after Toto’s recent European outing “took a toll on his personal well-being.”

Paich says in a statement, “To say this was a difficult decision would be a complete understatement. I hope you will all be understanding of my need to be home. I look forward to joining the boys again on stage ASAP.”

Dominique “Xavier” Talpin, who was a member of the Prince-associated group NPG Q, will fill in for Paich during the current tour. Check out all the dates at TotoOfficial.com.