It was a no-brainer to take a road trip up to Syracuse when I learned I’d have an opportunity to sit down with none other than Ringo Starr! The occasion was the first gig of a tour by the All Starr Band featuring Steve Lukather and Todd Rundgren on guitars, Gregg Rolie on keys, Richard Page on bass, Warren Ham on horns, and Gregg Bissonette on drums. This band has been together for four years now and the affection and respect they have for one another is plain to see. The venue was the just minted Lakeview Amphitheater which lives up to its name aside the mighty Lake Onondaga…

The setlist featured solo Ringo faves like It Don’t Come Easy and Photograph plus a handful of Beatles tunes. These included the only song in their catalog credited to McCartney-Lennon-Starkey: What Goes On as well as Yellow Submarine, I Wanna Be Your Man, and With A Little Help From My Friends. Ringo revealed that his early compositions were laughed at by ‘that other band I was in’ while introducing the first song he wrote unassisted for The Beatles: Don’t Pass Me By. My only complaint – no Octopus’s Garden.

As has been his style throughout many years and lineups of All Starr Bands; Ringo was generous, perhaps to a fault, in giving his mates a chance to sing their own material. This translated to the biggest chart toppers of Toto, early Santana hits sung by Rolie, and even a deuce from Page’s eighties outfit Mr Mister. Rundgren’s tunes were especially welcome. He pulled off a warm I Saw The Light and a spirited Bang The Drum All Day before reaching back to the Utopia days for Love Is The Answer. Catch Ringo & the All Starr Band next Wednesday (June 15, 2016) at St. George Theater on Staten Island and enjoy bonus remarks from Ringo below on his most essential Beatles tracks and why he prefers the white album to Pepper…

Before their show in Brooklyn at Barclays Arena, TOTO were given commemorative plaques to recognize an eyebrow-raising 40 million albums sold.  The achievement is another feather in the cap of the veteran rock ensemble best known for their three top 5 hits Africa, Rosanna, and Hold The Line.  Fans of the group know that they are accomplished session players who have played on a staggering number of records across genres.  And when it came time to record their own albums, their material and musicianship drew artists like Miles Davis and Linda Ronstadt to join them. When I spoke backstage with guitarist Steve “Luke” Lukather and the rest of the guys, that fact came up in conversation. 

TOTO 14 is the band’s first new album in 9 years (it debuted in the top 10 in 9 countries) and its material was featured in the concert which was part of a double bill with their heroes and friends prog-rockers Yes.  The performances were dedicated to two wonderful bass players who both died this year – TOTO’s Mike Porcaro and Chris Squire of Yes.