All-Starr Band 2006

A report in the Toronto Sun suggests that Leon Russell could be a member of the next All-Starr Band. The story says that in his recent website updates, Ringo has held up copies of Russell's albums, including Russell's first self-titled album that Ringo played on. The story also says that Ringo is likely to start this year's All-Starr Band tour in Canada.

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/02/24/pf-1460688.html
http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/news/301leonallstarr.html

RINGO STARR CONFIRMS 9th ALL STARR SUMMER TOUR 2006, PRODUCED BY HOUSE OF BLUES®

ALL STARRS WILL INCLUDE ROD ARGENT, MARK HUDSON, RICHARD MARX AND BILLY SQUIER WITH SHEILA E AND MARK RIVERA RETURNING

Wednesday, March 8, 2006, Los Angeles, CA – This summer is guaranteed to be a little more rocking now that Ringo Starr has confirmed the details for his upcoming 9th All Starr Band. The tour, produced by House of Blues®, will kick off in Canada at Casino Rama on June 14 and end in New York City on July 20 at Radio City Music Hall. The 9th All Starr Band will feature new All Starr's (in alphabetical order) Rod Argent (Zombies), Mark Hudson (Ringo’s writing partner and producer from that other band, no not that one!, the other other one – the Roundheads), Richard Marx, Billy Squier, Edgar Winter with the fabulous Sheila E returning on drums/percussion and band leader and saxophonist Mark Rivera.

The All Starr show is “the best 1-800-band on the road,” (as Ringo always says), where each of All Starrs take turns singing their greatest hits: “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Yellow Submarine”, “Photograph”, “It Don’t Come Easy,” "Hold Your Head Up," “Don’t Mean Nothin,” “Free Ride,” “The Stroke,” “Everybody Wants You,” and “Glamorous Life.”

Ringo and His All Starrs exude the love, joy and phenomenal playing that shine from the Starr at the center. The shows draw fans of all ages and sizes…parents and their kids come to enjoy a summer night out with fantastic music, performed by musicians who love to play. As Ringo recently said in an interview: “I just have a great time, and that's the rhythm of my heart and my soul.”

The full itinerary will be announced shortly, and in the meantime fans can look for updates on: www.ringostarr.com.

Ringo unveils All-Starr lineup
By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun

He loves us, yeah, yeah, yeah.

As earlier reported by the Sun, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr will return to our neck of the woods to rehearse for and then launch his latest All-Starr tour at Casino Rama with two shows on June 14-15.

It will mark the third tour in a row that Starr has rehearsed at the venue near Orillia, Ont., and Casino Rama will make the official announcement this morning.

Joining Starr, 65, on stage for his latest All-Starr trek will be Rod Argent of The Zombies, percussionist Sheila E., pop star Richard Marx, rocker Billy Squier, blues musician Edgar Winter and previous musical director Mark Rivera.

It's expected Starr, who released his latest album, Choose Love, last year, will arrive sometime at the casino around June 2 or 3 to begin rehearsals.

Tix for the two All-Starr shows, $35, $45, $55, are on-sale Thursday at the Casino Rama box office, Ticketmaster, by calling 416-870-8000 or online at http://www.casinorama.com/

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/03/13/1486350.html

An ad for Ringo's upcoming 2006 All-Starr tour

HAMISH STUART JOINS ALL STARR BAND!

It looks like the itinerary isn't the only thing subject to change concerning the upcoming tour by Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band.

A couple of changes also have been made in the band itself. Sax player/utility man Mark Rivera will work with the band in rehearsals as musical director, spokeswoman Elizabeth Freund says, but he won't be able to join the All Starrs on tour as originally announced because of a touring commitment to Billy Joel.
And today Freund confirmed to Beatlefan Bulletin that Ringo's record producer, Mark Hudson, is being replaced in the All Starr lineup by former Paul McCartney band member Hamish Stuart, who will play bass. Stuart is an alumnus of Scotland's Average White Band (best known for the '70s blue-eyed funk hits "Pick Up the Pieces" and "Cut the Cake"). That will make Stuart only the second musician to tour with two former Beatles (the other being Billy Preston, who toured with George Harrison and Ringo).

So the All Starr Band lineup for this tour (as of now) is: Billy Squier, Edgar Winter, Rod Argent, Sheila E., Hamish Stuart and Richard Marx.

Ringo will hold a press conference Tuesday at Casino Rama to launch the tour.

Блин, кто бы на русский перевёл? Есть такие?

21966:

>Блин, кто бы на русский перевёл? Есть такие?

Ринго даст пресс-конференцию по поводу начала своего тура.

Вот тут девушка просит помочь ей проинтервьюировать Ринго. Можете направлять ваши вопросы на английском.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/streeter/entries/2006...

Ringo back on the road with All-Starr Band
Fri Jun 9

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Ringo Starr is a band man. And while he is best-known for his time spent in a certain other band from Liverpool, the world's most famous drummer is most interested in talking about his current outfit.

Starr is in rehearsals for his ninth All-Starr Band tour, which begins June 14 in Toronto. This year's version will feature Rod Argent, Mark Hudson, Richard Marx, Billy Squier, Edgar Winter and Sheila E. They'll be out for six weeks this summer, with a setlist ranging from Squier's "The Stroke" to Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" to Starr's own "It Don't Come Easy."

Keyboardist Argent, an original member of '60s British Invasion band the Zombies, says Starr's drumming was an influence on "She's Not There" and other early Zombies hits.

"I've always loved Ringo's drumming," Argent says. "His sense of groove, and the way that he introduced patterns into verses of songs had a big impact on me when the Beatles first came out in England around 1962. So the idea of playing with him after all these years is just fantastic."

Even as Argent and the other All-Starrs gear up, Starr's former band is in the news. Apple Corps., which represents the Beatles' business interests, has cut a deal with Cirque du Soleil and the MGM Mirage for a new $30 million show incorporating Beatles music. "Love" will debut in June at a new 2,000-seat theater at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

Additionally, Starr is recording a new album to be released next year. There are also increased signs that the Beatles catalog will finally make its digital debut. Interviewed by phone from London, Starr was polite in discussing his rock'n'roll past, but it is clear his focus is on the future.

Q: WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR ALL-STARR BAND TOURS?

A: The playing. Onstage time is just the best place for me, I love it.

Q: HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT PUTTING THE BAND TOGETHER?

A: It started in 1989 when I just looked in my phone book. (The 1989 lineup included Nils Lofgren, Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Clarence Clemons, Levon Helm and Rick Danko.) And I'd run out of numbers by 1995. Managers submit people they'd like to be in the All-Starrs; sometimes the artists themselves let us know they'd like to be in one. Then I sit with a load of CDs and just feel this would be a good lineup.

Q: THEN YOU JUST START REHEARSALS AND WORK UP A SETLIST?

A: (The band members) have to have had hits in the '60s, '70s, '80s or '90s, now. I've certainly got the hits from the '60s and the '70s, actually. I always say it's like the best "1-800-Band" in the world. You get a chance to see the artists doing their hits, but with this different combination of musicians. And for me, rather than have six bands onstage doing 20 minutes each, it's great to have all the artists. We've got piano, organs, bass guitar, drums, and we all have to learn everybody's songs. The joy is, I support them 100%, and so far, most of the All-Starrs have supported me 100%.

Q: IS TOURING STILL FUN FOR YOU?

A: I've never heard anyone say touring is fun. The playing is what's fun. You have to get on the plane, get in the van, get in these strange hotels to do what I do. I am a musician, I am a drummer, I started playing a long time ago, and I'm still getting this chance, so it's great.

Q: DID YOU MISS IT WHEN THE BEATLES STOPPED TOURING?

A: I didn't miss it when the Beatles stopped touring because we all realized the reason we did stop in those days -- and we were all like 25 -- was that we did a couple or three years and, in all honesty, nobody listened. And that was part of our gig. So we decided to spend more time in the studio. I felt as a musician at the end of the Beatles' touring I was not playing as good as I could because of the noise. You have to remember, we didn't have all the volume we have now. We had those small amps and the house PA wherever we played, including Shea (Stadium in New York).

Q: AND NO IN-EAR MONITORS.

A: None of that. Maybe there would have been a different attitude if we'd have had that at that time.

Q: HOW INVOLVED HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHOW?

A: George Harrison met (Cirque founder) Guy Laliberte five years ago and he presented the idea to George. And we met with Guy and we had several meetings on our own and we finally came to the decision. I love the Cirque shows anyway, and we did it with our music, and George Martin is now remixing and actually even going a little further than just remixing. He's using other takes on certain stuff. They are the actual (Beatles) recordings, but it could be "take nine." We've all followed the music from day one -- as soon as George got a couple of tracks done, we went to listen to it. And over the last couple of years we keep going to EMI to make sure we love what we're hearing.

George and Giles, his son, have done a great job. I think everyone will be absolutely amazed when they hear what George and Giles have done with the music. I love the music, so that's all I'm involved with. I'm not involved with hiring the acrobats.

Q: AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DO ANY ACROBATICS YOURSELF, I PRESUME?

A: (Laughs) I will not be doing any acrobatics myself, no.

Q: WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK ON THE NEW ALBUM?

A: Right now I'm just finishing up recording so I can have a break before I start rehearsing myself, of course, in my studio to get to know Rod Argent and Billy Squier's numbers. I'm just finishing the album, it probably won't be out this year because of the tour and then I'll want a break. I'll probably finish it 'round about November. That's the plan. It's a CD in the works.

Q: IT SEEMS YOU ENJOY THE BAND MENTALITY AND WORKING OFF THE OTHER PLAYERS.

A: I do, I love bands. I love when we make the records, I like hanging out with the other members. We write the songs and then we get into the studio and play them and work them out, get them down. I've always said I am a band member, I love being in the band. I've always been in bands. From Rory Storm before the Beatles and the Darktown Skiffle Group. It's just something I really enjoy, hanging out with writers and musicians.

Q: HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED BY BUCK OWENS' RECENT DEATH?

A: Buck was great, he was a huge influence in the late '50s and early '60s in country music. As you know, I loved him and I also covered his version of "Act Naturally," and in the '90s we did a duet on it together and put that out. I didn't have a lot of time hanging out with Buck, but for me he was a huge country influence.

Q: THERE IS A LOT OF SPECULATION ABOUT THE BEATLES' MUSIC BECOMING AVAILABLE SOON FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOADING. ANY COMMENT ON THAT?

A: My big comment is, "Yes, the Beatles' music will one day be downloading."

Q: CAN YOU BE A LITTLE MORE VAGUE ABOUT THAT?

A: I can be really vague if you want me to. This is all very exciting, but what we're doing here is plugging the All-Starr Band.

Q: ANY ADVICE YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE TO UP-AND-COMING MUSICIANS?

A: Keep playing. That's all we can do, we keep playing. For me, if you're a musician you're playing for the music, not to be famous, and that's how it works.

Reuters/Billboard

All Starr tours don't come easy, admits busy Ringo
June 14, 2006

The world's most famous drummer returns to the area on Saturday when Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band play the Rosemont Theatre.

In addition to native Chicagoan Richard Marx and All Starr veteran Sheila E., the ninth incarnation of the band also includes Rod Argent, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart and Edgar Winter.

Starr took a break from band rehearsals in Toronto to discuss the tour, a new Cirque du Soleil show, his memories of Billy Preston (who died June 6) and his collaboration with Stan Lee on an animated superhero who will be based on none other than Ringo himself.

Q. Do you get nervous about putting together an All Starr show with a diverse group of musicians who haven't played together before?

A. Well, there is a nervous aspect. This is the hard-work part, where we have to learn each other's songs. Even after we've done all this, every show there's a second there of "Oops, I guess I can go home now" [laughs]. Everybody is so supportive. The surprise for me is that this band is, out of all the All Starr [groups], the most rock 'n' roll. It's up! I'm the balladeer.

Q. Producer George Martin remixed the Beatles' music to create a soundscape for the Cirque du Soleil show "Love,'' and you were involved in that process. What was that like?

A. Oh, it was incredible. First of all, no one else could do it besides George because he knew where the bodies were. He and his son Giles have just done an incredible job. They would do some mixing, and then I'd go in and listen, or Paul [McCartney] would go and listen, and we'd give our input. I just love everything he's done. He could have gone a bit madder for me, actually. He's taken different elements of certain tracks and put them on other tracks. He put it all together in the best possible taste.

Q. Are you going to attend the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas?

A. They're having [preview] shows right now. We're going to see it on the 30th of this month. That's the opening, and I'll be there.

Q. And will Paul be there?

A. I don't know. You'll have to ask him that.

Q. My impression is that you and Paul are friendly but that you don't see each other socially.

A. We don't see each other that much. I saw him a couple of times in L.A. at the beginning of the year, and that was it.

Q. Billy Preston played with the Beatles, and he was in your first All Starr Band. Do you have a favorite memory of him?

A. Billy has left us now, God bless him. My memory of Billy is that whenever he put his fingers on the keys, he never played a bad note. He was one of the all-time, ultimate musicians in my book. Billy could read a book, eat a sandwich and still play Hammond [organ] better than anybody.

Q. Are you currently working on a new album?

A. I've done another 12 tracks that will be out sometime. I'm not even thinking about it until after this tour, and then I'm going to have a summer holiday and then we'll get back to it.

Q. How is your animation project with Stan Lee progressing?

A. I'm waiting for Stan. We've had a couple of writers in. We auditioned 20 writers, and we picked a couple that didn't really work out in the end. I don't mind because it's something I haven't [ever] done, so it doesn't matter when it happens, you know?

http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-ringo14.html

All you need is 'peace and love'
By JANE STEVENSON - Toronto Sun

RAMA, Ont. -- When it comes to making political, anti-war statements in his music, Ringo Starr says preaching "peace and love" is all he knows how to do.

The former Beatles drummer made the comments yesterday at a press conference on the eve of the North American launch of his All-Starr band tour tonight at Casino Rama.

"What I like, especially at the shows, if I go, 'Peace and love,' people go, 'Peace and love' back. So there's many seconds of the day people have thought 'Peace and love,' and not thought of harming other people," said Starr, 65, on stage of the entertainment centre at Casino Rama, two hours north of Toronto.

"So I've just come to the conclusion that this is the way I do it. So to everyone here, 'Peace and love!' There you go, you see, we all thought, 'Peace and love,' for a second. So you add all those seconds up, you never know, one day, we'll all be hugging each other."

Starr, who wears a custom-made white rubber bracelet that says 'peace and love,' (the only way you get one is if he gives it to you), was joined on stage by the current All-Starr configuration. The lineup includes three-time member Sheila E, along with Rod Argent (The Zombies), Richard Marx, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) and Edgar Winter.

"I hope it's a bit louder tomorrow," Starr deadpanned as he was greeted by weak applause from reporters before he and his players scrambled to deliver bits of assorted hits after a false start with A Little Help From My Friends.

"Anyway, I think you get the picture," said Starr, who then took questions.

Starr said he specifically returned to Casino Rama to rehearse and launch his third tour in a row -- tonight's show is followed by a second date tomorrow night -- because he likes the working conditions and the staff.

"The first time was such a good experience. We're well looked after here, and you know, in all honesty, we are all out of the way of our families and friends. They're not coming down, taking up time, so we can seriously get down to rehearsing. Because, you know, we do an eight hour day. It's pretty hard because of the personnel. We all have to learn each other's songs."

And despite being more comfortable after repeated visits to the venue, Starr doesn't make it very far afield.

"I don't gamble. I know the boys have been in the casino," he told the Toronto Sun in an exclusive Canadian newspaper interview.

Starr said the first criterion for choosing his bandmates is "you've had a hit, 'cause this is the band of hits from the '60s, '70s, and '80s."

For their part, the All-Starr bandmates all seemed to be hardcore Beatles fans and thrilled to be part of Starr's tour.

"I really like everybody," said Marx. "It's a really good group of people to be around and spend the day with. We all occasionally spend days with dickheads and there are no dickheads in this group."

When asked to narrow down his favourite moment in his music career, Starr simply couldn't, although he did single out getting his first drum kit from his stepfather and joining the pre-Beatles act, Rory Storme's Hurricanes.

"I've always wanted to play drums and I've always wanted to play with really good people and so far, all these years, that's what's happened. You know, that's never stopped. So my dreams always unfolded."
________________________

Fifth Beatle 'was a good friend'

RAMA, Ont. -- Last week's death of keyboardist Billy Preston --sometimes known as The Fifth Beatle -- hit Ringo Starr hard.

But at least he had a chance to say goodbye.

Preston, who died at age 59, had battled chronic kidney failure and been in a coma since November.

"Billy, I saw a couple of days before he fell down into the coma," Starr told the Sun.

"I went to see him, spoke to him, and we were sitting outside in the sun in L.A. Then all hell broke loose and he never came to.

"But as a musician, there was no finer musician, and as a friend, he was a good friend. It teaches you to live a day at a time. And live in today, not in the future. Make that phone call. Go see that Auntie you don't want to see or whatever, because you never know."

Starr told a press conference earlier that he and the other Beatles met Preston in 1962 in Germany, "when he was 16 and we were 20.

"So we've known each other since then and we'd bump into each other; he's been in two All-Starr bands."

Preston backed up The Beatles on Let It Be, Abbey Road and the White Album, appeared in films with the group and toured with them individually after they had split up.

Starr's own health has been good although he did have surgery on both shoulders for bone spurs in January and August 2004 before recording his latest album, 2005's Choose Love.

He didn't think it was drumming-related and has healed nicely.

"My shoulders are better than they were," he told the Sun. "How far out is that? Just don't ask me about my neck!" he joked.

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/06/14/1631437.html

"Ringo Starr seen here yesterday facing the media at Casino Rama will play the entertainment centre tonight and tomorrow night with his All-Starr band which includes musicians Sheila E, Rod Argent (The Zombies), Richard Marx, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) and Edgar Winter."

Starr power
http://torontosun.com/Entertainment/Music/2006/06/15/1633584-sun.html
It takes a drummer to know a drummer, which might be why Ringo Starr feels so at home at Casino Rama
http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/06/15/1633531-sun.html
Rockin' with Ringo's All-Starr Band
http://insider.tv.yahoo.com/celeb/4264/ с видео

June 15, 2006

Ringo and the All Starrs at Casino Rama - SET SPOILER!!!!

Here is the set list from Wednesday night's tour-opener at Casino Rama in Ontario. Notable among Ringo's selections are "Choose Love" and "What Goes On".

Hamish Stuart played bass but didn't do any Average White Band numbers.

The absence of Billy Squier's "Stroke" also was a bit of a surprise.

The Toronto Sun reported there were some rough edges and Rod Argent had to restart "She's Not There."

"You know it's our first night," Ringo said. But the paper said that what the All Starrs lacked in polish, they made up for in spirit, good humor and outstanding musicianship. The Edgar Winter numbers apparently were the crowd favorites.

The songs:

1. Ringo - It Don't Come Easy
2. Ringo - What Goes On
3. Ringo - Honey Don't
4. Billy Squier - Everybody Wants You
5. Edgar Winter - Free Ride
6. Sheila E - A Love Bizarre
7. Ringo - Boys
8. Richard Marx - Don't Mean Nothing
9. Rod Argent - She's Not There
10. Ringo - Never Without You
11. Ringo - Yellow Submarine
12. Edgar Winter - Dying To Live
13. Richard Marx - Right There Waiting For You
14. Edgar Winter - Frankenstein
15. Ringo - Photograph
16. Ringo - Choose Love
17. Richard Marx - Should Have Known Better
18. Sheila E - The Glamorous Life
19. Ringo - I Wanna Be Your Man
20. Billy Squier - Rock Me Tonight
21. Rod Argent - Hold Your Head Up
22. Ringo - Act Naturally
23. Ringo - Memphis In Your Mind
24. Ringo - With A Little Help From My Friends

Starr tour realizes dream for Edgar Winter
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/fljournal/index.ssf...res-2/1150471233195210.xml&coll=5

Ringo Starr bangs the drums during his performance at Wente Vineyards in Livermore on Tuesday, June 27th, 2006.

Ringo Starr performs with Billy Squier (right) at Wente Vineyards in Livermore on Tuesday, June 27th, 2006.

Ringo Starr performs at Wente Vineyards in Livermore on Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

Ringo Starr performs at Wente Vineyards in Livermore on Tuesday, June 27th, 2006.