Interviewing a Beatle
RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL STARR BAND DISCUSS TOURING, PLAYING AND THEIR LOVE OF MUSIC — AND A YOUNG WRITER'S MOM IS THRILLED
By: Bentley Freeman
Published on: 5/31/23
“WHAT?????” my mom texted me when I told her I’d be interviewing Beatles drummer Ringo Starr for Eugene Weekly, “THAT’S SO COOL!!!”
I credit her and the rest of my family for introducing me to The Beatles when I was very little. I didn’t know any of the words to most of their songs at that point, let alone understand them, but man did I sing my heart out to the “na na na nas” in “Hey Jude” when I was two years old.
When I got the email from EW’s arts editor Bob Keefer asking if any intern wanted to jump on this and interview Starr, I didn’t hesitate. Even with the stipulation that our questions would be screened and asked over Zoom, I wanted to say that I interviewed a real Beatle.
I sent in a list of about 10 questions to be screened, although I had a suspicion only one, or maybe none, of what I sent in would be asked.
While taking a break from rehearsal, Ringo and his All Starr Band answered all kinds of questions about the struggles of touring, playing the music they love and living out their dreams. Personally, I got to cross something off of my bucket list and geek out for a bit, even if it was on a Zoom screen where they didn’t see me or remember my name, whatsoever.
As the questions were read out I got the sense that this is a group of oldheads who just love everything about music. “If I’m on the road I wanna play!” Starr said. “I don’t want to sit in the hotel and relax for three days.”
Starr’s All Starr Band includes talent from Kansas, Toto, Men at Work, Edgar Winter Group and Average White Band. “I consider these guys lifelong friends,” Steve Lukather, a founding member of Toto, said during the interview. “I love [Ringo] dearly.”
Each band member was thankful for all the great music, the classics, that they get to perform live on stage. “It’s what I do. I love to play,” Starr said, “I love to play great songs and I get all of that from these guys.”
After around 30 minutes, I had lost all hope that any question I had sent in would get asked. But when the very last question got read out, sure enough, it was mine.
Read more on Eugene Weekly’s website here.