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[LennonStarrFan]

April 30, 9:28 PM

Edgar Winter gives Ringo Starr all the credit for making the All-Starr Band idea work.

"Ringo is so gracious. I love the whole concept model of what he does. It’s so unique. First of all, in sharing the stage with all these different players. But I really think it arises just his love of music. Ringo loves to play. He’s not doing it to make money. He’s doing it to have fun," he says.

"And it’s just such an inspiration to share the stage with him because he cares about the music, but in another sense, it’s not serious. He has such a playful, fun-loving attitude towards the whole thing. He has a great sense of humor both off- and on-the-stage."

Winter says Starr's trademark "peace and love" chants come to life in the band.

"Those tours have been like the most memorable of my life. There’s such a great feeling. They really do embody, once again, the whole idea of ‘peace and love.’ Everybody in the band in such a short period of time, both times, that I have done it, and having done it twice now I can see that it’s no accident. Ringo is a great leader and a great bandmate.

He said the band's set won't really be finalized until it starts rehearsals June 14 at Niagara Falls, which is also where the tour starts.

"We’re playing in the same room that we do the first show, so you’ve got that opportunity to bond as a band and personally, as well, because after the rehearsals are done, I always find myself going over to somebody’s room to work on something. And you get to know everybody and hang out. It really adds to that whole process doing the rehearsal in that way. Then, by the time the first show arrives, everybody’s totally comfortable. We know the stage. We know each other. We know the songs. A very intelligent and cool way to start it out."

Outside of the All-Starr Band, Winter says he'll be doing solo shows. "I’ll be touring with my band all the way up to and immediately following the tour. ... I just sort of play all the time. It’s more like a weekend warrior. I probably do 100 shows a year. ... Ringo was even kind enough to say if we have days off and you want to play shows, if they’re not in the immediate area that we’re getting ready to play, you can do that. ... I don’t think I’ll probably do that because I just like to stay focused on what we’re doing. And I like to enjoy the days off that we have."

At the solo shows, Winter says he'll be performing songs from a recent DVD. "We had a DVD that finally got released that we recorded some years ago at Royal Albert Hall in London. And that’s called “Reach For It.” That’s out now. The last studio album that I did was “Rebel Road,” and I think there’s even some talk of re-releasing that. So I’ll be doing songs with my group from there and from the DVD."

Winter says he feels honored to have been asked to participate in the All-Starr Band. "I couldn’t believe it, you know, when I got the call to do it, because I just thought it was a such a great idea. And feel just so honored and privileged to be a part of it. It’s a beautiful thing."

"To play with Ringo and play the Beatles songs that he’s done is all inspiring. (It's wonderful) to play with all the other great musicians that are in the band and get to play music that, in some cases, that I’ve never done and play with people you really respect and just have fun."

Winter says the Beatles were revolutionaries. "I really stand in awe of the Beatles and what they did. It truly transcended music. They caused a paradigm shift that changed the mindset of an entire generation. They brought about a revolution without firing a shot or even causing any resistance, because it was such a powerful message.

"And what I felt I from listening to their music was a real sense of freedom and a spiritual renaissance. Something that’s difficult to desribe, but that spirit of freedom of thought. Freedom to be who you are, to be different and dare to change the world.

"It was an interesting time."

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner~y2010m4d30-EXCLUSIVE-Edgar-Winter-says-hes-ready-to-rock-and-rollll-again-with-Ringo-this-year-Part-4