RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL-STARR BAND TO PLAY HARD ROCK LIVE JULY 15TH. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GARY WRIGHT

Since 1989, Ringo StarrRingo Starr's All Starr tours have rocked sold out venues with great musicians who share Starr's love of performing. Each All Starr member lends his most popular songs to Ringo's already impressive hit list which includes such classics as "With A Little Help From My Friends," "Don't Pass Me By," "Octopus' Garden," "Photograph," "It Don't Come Easy," "Back Off Boogaloo," "You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're mine)," "Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go," "The No No Song" and "Never Without You".

With a new decade, comes a fresh band featuring Edgar WinterEdgar Winter, Gary Wright and Gregg BissonetteGregg Bissonette returning on drums with All Starr newcomers Rick DerringerRick Derringer, Richard PageRichard Page (Mr. MisterMr. Mister) and Wally Palmar (Romantics).

In advance of his arrival with the Ringo Starr All-Starr Band, Wright took some time from his busy schedule to answer a few questions. Here is the interview in it's entirety.


Q: IF YOU WEREN'T AN ENTERTAINER, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE DOING?

A: I ALMOST WAS A DOCTOR. I WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL FOR A YEAR.

Q: ANY PARTICULAR PRACTICE?

A: I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA BE GETTING INVOLVED IN PSYCHIATRY, AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT I WAS THINKING OF DOING. BUT AFTER A YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL, IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT AND I DIDN'T WANT TO PURSUE THAT, AND THATS WHEN I GOT INTO MUSIC.I HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN SHOWBUSINESS WHEN I WAS A KID. I WAS ON BROADWAY WHEN I WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD IN A PLAY CALLED FANNY, WITH FLORENCE HENDERSON. SO I WAS BROADWAY FOR LIKE TWO YEARS AND I HAD A PRETTY LARGE ROLE IN THE PLAYAND THAT KINDA LEFT THE BUG IN ME AND THEN AFTER THAT, I WENT SCHOOL THINKING I WAS GOING TO BE A DOCTOR AND FOUND THAT IT REALLY WASN'T MY CUP OF TEA. I TOOK A BREAK FROM MY STUDIES AND GOT INTO MUSIC, AND GOT INTO A BAND WHICH BECAME SPOOKY TOOTH. FROM THERE, MY CAREER STARTED.

Q: YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH RINGO STARR & HIS ALL STARR BAND. HOW IS IT WORKING WITH HIM AND THE OTHER MUSICIANS?

A: OH, IT IS WONDERFUL! RINGO IS A GREAT GUY. I HAVE KNOWN RINGO SINCE THE EARLY 70's AND WE MET ON ALL THINGS MUST PASS, WHEN I PLAYED ON GEORGE HARRISSON'S FIRST SOLO ALBUM.

Q: YOUR NAME APPEARS ON MANY OF GEORGE'S SOLO ALBUMS. YOU HAD ALSO BECOME GREAT FRIENDS WITH GEORGE. DO YOU REMEMBER THE DAY YOU MET?

A: I DO. I FIRST MET HIM WHEN I CAME IN AND PLAYED ON ISN'T IT A PITY. HE THEN INVITED ME TO COME BACK AND WOUND UP PLAYING ON THE REST OF HIS ALBUMS. WE EVEN WROTE A COUPLE OF SONGS TOGETHER. HE WAS A REALLY CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE. THEN I MET RINGO AND PLAYED ON HIS FIRST TWO SINGLES: IT DON'T COME EASY AND BACK OFF BUGGALOO. RINGO AND I DIDN'T HOOK UP AGAIN UNTIL 2008. IT HAD BEEN A LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND I DID THE TOUR AND IT WAS GREAT.

Q: I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE OF YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCES BEFORE AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU WHEN YOU COME DOWN WITH RINGO STARR & HIS ALL-STARR BAND ON JULY 15TH AT HARD ROCK LIVE.

A: I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AS WELL. I ALSO HAVE A NEW ALBUM COMING OUT CALLED CONNECTED. IT IS THE FIRST POP ALBUM I HAVE DONE IN TWENTY YEARS. I HAVE DONE OTHER ALBUMS IN BETWEEN, BUT THEY WERE KINDA DIFFERENT MUSICAL DIRECTIONS THAT I WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH. THE LAST TWO ALBUMS I DID WERE MORE LIKE WORLD MUSIC ALBUMS. THEY HAD A MORE WORLD MUSIC INFLUENCE. I AM VERY PLEASED WITH CONNECTED AND THINK IT IS ONE OF MY BEST ALBUMS TO DATE.

Q: WILL YOU BE FEATURING ANY SONGS FROM THE ALBUM IN RINGO'S SHOW?

A: NO. UNFORTUNATELY NOT. THE CONCEPT OF THE RINGO SHOW IS TO JUST PERFORM ALL OF THE HITS. I WILL BE DOING LOVE IS ALIVE , DREAM WEAVER. BUT I WILL BE OFF AND TOURING AFTER THE RINGO THING AND DOING SOME DATES.

Q: IS THIS LATEST CD AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON LINE?

A: IT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON JUNE 8TH.

Q: HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE SONG DREAM WEAVER COME TO FRUITION?

A: WHEN GEORGE HARRISSON AND I BECAME FRIENDS, WE HAD A DEEP INTEREST TOGETHER IN EASTERN PHILOSOPHY AND HE GAVE ME A BOOK OF POEMS BY AN INDIAN YOGI NAMED PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA, AND IN THE BOOK OF POEMS THERE WAS A LINE IN ONE OF THE POEMS THAT WENT "WHEN MY MIND WEAVES DREAMS, WITH THREADS OF MEMORIES, ON THAT MAGIS CLOTH, I DO EMBOSS: GOD! GOD! GOD! I LOOKED AT THAT AND WROTE DOWN THE WORDS "DREAM WEAVER" IN MY JOURNAL AND TWO MONTHS LATER, I WROTE THE SONG.

Q: WHAT IS NEXT FOR GARY WRIGHT?

A: THE NEXT THING I WANT TO DO IS WRITE A BOOK, ABOUT MY MUSIC CAREER AND MY LIFE.

Q; ANY PARTING WORDS FOR YOUR FANS?

A: I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR BEING SO KIND. I GET GREAT EMAILS FROM PEOPLE, AND A LOT OF SUPPORT WHEN THEY COME OUT TO MY SHOWS. I DEFINITELY WANT THEM TO HEAR AND GET MY NEW ALBUM. I THINK THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE IT. I AM REALLY PROUD OF IT.

Q: I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING IT AND SEEING ALL OF YOU WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT HARD ROCK LIVE ON JULY 15TH. COULD WE COME BACK AFTER THE SHOW AND SAY "HEY".

A: YES! ABSOLUTELY! PLEASE DO.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GARY WRIGHT, HIS NEW ALBUM, TOUR DATES, AND MERCHANDISE, LOG ON TO HIS WEBSITE AT: WWW.THEDREAMWEAVER.COM