Video: https://youtu.be/HK7dZdcsmq4

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band have been captivating audiences around the world since 1989. This band of musicians is visiting the Quad Cities for a performance at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, at the Findlay Toyota Center, 3201 N. Main St., Prescott Valley.

Across the Street participated in a Q&A with the band’s members last week. The current lineup includes Ringo Starr on drums, percussion and vocals; Steve Lukather of Toto on guitars, bass and vocals; Colin Hay of Men at Work on guitars and vocals; Edgar Winter on keyboards, saxophone and vocals; Hamish Stuart of Average White Band on bass, guitar and vocals; Gregg Bissonette on drums, trumpet and backing vocals; and Warren Ham of Kansas on saxophone, harmonica, flute, percussion, keyboards and vocals.

<strong>What is the secret of your longevity and being able to play physically demanding performances for so many decades?</strong>

Lukather — I don’t know how to do anything else. It’s the honest truth, I mean, this is normal. It’s not hard. I mean, you have to take care of yourself but it’s not like I have to go to work and dig ditches in the hot sun or something like that. This is the greatest job a human being can have on planet Earth, especially with these guys.

Starr — I think we all take a bit more care of ourselves now.

Hay — You have to pace yourself a little bit better and you have to get plenty of sleep but it’s not like it used to be. Used to be, you give yourself a hammering and that only works for a certain amount of time. Then you think, “I just can’t do this anymore.”

Starr — Diminishing returns.

Hay — And then you learn from that, and then you learn what’s really important. And what’s really important is not what happens after the gig, but what’s really important is actually playing the show. That’s the crucial part. That’s the work. That’s the joy of it. Because when you play a show and you have this energy and you put the energy out and the energy comes back and it’s just it’s like an electrical current.

There’s nothing, there’s no better feeling than that. That’s the best.

Bissonette — I couldn’t agree more with the fact that you get back from the audience. The first time I saw Ringo in the same room, I was 7 years old and it was 1966, and I was just buzzing and vibrating for a week. And I just said, “I want to play in front of people.” Recording is fun but it’s nothing like playing live where you get that feeling back and there’s somebody in this room with a yellow submarine sign or something, and you just get so much back. That just keeps you mentally just so excited.

Starr — I think the audience, you know, I always said, “I love the audience and they love me,” Well, the band loves the audience. The audience are part of the reason I go out because they give so much back.

Winter — Well, as far as longevity, to me, music is timeless and I have just as much fun every time I get on stage. I feel like a kid. It really reminds me of when I first started playing and I enjoy it every bit as much as I did back then. To me, it never gets old. It just, it’s an ever-expanding world. And sure, I can’t. I, you know, did everything that I could do when I was younger but I’m having every bit as much fun and I try to think of, well, each show like the first show and it might be the last show. You just do the best you can.

Starr — Well, I never think of the last show.

For more information, visit www.RingoStarr.com.

For tickets, visit https://www.findlaytoyotacenter.com/events.

Jesse Bertel is a reporter/videographer for the Prescott News Network. Follow him on Twitter @ JesseBertel, email him at jbertel@prescottaz.com, or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2043.