RINGO: SATURDAY AT PALA CASINO

On March 31, he’ll release the lovingly crafted “Postcards from Paradise,” his 18th studio solo album. It features performances by Eagles guitarist (and former Encinitas resident) Joe Walsh, San Diego-bred bassist Nathan East, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, Dave Stewart and Peter Frampton, among others. (Walsh, incidentally, is now Starr's brother-in-law.)

On April 18th, Starr will become the fourth and final member of The Beatles to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Also this spring, he’ll become a celebrity spokesman for Skechers Relaxed Fit footwear. the marketing campaign will have a dual focus on his wry personality and his often underrated drumming skills.

In the meanwhile, the man born Richard Starkey is now finishing the second month of a concert tour of South and North America with the current edition of his All Starr Band. The group, which concludes its tour with a Saturday show here at Pala, includes Todd Rundgren, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather and former Santana and Journey keyboardist/singer Gregg Rollie, a former Poway resident.

Starr’s first All Starr Band debuted in 1989. He formed the group after going into rehab to kick a debilitating drug and alcohol habit. By Starr’s own account, at one point he had been drinking — improbable as it might sound — 16 bottles of wine a day.

Now, as then, such willful self-abuse prompts the same question: Why?

“There are multiple reasons,” Starr told me in a candid 1989 U-T San Diego interview conducted in Toronto.

“Yes, I’m quite wealthy, so I can afford booze every second of the day if I want it. I can feel sorry for myself, and say, `Oh, I was trapped, and I don’t have a normal life.’ But I got into this game, and — if you win in this game — you don’t have a normal life. And that’s part of it. But I’m not putting it all down to that. There are a million reasons.”

Happily, Ringo has remained clean and sober ever since. He also quit smoking and became a vegetarian, to the delight of Paul, who stopped eating meat circa 1970.

Yet, despite Ringo’s wealth and status as a proudly active rock legend, he continues to look forward, even if he sometimes jokingly refers to himself as a dinosaur.

“I feel like we’ve all got a lot more life left in us,” Starr said early last year in Los Angeles, where he was on hand to accept The Beatles’ overdue Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

“The Beatles’ music is still out there and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

As has been the case on each of his previous tours with the All Starr Band, you can expect to hear some Fab Four songs when Starr performs Saturday at Pala. The lineup of his group has remained intact for several years now, with one change: Last year, saxophonist, keyboardist and singer Warren Ham replaced Mark Rivera as the band's musical utility player.

Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Pala Events Center, Pala Casino, Spa & Resort, 11154 Highway 76, Pala

Tickets: $95-$125 (must be 21 or older to attend)

Phone: (877) 946-7252 FREE

Online:startickets.com