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The March #RollingStone is out, and I'm in it with a tribute to #BobWeir. It's a dual cover. It's my first original article for RS since 1995! I'm celebrating by reading from it at my #Airbnb Experience program on March 25 at #MusicCity San Francisco. And I'll give away a signed copy. I'm listed under "Step back into rock's golden age." Something like that.

Fare thee well, Bobby Weir. It was a pleasure to know him, and it was a shock to get an assignment from #RollingStone to cover his Homecoming memorial at SF Civic Center on Sat., Jan. 18. RS wanted the piece to be online by Monday. Everybody worked so fast, it was up by Sunday afternoon. Here's the link. And here's to Bobby...forever. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bobby-weir-grateful-dead-san-francisco-memorial-1235501339/

AIRBNB Experiences Are in the Air
If you’re going to San Francisco, or are here already and would like to meet me, you can. I’m part of @airbnb ’s new “Experiences” program. Every couple of Thursdays, in late afternoon, 4 to 5:30, I’m at #MusicCitySanFrancisco, where I try to remember the 60s and 70s, and my career at #RollingStoneMagazine, on KSAN, the free-form FM pioneer, and on TV. Memories are bolstered by photos and audio/video clips of me with artists like #LindaRonstadt, #JerryGarcia, #GeorgeHarrison, #MarvinGaye and many more. My first Airbnb Experiences are on June 5 and 19. Go to www.airbnb.com/x/fongtorres for details & ticket prices. Tequila sunrises will be available. Flowers in your hair are optional.

Just call me Poster Boy.
This is for the 100th anniversary of the Great Star Theater in Chinatown. I used to go there as a kid in the Fifties and saw sword-fighting movies and live Chinese operas. And now, not only do I get to be on stage; it’ll be alongside Daniel Wu -- ThatDaniel Wu -- actor, director, producer, global action star, car nut and all-around nice guy.
He’s easy on the eyes; I’m easy on the ears. A good combination plate. The festivities on April 5 begin at 2pm outside, and the variety show and celebration will be around 3. It’s a fund-raiser; tickets are at https://www.greatstartheater.org.

So, what does Joan Baez think of the Dylan movie, #A Complete Unknown? When I interviewed her in late January at the Commonwealth Club in SF, she hadn’t spoken publicly about it. So I asked. And here’s what she said: “I enjoyed it. It’s a work of fiction.” (Audience laughter.) A lot of it was real. And the atmosphere? They picked it up pretty well.” What about Monica Barbaro, who portrayed Joan? “We text back and forth. She asked what I thought of it, and I told her, I’m going with my movie group. And if we like it, we’ll stand up and cheer. If we don’t, we’ll throw Milk Duds at the screen. We didn’t.”
Joan didn’t care for Pete Seeger being credited for introducing Dylan to the world. (Baez absolutely did, bringing him onstage at a Newport Folk Festival and at her own concerts. “But in the film it’s a boys’ club. That aside, it was fun!” I told her I loved the scene where, after she’s been mistreated by Dylan, she flips him a finger behind her guitar as they approach the Newport stage. “The finger?” she said. “There were TWO of them!”
Packed house, an overflow room for paying guests to watch on video; a Zoom live recording for even more fans, and a hella long line of people buying Joan’s book of poetry, #When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, published by #Godine.
It was a blast. And you can see it for free on #YouTube. Just search Joan Baez and Ben or Ben Fong-Torres or “legendary.” That, of course, refers to my fellow Capricorn, the one and only Ms. Baez.
And here we are in the Green Room, just before we went on. Once Joan responded to one of my jokes with a collegial “Oh, you goof!” I knew we were in for a good time.
(Photo by Peopletography for Commonwealth Club World Affairs Event.)

Today, January 7, is my 80th. All I can say is what #CameronCrowe had me saying in #almostfamous: Crazy! It really is. And thanks to Dianne, and family, and our loving rescue, Marley, I'm OK. It also helps to stay busy. I have a cover story in the #SanFranciscoStateUniversity alumni magazine, on #AnnetteBening; I continue to DJ and program #moonaliceradio, I'm juggling prospective projects in films, and a major podcast company has asked that I do one. And later this month, I'm at the #commonwealthclub in conversation with #JoanBaez and her beautiful new book of poetry, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance. Here we are, late last year, at #SweetwaterMusicHall in Mill Valley, co-hosting a #breadandroses gala. Keeping busy. There's your formula for good health. And it doesn't hurt to be a little ... crazy.

I’ve been honored to know Quincy Jones – “Q” to friends and strangers alike -- since 2001, when we met for an onstage interview in Marin County. We bonded and met again numerous times—once to try and do a book about him, once at his mansion in Bel Air, for him to appear in the Netflix documentary about me, Like a Rolling Stone. Before director Suzanne Joe Kai’s cameras, we scatted and riffed on “Witchcraft.” In 2013, we were in Dubai, where he was producing a music festival. And, in 2021, again at his home, I helped get his last book, 12 Notes: On Life & Creativity, to the finish line. “There are only 12 notes in music,” he reminded everyone. And there was only one Q. He did it all, composing, arranging, playing and producing. From jazz in the ‘50s and Michael Jackson in the ‘80s to “We Are the World.” As he liked to say, he spanned bebop to hip-hop. I would add, “And beyond.”
Here we are, with Dianne, my wife, backstage at the Herbst Theater, 2008.

@BarackObama has dropped his 2024 Summer Playlist, and it's a blast, from Smokey to Shaboozey. Not to be outdone, Trump has issued his own playlist. Actually, I did it for him, since the guy doesn't appear to enjoy ... anything. So here are my 18 Donald Ditties. Obama had 44, matching his being Prez #44. No doubt Trump will insist that HIS playlist is bigger.

#PresidentoftheUnitedStates Obama has dropped his Summer Playlist, and it's a blast, from Smokey to Shaboozey. Not to be outdone, Donald Trump has issued his own playlist. Actually, I did it for him, since the guy doesn't appear to enjoy ... anything. So here are my 18 Donald Ditties. Obama had 44, matching his being Prez #44. No doubt Trump will insist that HIS playlist is bigger.

Do you love dogs? How about delicious food & wines from guest restaurants and wineries? And live music? All at a restaurant with a stunning, close-up view of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge? It’s time for “Paws for Pinot,” a fun afternoon hosted by Epic Steak to benefit Guide Dogs for the Blind. We’ve attended many times, and, on a few occasions, the band, the Henry Coopers, has enticed me up to do my Elvis voice, if not moves. Epic manager Pete Sittnick, a rabid rock fan, also gets a turn at the mike. But it’s all about guide dogs and the people they serve. These days, benefits can cost an arm and a paw. Not “Paws for Pinot.” Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paws-for-pinot-aka-high-on-the-hog-2024-tickets-928748430 557 for the delish de-tails.

Whenever #SteveIndig, the promoter, wants to stage an #Elvis tribute bash, he finds some anniversary as rationale. This time, it’s to celebrate 70 years “of the legend that is…ELVIS!” So I guess he issued his first record on Sun in 1954? Sure enough! “That’s All Right.” I’ve done my Elvis bit at four or five of these crazy parties, where the highlight is always Leigh Crow, a/k/a #“ElvisHerselvis.” Here we are at the #Make Out Room in SF, and that’s where this one is, on July 28. It’s a benefit for Blue Bear School of Music. I’m doing 3 early Elvis numbers, and other performers include #Nashville Honeymoon, #HankManinger, and #LynnMaes. For a benefit, tix are cheap, beginning at $10, at elvistribute2024.eventbrite.com.