Sunday, March 30, 2008
Hmmmmmm
still able to pull up rear floors for the Gillette show. Sales sluggish again it seems. Can't recall the last time Boston wasn't a very tough ticket!
Seattle
looks damn good on paper
1. TRAPPED
2. Radio Nowhere
3. No Surrender
4. Lonesome Day
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Magic
7. Reason to Believe
8. Darkness on the Edge of Town
9. Because the Night
10. She's The One
11. Livin' In The Future
12. The Promised Land
13. Waiting on a Sunny Day
14. Your Own Worst Enemy
15. POINT BLANK
16. Devil's Arcade
17. The Rising
18. Last To Die
19. Long Walk Home
20. Badlands
21. 10th Ave Freezeout
22. Rosalita (sign)
23. Born to Run
24. American Land
1. TRAPPED
2. Radio Nowhere
3. No Surrender
4. Lonesome Day
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Magic
7. Reason to Believe
8. Darkness on the Edge of Town
9. Because the Night
10. She's The One
11. Livin' In The Future
12. The Promised Land
13. Waiting on a Sunny Day
14. Your Own Worst Enemy
15. POINT BLANK
16. Devil's Arcade
17. The Rising
18. Last To Die
19. Long Walk Home
20. Badlands
21. 10th Ave Freezeout
22. Rosalita (sign)
23. Born to Run
24. American Land
Friday, March 21, 2008
"Here he comes.......Here he come.......Here he comes......"
"DANNY'S BACK IN TOWN.....HERE HE COMES NOW....DANNY'S BACK IN......ALLLLLLRIGHT!!!!"
March 20 / Indianapolis, IN / Conseco Fieldhouse
Notes: Before opening with "Night," Bruce Springsteen introduced "the biggest little bar band in the world!" And tonight, they got bigger by one. Not Patti Scialfa back from tending the home fires, not yet... but the long-awaited return of Danny Federici. The first half of the show had its highlights: Bruce saying "Let me see that sign!" and using it to call "Prove It All Night" as an audible, the tour debut of "Rendezvous" as another request-by-sign. But when Danny emerged for "The Promised Land," it was a game-changing moment.
"We've got a special treat tonight," Springsteen told the crowd after "Livin' in the Future," "Danny Federici is with us!" Coming out for his first performance with the band since Boston in November, Danny gave Charlie Giordano a hug before reclaiming his old spot on the organ riser (Giordano subtly disappeared). Conferring with Danny after "The Promised Land," Bruce then stepped to the mic and said, "He's gonna make me go old school on you!" as Danny ripped into "Spirit in the Night." By this point, they were flying. And finally -- "We can't let him leave without doing this one!" -- it was "Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," with Danny strapping on the accordion. In a seamless transition, Charlie came back in on "Devil's Arcade," taking over for the five-pack. But in the encore, Danny was back again for the rest of the show. "We're all gonna do this one and dedicate this one to Dan," Bruce said, as they began the encore with "Backstreets." That went into a phenomenal "Kitty's Back," of course another great chance for the Phantom to shine.
Now, the thing is, it's unclear how much of the crowd appreciated the gift that was Danny's presence tonight. With only 10,000 fans filling an 18,000 seater, the energy wasn't exactly through the roof as it was, and there was the sense that many in the building weren't quite attuned to what was happening. But the emotions onstage were unmistakable. During "Kitty's Back," the huge smile on Clarence's face as he watched Danny play said it all. To cap off the night, all three keyboard players were there for "American Land," Charlie coming back out to join Roy for the dual accordions, and Danny at his station on the organ. Welcome back, Dan. Hope you'll make a habit of it.
Oh, and I can't forget to mention Hannah, the little girl whom Bruce brought onstage to dance with him not once but twice on "Dancing in the Dark." A tradition worth reviving, and it don't get much cuter.
March 20 / Indianapolis, IN / Conseco Fieldhouse
Notes: Before opening with "Night," Bruce Springsteen introduced "the biggest little bar band in the world!" And tonight, they got bigger by one. Not Patti Scialfa back from tending the home fires, not yet... but the long-awaited return of Danny Federici. The first half of the show had its highlights: Bruce saying "Let me see that sign!" and using it to call "Prove It All Night" as an audible, the tour debut of "Rendezvous" as another request-by-sign. But when Danny emerged for "The Promised Land," it was a game-changing moment.
"We've got a special treat tonight," Springsteen told the crowd after "Livin' in the Future," "Danny Federici is with us!" Coming out for his first performance with the band since Boston in November, Danny gave Charlie Giordano a hug before reclaiming his old spot on the organ riser (Giordano subtly disappeared). Conferring with Danny after "The Promised Land," Bruce then stepped to the mic and said, "He's gonna make me go old school on you!" as Danny ripped into "Spirit in the Night." By this point, they were flying. And finally -- "We can't let him leave without doing this one!" -- it was "Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," with Danny strapping on the accordion. In a seamless transition, Charlie came back in on "Devil's Arcade," taking over for the five-pack. But in the encore, Danny was back again for the rest of the show. "We're all gonna do this one and dedicate this one to Dan," Bruce said, as they began the encore with "Backstreets." That went into a phenomenal "Kitty's Back," of course another great chance for the Phantom to shine.
Now, the thing is, it's unclear how much of the crowd appreciated the gift that was Danny's presence tonight. With only 10,000 fans filling an 18,000 seater, the energy wasn't exactly through the roof as it was, and there was the sense that many in the building weren't quite attuned to what was happening. But the emotions onstage were unmistakable. During "Kitty's Back," the huge smile on Clarence's face as he watched Danny play said it all. To cap off the night, all three keyboard players were there for "American Land," Charlie coming back out to join Roy for the dual accordions, and Danny at his station on the organ. Welcome back, Dan. Hope you'll make a habit of it.
Oh, and I can't forget to mention Hannah, the little girl whom Bruce brought onstage to dance with him not once but twice on "Dancing in the Dark." A tradition worth reviving, and it don't get much cuter.
Star studded night in Indy
Danny Federici and Peyton Manning in the house last night!
Great to hear of Danny's return for some tunes last night. From the accounts on Backstreets and else where sounds like the band was thrilled to have him back. Bruce dedicates Backstreets to Dan .. he's a good egg that guy! Hopefully it continues .. a few shows when he can until he's back on stage full time. Good for him!
Happy Easter everyone........
Great to hear of Danny's return for some tunes last night. From the accounts on Backstreets and else where sounds like the band was thrilled to have him back. Bruce dedicates Backstreets to Dan .. he's a good egg that guy! Hopefully it continues .. a few shows when he can until he's back on stage full time. Good for him!
Happy Easter everyone........
Monday, March 17, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Can't eat just one!
In Music Commentary
Why Springsteen still matters
For diehard fans, Springsteen shows are as addictive as potato chips. You can't stop at just one.
By Drew Olson
Senior Editor
My personal pilgrimage and patronage continue this weekend, along with the majesty, mystery and mystique; the power, promise and potential; and, of course, the questions:
"How many Springsteen shows have you seen, anyway?"
A couple dozen in eight different states, with two more coming up in a 27-hour span.
"Why do you keep going to see that guy? Aren't the shows all the same?"
They're similar in a way, the core elements don't change much and a lot of the music is similar, but each show has its own unique feel. I could explain further, but not without sounding like Frank Caliendo imitating Bill Walton: "You can hear colors! You can see the music! You can experience the explosion as artists on stage and the audience meld into one cohesive and unstoppable force capable of changing the world for 2 ½ hours... "
Let's just say I like the show and leave it at that.
"How old is that dude, anyway? Isn't he about done?"
He's 58 -- and man I hope not.
Snicker if you will (my friends and family certainly do), but this weekend I'll be driving to St. Paul, Minn., where some I'll catch up with Bruce and the E Street Band Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Then, I'll head back home to Milwaukee for the St. Patrick's show at the Bradley Center.
Springsteen is touring in support of the album "Magic," which was released five months ago but already seems much older to the aficionados, many of whom (present company included) had advance copies of the disc several weeks before.
Although it was well-received by critics and fans, "Magic" certainly didn't break any records in a fractured, fragmented recording industry that is waging a losing battle against technology, its own ineptitude and consumer indifference.
But Springsteen's records -- with the possible exception of "Born in the USA," which hit stores nearly a quarter-century ago and rocketed him to rock star status -- have really never been huge commercial successes.
From his beginnings on the Jersey Shore, he's always been something of a cult figure. The fact that he refers to the E Street ensemble as "the world's biggest bar band," even when playing sold out basketball arenas or football stadiums, is an acknowledgement of that status.
In anticipation of the upcoming concerts, and the intimate gathering at which Harley-Davidson will host Mr. Springsteen and about 60,000 fans later this year, I started to question what it is that has led me to all these shows over the years.
It starts with the music. Springsteen's best songs have a cinematic quality that evoke strong and completely unique images in the minds of listeners. Even in the period when MTV and music video dominated the landscape (that's right, kids, MTV used to play videos), Springsteen's videos always seemed to augment and not override the mental pictures conjured by the music. Other bands can't make that claim. Can you listen to a ZZ Top song without thinking of the three bimbos and the red car?
I like the songs. Die-hards may argue about whether "Born To Run" is the seminal work or whether "Greetings From Asbury Park" or "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" are a better 1-2 punch than "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River," but just about everyone likes to see all of those albums represented at the concerts.
Ah, the concerts...
Springsteen refers to his shows as part circus, part political rally and part tent revival -- a rock and roll ministry conducted without pyrotechnics, pre-recorded backing tracks, elaborate video montages or other trappings of modern arena rock.
Although the Internet age has dulled some of the anticipation and snuffed out some elements of surprise (setlists from each night are posted song-by-song on hardcore fan sites), Springsteen manages to tweak his shows just enough to personalize them for the crowd in-house. It doesn't hurt that he's the best front man in rock, capable of drawing an ovation with a humorous introduction, dramatic pause, an arched eyebrow or a scorching guitar solo.
In most cases, he's preaching to the converted. After more than 40 years of playing shows, the band has created a legion of repeat customers. Newbies are welcome to enjoy the show and invariably leave the concert hall and spread the word. That's how the community grows and sustains itself. Springsteen's crowds skew a bit older than most crowds (the Stones and Jimmy Buffet do, too), but I've seen a lot of teenagers, some with parents, at recent shows.
Unlike the Grateful Dead, which came to town with its own traveling band of fans whose exploits were integral to (and often more interesting than) the action onstage, Springsteen shows are a front-to-back affair. The band hits the stage, usually within about 30-50 minutes of the starting time stated on the ticket, grabs the audience by the lapels from the first note and doesn't relent.
Guitarist Steve Van Zandt said the goal hasn't changed since the band were teenagers - they want to put on the best rock and roll show anyone in the audience has seen.
Some nights, they succeed. Some nights, they fall a little short. But, the journey - the singular and shared sense of purpose that emanates from the stage and pushes to the back of the arena -- is always worth watching.
Why Springsteen still matters
For diehard fans, Springsteen shows are as addictive as potato chips. You can't stop at just one.
By Drew Olson
Senior Editor
My personal pilgrimage and patronage continue this weekend, along with the majesty, mystery and mystique; the power, promise and potential; and, of course, the questions:
"How many Springsteen shows have you seen, anyway?"
A couple dozen in eight different states, with two more coming up in a 27-hour span.
"Why do you keep going to see that guy? Aren't the shows all the same?"
They're similar in a way, the core elements don't change much and a lot of the music is similar, but each show has its own unique feel. I could explain further, but not without sounding like Frank Caliendo imitating Bill Walton: "You can hear colors! You can see the music! You can experience the explosion as artists on stage and the audience meld into one cohesive and unstoppable force capable of changing the world for 2 ½ hours... "
Let's just say I like the show and leave it at that.
"How old is that dude, anyway? Isn't he about done?"
He's 58 -- and man I hope not.
Snicker if you will (my friends and family certainly do), but this weekend I'll be driving to St. Paul, Minn., where some I'll catch up with Bruce and the E Street Band Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Then, I'll head back home to Milwaukee for the St. Patrick's show at the Bradley Center.
Springsteen is touring in support of the album "Magic," which was released five months ago but already seems much older to the aficionados, many of whom (present company included) had advance copies of the disc several weeks before.
Although it was well-received by critics and fans, "Magic" certainly didn't break any records in a fractured, fragmented recording industry that is waging a losing battle against technology, its own ineptitude and consumer indifference.
But Springsteen's records -- with the possible exception of "Born in the USA," which hit stores nearly a quarter-century ago and rocketed him to rock star status -- have really never been huge commercial successes.
From his beginnings on the Jersey Shore, he's always been something of a cult figure. The fact that he refers to the E Street ensemble as "the world's biggest bar band," even when playing sold out basketball arenas or football stadiums, is an acknowledgement of that status.
In anticipation of the upcoming concerts, and the intimate gathering at which Harley-Davidson will host Mr. Springsteen and about 60,000 fans later this year, I started to question what it is that has led me to all these shows over the years.
It starts with the music. Springsteen's best songs have a cinematic quality that evoke strong and completely unique images in the minds of listeners. Even in the period when MTV and music video dominated the landscape (that's right, kids, MTV used to play videos), Springsteen's videos always seemed to augment and not override the mental pictures conjured by the music. Other bands can't make that claim. Can you listen to a ZZ Top song without thinking of the three bimbos and the red car?
I like the songs. Die-hards may argue about whether "Born To Run" is the seminal work or whether "Greetings From Asbury Park" or "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" are a better 1-2 punch than "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River," but just about everyone likes to see all of those albums represented at the concerts.
Ah, the concerts...
Springsteen refers to his shows as part circus, part political rally and part tent revival -- a rock and roll ministry conducted without pyrotechnics, pre-recorded backing tracks, elaborate video montages or other trappings of modern arena rock.
Although the Internet age has dulled some of the anticipation and snuffed out some elements of surprise (setlists from each night are posted song-by-song on hardcore fan sites), Springsteen manages to tweak his shows just enough to personalize them for the crowd in-house. It doesn't hurt that he's the best front man in rock, capable of drawing an ovation with a humorous introduction, dramatic pause, an arched eyebrow or a scorching guitar solo.
In most cases, he's preaching to the converted. After more than 40 years of playing shows, the band has created a legion of repeat customers. Newbies are welcome to enjoy the show and invariably leave the concert hall and spread the word. That's how the community grows and sustains itself. Springsteen's crowds skew a bit older than most crowds (the Stones and Jimmy Buffet do, too), but I've seen a lot of teenagers, some with parents, at recent shows.
Unlike the Grateful Dead, which came to town with its own traveling band of fans whose exploits were integral to (and often more interesting than) the action onstage, Springsteen shows are a front-to-back affair. The band hits the stage, usually within about 30-50 minutes of the starting time stated on the ticket, grabs the audience by the lapels from the first note and doesn't relent.
Guitarist Steve Van Zandt said the goal hasn't changed since the band were teenagers - they want to put on the best rock and roll show anyone in the audience has seen.
Some nights, they succeed. Some nights, they fall a little short. But, the journey - the singular and shared sense of purpose that emanates from the stage and pushes to the back of the arena -- is always worth watching.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How does this sound?
All around on Monday???????
Irish Ice Cream Soda
Posted by Lucy Baker, March 13, 2008 at 3:45 PM
I must admit, I’m kind of a St. Patrick's Day scrooge: parades bring out the agoraphobic in me, I look terrible in green, and I detest shepherd's pie. I usually boycott the holiday entirely, staying in while my friends head out to pubs to guzzle pints of dyed beer.
I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart (stomach?) for Bailey's liqueur. It’s one of my booze shelf staples: I use it to bake brownies, and I often add it to hot chocolate for a special late-night treat. So this year, I decided to see if I could create a festive drink that would put even a cynic like me in the mood to celebrate the shamrock. Inspired by the knock-it-back-fast classic, the Irish Car Bomb, I came up with this beer float, using Guinness stout and Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide. A marriage of alcohol and ice cream—what could be more delicious?
About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.
Irish Ice Cream Soda
- makes 1 serving -
Ingredients
1 generous scoop of Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout
1/2 ounce Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
Chocolate shavings, for garnish
Procedure
Spoon the ice cream into a pint glass. Pour in the beer, tilting the glass to reduce foaming. Drizzle with Bailey's and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
Irish Ice Cream Soda
Posted by Lucy Baker, March 13, 2008 at 3:45 PM
I must admit, I’m kind of a St. Patrick's Day scrooge: parades bring out the agoraphobic in me, I look terrible in green, and I detest shepherd's pie. I usually boycott the holiday entirely, staying in while my friends head out to pubs to guzzle pints of dyed beer.
I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart (stomach?) for Bailey's liqueur. It’s one of my booze shelf staples: I use it to bake brownies, and I often add it to hot chocolate for a special late-night treat. So this year, I decided to see if I could create a festive drink that would put even a cynic like me in the mood to celebrate the shamrock. Inspired by the knock-it-back-fast classic, the Irish Car Bomb, I came up with this beer float, using Guinness stout and Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide. A marriage of alcohol and ice cream—what could be more delicious?
About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.
Irish Ice Cream Soda
- makes 1 serving -
Ingredients
1 generous scoop of Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout
1/2 ounce Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
Chocolate shavings, for garnish
Procedure
Spoon the ice cream into a pint glass. Pour in the beer, tilting the glass to reduce foaming. Drizzle with Bailey's and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
"You Need Some Help ... You Need A Band ... "
... and some cold beer at a ______ price.
What would be The Price You Pay ???
All Night Long,
"CO"
Friday, March 7, 2008
She came out to play last night
March 6, 2008
Rochester, New York
Blue Cross Arena
Night
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Jackson Cage
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Because The Night
Loose Ends
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Racing In The Street
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Rosalita
Born To Run
American Land
Rochester, New York
Blue Cross Arena
Night
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Jackson Cage
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Because The Night
Loose Ends
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Racing In The Street
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Rosalita
Born To Run
American Land
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Silvio Speaks
From Uncut magazine
An audience with Steven Van Zandt
The E Street Band’s gangster-playing guitarslinger refuses to endorse Hillary Clinton, but may make a deal with the Devil
Steven Van Zandt is late, but arrives armed with an excuse that he hopes will win Uncut over: “I’m right on a deadline”, he grins, “and you know how that is.” Among his many other occupations – guitarist, solo artist, activist, disc jockey, actor, producer, record company boss – Van Zandt, 57, is also a rock journalist, filling a regular column for American trade magazine Billboard. Uncut meets him a few hours before he’s due on stage at London’s O2 Arena with the rest of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He’s already talking at several miles a minute when he bowls into the room, the face between the cowboy shirt and the iconic bandana illuminated by an immovable smile; his rare pauses for breath must be pounced upon by a questioner with the ruthless efficiency of a hawk.
There’s much to discuss, of course: his four decades of friendship and on-off musical association with Springsteen, his long-running weekly radio show (Little Steven’s Underground Garage), his role as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, a long career as a fan, maker and champion of great rock’n’roll. He’s most enthusiastic, however, about a new project, the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, a serious attempt to make the tenets of rock music a part of America’s high school curriculum.
“Let’s hear it”, he grins, nodding at the print-out of Uncut readers’ questions, “and I’ll order some more coffee”. Like he needs it.
Q: What do you think happens after the screen goes blank in that final episode of The Sopranos? – William Dreyfuss, Aberdeen
A: The cheques stop. Really, it’s up to you. One of the ideas was that we come in and visit these people, then we move on, and they move on. It was left up to the imagination, I think. It wasn’t meant to be definitive.
Q: What’s underneath the bandana? – Pat Stokes, Manchester
A: The challenge of playing Silvio Dante, of course, was not the acting. The challenge was getting all that hair back under the bandana when I was off screen.
Q: You created the protest group, Artists United Against Apartheid. What do you think of those artists such as Rod Stewart and Queen who played Sun City? – Kevin Cochrane via email
A: We discussed this with them at the time. It was a complicated moment. Our organisation wanted to be the thread that connected everyone constructively. There were forces that wanted them to be punished forever, and I took the position that they did not know what was going on, so I defended them in very intense meetings with the UN, our own people, and people in South Africa who had these people on hit lists. We met with Queen, who agreed never to go back. Rod Stewart, just when we were mastering the record [“Sun City”], wanted to discuss being on the record, but it was too late. I think they were a bit naïve about things. My decision was to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, because I fully intended to bring down the government of South Africa, and I didn’t need to be distracted by getting into a pissing match in the press. Everybody was very righteous in the end.
Q: What did you think about Hillary Clinton spoofing The Sopranos to announce her candidacy? – Jane Meadows, New York
A: They asked me to be in that. I declined. I thought it was clever, and funny. I just didn’t feel comfortable endorsing her, or anyone else at this stage. I was hoping for a Gore/Obama ticket. I read Obama’s book, and the guy is frighteningly intelligent. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to try the other side of the coin, and actually have the smartest guy in the room be president?”
Q: Which do you prefer to be called: Little Steven, or Miami Steve? – Bert Epstein, Sacramento
A: Nicknames are a sort of a thing in New Jersey. And in the Mob. “Miami” was because I briefly went there in 1974 to play with Dion. I came back with all these Hawaiian shirts, and kept wearing them, even in January, with one of those straw hats, and Bruce just kept calling me Miami.
Q: What two or three songs in the Springsteen canon are your favourites, and why? – Keith Campbell via email
A: “Fade Away”, and a close equivalent we’ve been playing lately, “The River”. It’s for the same reason – I get to play acoustic 12-string, which comes 100 per cent from Keith Richards on “Good Times Bad Times” and “Congratulations”.
Q: In the first chapter of The Sopranos, when Tony walks in with his daughter after a volleyball match, Silvio Dante is talking to a student. What was her saying to her? – Victor Gutierrez, Mexico City
A: It was my daughter, not a student. The writers wrote into the character that Silvio was totally cool in life and death situations, but would totally lose it at sporting events. So I was there ‘cos my daughter was on the volleyball team.
Q: What was the last CD you bought? – Pete Whitefield, Manchester
A: I have a funny touring habit – usually I buy the same records every tour. I just bought [The Rolling Stones’] 12x5 for the 20th, 25th time, maybe. It’s a ritual. You want some things to be consistent in an inconsistent world.
Q: Did you ever regret leaving the E Street Band just before their greatest success? – Bryan Meng, Nashville
A: Almost immediately. I felt I had to do it at the time. I became obsessed with politics, and obsessed with guilt that American tax dollars were buying all these bullets that were killing people in Latin America. But, career move, not a good idea, and economically, not a good idea. And even thought I learned what little I know since I left the band, one of the things you learn is: don’t lose your power base. After 15 years of work, we start to make a living, and I walk away. Stupid. But it was an absolute compulsion.
Q: What sort of reaction did you receive from the rest of the Sopranos cast as a famous musician – i.e., a rookie actor – being given a prominent role in the show? – Andy Michael, Beaconsfield
A: I was concerned about that, but they couldn’t have been nicer. My idea was to transform myself physically, so they wouldn’t be looking at me thinking: “I saw him play in Cleveland, why is he saying these things?” So I gained 50 or 60 pounds, changed the walk and the clothes and the hair, and hoped the guy would appear from the inside, and that they would believe it.
Q: As a friend of Bruce’s since you were teenagers, to your mind what is the funniest thing Bruce has ever done? – Bryan S. Friesth via email
A: He is quite funny. To this day, he makes me laugh. One day, around 1966, 1967, for no apparent reason, he took up surfing, which was a bizarre thing to do in New Jersey – surfing wasn’t cool at this point. The Beach Boys weren’t cool. So we went to the beach, so he could demonstrate it to me. He goes out, first wave, he gets up on it, falls off it, surfboard comes up and knocks out his front teeth, he comes in dragging the board, bleeding like he’s had his throat cut. I told him I’d take a raincheck on it.
Q: What do you do in your spare time? – Linda Gilder, London
A: I play shows with the E Street Band.
Q If you had the chance to spend one day with someone who was a great influence on you professionally, who is no longer with us, who would that be? And what would you ask them? – David Pilvelait, Kilmarnock VA
A: Robert Johnson. I’d ask: did you really make that deal with the Devil, and if so, where do I sign?
Q: With your support of garage music and new bands, how do you think the record industry should work with getting new music out there? Do you agree with Radiohead releasing their album for a buyer-determined price? – Blair Morgan, Wellington
A: The industry is in the biggest transition since the LP was invented. What concerns me, and we’ll have to find a way to deal with it, is the idea that music isn’t valuable enough to pay for. I don’t like the fact that we’re enabling that attitude to exist – though I don’t think that was Radiohead’s intention. I’ve written many Billboard columns on this… Any suggestion that music is free, and falls off trees, that ain’t cool. It’s a lot of work. Art is not inevitable. Great art is done for the most crass and obnoxious reasons – money, sex, rent, food, ego, power. Take those away and the culture will suffer. It already is.
Nils Lofgren: What’s your favourite live show?
A: Aw, tell Nils to get a life. Uh. The Dave Clark Five, The Who, The Byrds, The Jeff Beck Group introducing this kid called Rod Stewart. The Beatles at Shea Stadium, 1966. They sounded extraordinarily good, and the tapes prove that. No monitors, and the harmonies were spot on. Amazing!
Nick Hornby: I love the idea of your Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, which aims to encourage the study of proper music in US schools. But do you worry that, in attempting to make rock’n’roll part of the curriculum, you might kill it off altogether?
A: A legitimate concern. But, since it couldn’t be more dead, I don’t have much to worry about, do I? Rock’n’roll is a funny thing. You can watch it, but you can’t contain it. It’s a free-flowing virus and I want to make sure the essential bacteria survive [transcriber notes biologically wrong mixed metaphor]. We have a plan that’s going to every middle and high school, to make sure future generations know about pioneers of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Right now, rock’n’roll is an endangered species. Five years on, I could be the only DJ in America playing The Beatles.
Franz Nicolay, The Hold Steady: With so many guitar players in the band, how do solos get shared out? Rock, paper, scissors? Or are certain songs associated with certain players?
A: Drawing the short straw. And Nils is the shortest, so he usually wins. Bruce is the boss, so he gets most of them, and from there, me and Nils… it’s dice, usually.
Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers: Is there a chance of another record with the Disciples of Soul?
A: Probably not. I outlined five solo LPs and did them – kind of said what I wanted to say and learnt what I wanted to learn. I’m just too busy, and I don’t have any burning need. Though I’d like to do another record only because, after listening to 20 albums a day for seven years for the radio show, it could be pretty good.
Ed Harcourt: if the sleeve credits are correct, you didn’t feature very much on Born to Run – only backing vocals on one track, no guitar. If not, why not?
A: I wasn’t in the band. Me and Bruce go back 10 years earlier than that – we’ve been friends for over 40 years. At that point, I wasn’t in the band, but I was invited to the sessions to hang around. At the end of the sessions, he said, “We have a few gigs left.” Basically, his career was over – he had seven gigs booked and that was it, back to Asbury Park. So he said come on out for seven gigs. And somewhere in the middle of that we ended up on the cover of Time and Newsweek, which was just ridiculous. To this day, nobody can quite believe what happened.
An audience with Steven Van Zandt
The E Street Band’s gangster-playing guitarslinger refuses to endorse Hillary Clinton, but may make a deal with the Devil
Steven Van Zandt is late, but arrives armed with an excuse that he hopes will win Uncut over: “I’m right on a deadline”, he grins, “and you know how that is.” Among his many other occupations – guitarist, solo artist, activist, disc jockey, actor, producer, record company boss – Van Zandt, 57, is also a rock journalist, filling a regular column for American trade magazine Billboard. Uncut meets him a few hours before he’s due on stage at London’s O2 Arena with the rest of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He’s already talking at several miles a minute when he bowls into the room, the face between the cowboy shirt and the iconic bandana illuminated by an immovable smile; his rare pauses for breath must be pounced upon by a questioner with the ruthless efficiency of a hawk.
There’s much to discuss, of course: his four decades of friendship and on-off musical association with Springsteen, his long-running weekly radio show (Little Steven’s Underground Garage), his role as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, a long career as a fan, maker and champion of great rock’n’roll. He’s most enthusiastic, however, about a new project, the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, a serious attempt to make the tenets of rock music a part of America’s high school curriculum.
“Let’s hear it”, he grins, nodding at the print-out of Uncut readers’ questions, “and I’ll order some more coffee”. Like he needs it.
Q: What do you think happens after the screen goes blank in that final episode of The Sopranos? – William Dreyfuss, Aberdeen
A: The cheques stop. Really, it’s up to you. One of the ideas was that we come in and visit these people, then we move on, and they move on. It was left up to the imagination, I think. It wasn’t meant to be definitive.
Q: What’s underneath the bandana? – Pat Stokes, Manchester
A: The challenge of playing Silvio Dante, of course, was not the acting. The challenge was getting all that hair back under the bandana when I was off screen.
Q: You created the protest group, Artists United Against Apartheid. What do you think of those artists such as Rod Stewart and Queen who played Sun City? – Kevin Cochrane via email
A: We discussed this with them at the time. It was a complicated moment. Our organisation wanted to be the thread that connected everyone constructively. There were forces that wanted them to be punished forever, and I took the position that they did not know what was going on, so I defended them in very intense meetings with the UN, our own people, and people in South Africa who had these people on hit lists. We met with Queen, who agreed never to go back. Rod Stewart, just when we were mastering the record [“Sun City”], wanted to discuss being on the record, but it was too late. I think they were a bit naïve about things. My decision was to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, because I fully intended to bring down the government of South Africa, and I didn’t need to be distracted by getting into a pissing match in the press. Everybody was very righteous in the end.
Q: What did you think about Hillary Clinton spoofing The Sopranos to announce her candidacy? – Jane Meadows, New York
A: They asked me to be in that. I declined. I thought it was clever, and funny. I just didn’t feel comfortable endorsing her, or anyone else at this stage. I was hoping for a Gore/Obama ticket. I read Obama’s book, and the guy is frighteningly intelligent. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to try the other side of the coin, and actually have the smartest guy in the room be president?”
Q: Which do you prefer to be called: Little Steven, or Miami Steve? – Bert Epstein, Sacramento
A: Nicknames are a sort of a thing in New Jersey. And in the Mob. “Miami” was because I briefly went there in 1974 to play with Dion. I came back with all these Hawaiian shirts, and kept wearing them, even in January, with one of those straw hats, and Bruce just kept calling me Miami.
Q: What two or three songs in the Springsteen canon are your favourites, and why? – Keith Campbell via email
A: “Fade Away”, and a close equivalent we’ve been playing lately, “The River”. It’s for the same reason – I get to play acoustic 12-string, which comes 100 per cent from Keith Richards on “Good Times Bad Times” and “Congratulations”.
Q: In the first chapter of The Sopranos, when Tony walks in with his daughter after a volleyball match, Silvio Dante is talking to a student. What was her saying to her? – Victor Gutierrez, Mexico City
A: It was my daughter, not a student. The writers wrote into the character that Silvio was totally cool in life and death situations, but would totally lose it at sporting events. So I was there ‘cos my daughter was on the volleyball team.
Q: What was the last CD you bought? – Pete Whitefield, Manchester
A: I have a funny touring habit – usually I buy the same records every tour. I just bought [The Rolling Stones’] 12x5 for the 20th, 25th time, maybe. It’s a ritual. You want some things to be consistent in an inconsistent world.
Q: Did you ever regret leaving the E Street Band just before their greatest success? – Bryan Meng, Nashville
A: Almost immediately. I felt I had to do it at the time. I became obsessed with politics, and obsessed with guilt that American tax dollars were buying all these bullets that were killing people in Latin America. But, career move, not a good idea, and economically, not a good idea. And even thought I learned what little I know since I left the band, one of the things you learn is: don’t lose your power base. After 15 years of work, we start to make a living, and I walk away. Stupid. But it was an absolute compulsion.
Q: What sort of reaction did you receive from the rest of the Sopranos cast as a famous musician – i.e., a rookie actor – being given a prominent role in the show? – Andy Michael, Beaconsfield
A: I was concerned about that, but they couldn’t have been nicer. My idea was to transform myself physically, so they wouldn’t be looking at me thinking: “I saw him play in Cleveland, why is he saying these things?” So I gained 50 or 60 pounds, changed the walk and the clothes and the hair, and hoped the guy would appear from the inside, and that they would believe it.
Q: As a friend of Bruce’s since you were teenagers, to your mind what is the funniest thing Bruce has ever done? – Bryan S. Friesth via email
A: He is quite funny. To this day, he makes me laugh. One day, around 1966, 1967, for no apparent reason, he took up surfing, which was a bizarre thing to do in New Jersey – surfing wasn’t cool at this point. The Beach Boys weren’t cool. So we went to the beach, so he could demonstrate it to me. He goes out, first wave, he gets up on it, falls off it, surfboard comes up and knocks out his front teeth, he comes in dragging the board, bleeding like he’s had his throat cut. I told him I’d take a raincheck on it.
Q: What do you do in your spare time? – Linda Gilder, London
A: I play shows with the E Street Band.
Q If you had the chance to spend one day with someone who was a great influence on you professionally, who is no longer with us, who would that be? And what would you ask them? – David Pilvelait, Kilmarnock VA
A: Robert Johnson. I’d ask: did you really make that deal with the Devil, and if so, where do I sign?
Q: With your support of garage music and new bands, how do you think the record industry should work with getting new music out there? Do you agree with Radiohead releasing their album for a buyer-determined price? – Blair Morgan, Wellington
A: The industry is in the biggest transition since the LP was invented. What concerns me, and we’ll have to find a way to deal with it, is the idea that music isn’t valuable enough to pay for. I don’t like the fact that we’re enabling that attitude to exist – though I don’t think that was Radiohead’s intention. I’ve written many Billboard columns on this… Any suggestion that music is free, and falls off trees, that ain’t cool. It’s a lot of work. Art is not inevitable. Great art is done for the most crass and obnoxious reasons – money, sex, rent, food, ego, power. Take those away and the culture will suffer. It already is.
Nils Lofgren: What’s your favourite live show?
A: Aw, tell Nils to get a life. Uh. The Dave Clark Five, The Who, The Byrds, The Jeff Beck Group introducing this kid called Rod Stewart. The Beatles at Shea Stadium, 1966. They sounded extraordinarily good, and the tapes prove that. No monitors, and the harmonies were spot on. Amazing!
Nick Hornby: I love the idea of your Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, which aims to encourage the study of proper music in US schools. But do you worry that, in attempting to make rock’n’roll part of the curriculum, you might kill it off altogether?
A: A legitimate concern. But, since it couldn’t be more dead, I don’t have much to worry about, do I? Rock’n’roll is a funny thing. You can watch it, but you can’t contain it. It’s a free-flowing virus and I want to make sure the essential bacteria survive [transcriber notes biologically wrong mixed metaphor]. We have a plan that’s going to every middle and high school, to make sure future generations know about pioneers of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Right now, rock’n’roll is an endangered species. Five years on, I could be the only DJ in America playing The Beatles.
Franz Nicolay, The Hold Steady: With so many guitar players in the band, how do solos get shared out? Rock, paper, scissors? Or are certain songs associated with certain players?
A: Drawing the short straw. And Nils is the shortest, so he usually wins. Bruce is the boss, so he gets most of them, and from there, me and Nils… it’s dice, usually.
Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers: Is there a chance of another record with the Disciples of Soul?
A: Probably not. I outlined five solo LPs and did them – kind of said what I wanted to say and learnt what I wanted to learn. I’m just too busy, and I don’t have any burning need. Though I’d like to do another record only because, after listening to 20 albums a day for seven years for the radio show, it could be pretty good.
Ed Harcourt: if the sleeve credits are correct, you didn’t feature very much on Born to Run – only backing vocals on one track, no guitar. If not, why not?
A: I wasn’t in the band. Me and Bruce go back 10 years earlier than that – we’ve been friends for over 40 years. At that point, I wasn’t in the band, but I was invited to the sessions to hang around. At the end of the sessions, he said, “We have a few gigs left.” Basically, his career was over – he had seven gigs booked and that was it, back to Asbury Park. So he said come on out for seven gigs. And somewhere in the middle of that we ended up on the cover of Time and Newsweek, which was just ridiculous. To this day, nobody can quite believe what happened.
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