With The Sopranos in mind, I was thinking about the last Springsteen/E Street Band tour in '99-'00, and thinking to myself, "there is no way that guy in the scarves and bandanas playing a mean guitar and jumping around onstage with Bruce and the boys is "Silvio," the scowling, jowly mobster. But he is - must be a pretty damn good actor. I interviewed Steven Van Zandt in 1998:
Steven Van Zandt is an important artist (Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul), songwriter and political activist (the anti-apartheid project "Sun City"), who is also guitarist and de facto leader of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, as well as co-producer of Springsteen's great albums The River and Born In the U.S.A., which between them have sold almost 20 million copies. Van Zandt has also written songs for and/or produced Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Ronnie Spector, Gary "U.S." Bonds, Lords of the New Church, Lone Justice, Darlene Love, and Meatloaf.
Steven Van Zandt was born November 22, 1950 in Boston, but grew up in South
Jersey. "The first record I remember buying was Little Anthony and the Imperials' 'Tears On My Pillow.' My emotional involvement increased a bit when I was 11 or 12 with 'Twist and Shout' by the Isley Brothers, 'Pretty Little Angel Eyes' by Curtis Lee, and 'Sherry' by the Four Seasons. I didn't have too many records, but I was passionate about the ones I had. I had to re-buy 'Twist and Shout' and 'Sherry' because I wore them out," Van Zandt writes in his manifesto, found on his website.
"I had my first epiphany some time during the 77th playing of 'Pretty Little Angel
Eyes.' It was an overwhelming, deeply spiritual, exciting yet calming warm flood
of emotion that I didn't understand but I knew connected me in some permanent
way to music. It was either an epiphany or puberty kicking in - I'll never know -
but it was intense.
"I had my second epiphany June 13, 1964. The Rolling Stones played the Hollywood Palace show on TV and that was it for me. They may have been from another planet like the Beatles but somehow they were accessible, and relatable. They were ugly, aloof, sloppy, crazy, casual, confident, and totally out of place. They were perfect. It even made sense to me that Dean Martin, who I was and am a big fan of, made fun of them and put them down. I had no problem then and have no trouble now reconciling these two contradictory species that coexist in me."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Ed Driscoll
Eric,
Great profile--growing up in New Jersey, Springsteen and the E-Streeters were inescapable.
I took copies of The Wild, The Innocent, and The E-Street Shuffle and Born to Run with me to play on the plane last week on my most recent trip to New York. There's something really timeless about Bruce's best music from the 1970s. I don't know if it's material I want to hear all the time, but it's certainly nice to come back to. And as a songwriter, Bruce was pretty astonishing in the 1970s.
One thing that Miami Steve apparently did, that I actually didn't like, was to take Springsteen's penchent for long, complex song structures, and shorten the material down to more conventional verse/chorus rock songs. Bruce in his heyday probably wasn't the most harmonically sophisticated rocker, but he certainly could do some amazing stuff with structure.
Ed
2 - Steve Rhodes
They played part of an interview with him on FreshAir today. The full interview is online.
3 - Eric Olsen
Ed, Thanks. I agree that the first 3 records are much more unconventional and that is my very favorite Bruce. If icould only pick on to ever hear again, it would be Wild, Innocent, E Street Shuffle. His sound hardened also, became more brittle, less supple, but the band changed during that period too, with Sancious leaving and Max coming in on drums to pound everything into oblivion. His sound went from a sort of alt-soul to rock for good or ill.
4 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
I don't get this guy vanZandt. We know he's bald, so why keep wearing that stupid looking bandanna that makes him look like some gypsy fortune teller? At least on the Sopranos he's wearing that Johnny Pompadour piece, which doesn't look too bad because that's what we would expect from an wiseguy from Joisey.
5 - Eric Berlin
I say when you're associated with both one of the most successful musical artists and television series of all time, you can put whatever the hell you want on your head.
In any event, I find Joey Pants' cap look to be more distracting for some reason.
Nice interview, EO!
6 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
"I say when you're associated with both one of the most successful musical artists and television series of all time, you can put whatever the hell you want on your head."
why should all of that supplant good common sense and even fashion sense, for that matter?? It's only stupid fans and sycophants that grant these people the license to make these horrible faux pas. Obviously, vanZandt is surrounded by too many yes-men. It's the Emperor's New Clothes scenario. I've seen him in formal dress clothes wearing that stupid rag and he looks like some low rent mook from Brooklyn who wears sneakers with a tux. All that money and he still can't look right. Someone has to say this, certainly his fans won't!
7 - Eric Berlin
With all respect, who appointed you Fashion Czar? Bro is rich and famous -- if he wants to wear a "rag" or a poodle on his head, what the hell do I care?
8 - Eric Olsen
all I can say is he is a damn good actor because he couldn't look or behave much more differently than when he is Little Steven and when he is Silvio
9 - Eric Olsen
and thanks EB
10 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
"all I can say is he is a damn good actor because he couldn't look or behave much more differently than when he is Little Steven and when he is Silvio"
EO, you need to take an acting course or two, because the criteria you cite is not what defines a "damn good actor." A "damn good actor" doesn't project one persona.
11 - Eric Berlin
How about just:
"He's a damn good actor"
12 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
Eric Berlin:
Correct me if I am wrong, but are these not fora to share opinions, criticisms, praises, and the like? A comment like "who appointed you fashion czar" is ridiculous in the context of what a blog represents.
I gather you are overly impressed by those who are "rich and famous." You probably think people like vanZandt and his dopey friend Bruce are near god-like and are above reproach. That's your flaw. You might also you think when someone is "rich and famous," they are automatically immune to criticism, is that right?
13 - Eric Berlin
Yes, I was sharing my opinion about your opinion.
I'm not overly impressed by the rich and famous -- I do think we scrutinize them overly much, such as what they wear, etc.
14 - Eric Berlin
And thank you for pointing out my flaw.
15 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
Mr Olsen:
I suppose in all your expert blogging it possibly never occured to you that your judgement of vanZandt's acting misses the whole point of his character's function on the Sopranos. Silvio is supposed to sound like a caricature of every mob hood from every Hollywood film from Little Caesar to Goodfellas. There is a reason why his Silvio Dante serves as nothing more than someone to feed lines during expository scenes. Note that no subplots ever revolve around Sil or his own life. Once during season 1 with the pervert soccer coach but that was very peripheral. There reason? The guy doesn't have the acting chops to pull it off like Michael Imperioli or James Gandolfini. David Chase is very smart that way. I'm sure vanZandt realizes his function as well. All thisis not the sign of a "damn good actor." Saying so is an insult to those on the show that are.
16 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
Eric Berlin:
I look at celebs this way... if they don't want to be criticized for what they say or do or wear, then they shouldn't appear in public and invite our scrutiny.
17 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
I went to university with people from New Jersey and many of them bestowed Bruce Springstein with this near god-like status. I never understood this level of adulation, but then, I don't understand adulation for celebrities, especially those that dance, sing, or play make-believe on screen. What I never got about Bruce Springstein is how he talked. What was the deal with that faux Okie accent? People from New Jersey don't talk that way. I've been through Monmouth county many times where Freehold lies. No one from Monmouth county or Freehold I'd ever met talked with a faux Okie accent. From that point, I considered Bruce Springstein a phony and fraud. Then when I got a stomach load of his recent ridiculous political observations, it futher cemented my animosity toward him personally. A guy living in a mansion in Rumson has as about as much connection to the working man as any typical politician. To me it's all a pose to appear socially relevant. Some of his music is very good, some of it banal, but how many songs can you write around the same themes? Cars are metaphors for girls ... the working man gets screwed by authority ... I get it already! And how is it that a guy who is a so-called worker's advocate feels right in allowing himself to be called The Boss? I know, it's an old band monicker, but it's rather contradictory and curiously misplaced.
18 - Eric Berlin
I'm actually not a huge Springsteen fan either, Mark.
From your comments, it seems as though you have a personal dislike against Bruch and Van Zandt.
Can't they both just be good at what they do? Sil is a very effective character on one of the great shows ever to grace television. The Boss is loved by millions worldwide.
This appears to bother you on some fundamental level, no?
19 - Eric Olsen
apparently I was unclear: I said his two personas are almost diametrically opposed, and since both ARE personas and there is also a Steven Van Zandt in there who is a third character, I assess his acting abilities rather highly, especially for a non-career actor.
I will now edit myself
20 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
eric berlin:
I have far less of a problem with vanZ than I do with Bruce Springstein. You may be curious as to why I spell his name that way. The truth is, that's the real spelling of his name. He doesn't want to be associated with his Jewish roots. Just because someone is loved by millions doesn't move me to follow the crowd.
VanZ's sartorial choices are goofy. If he weren't a celeb, a nobody, and you'd see him in his tux with that stupid bandanna, you'd think the same thing. Be honest.
I agree that the Sopranos is a very fine show.
21 - godoggo
You can write an infinite number and variety of great songs on any topic if you have the skills.
Hypothetically.
Always feels nice to find out a rock star is one of my people. Even Springsteen. No, really, I like his early stuff OK.
22 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
Springstein now thinks he's the Second Coming of John Steinbeck, or is it Steenbeck? No wait, a Steenbeck is a film editing machine. Oh well ...!
23 - Eric Olsen
"Springsteen" is from a Catholic background, has always been "Springsteen"
and I agree the accent is odd - he attributes it to a neighbor from the deep South he spent a lot of time with
24 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
Eric: your claim is incorrect:
"has always been "Springsteen""
I have seen several advert posters for his bands back in the 60s and his name is clearly spelled "Springstein"
""Springsteen" is from a Catholic background,"
Hmm, did it ever occur to you that perhaps his background could be mixed, or that he doesn't want his Jewish roots to be known for some reason?
Since you're the Bruce aficianado, how about obtaining a xerox of his birth certificate?
"he attributes it to a neighbor from the deep South he spent a lot of time with"
And you really believe that story? A person doesn't adapt a lifelong non-indigenous accent via contact with one single person they were neighbors with as a kid. C'mon, Eric, your blind fan appreciation is really showing. It's like when "Bob Dylan" used to tell people he was an orphan from the South and rode the rails with hobos when he was a teenager. And as we know, Robert Zimmerman grew up in a typical middle class household in Hibbing, MN.
Let's be honest, Bruce has always fancied himself as some romantic reincarnation of some itinerant literary figure miles apart from his humble origins in Freehold NJ. From what I've heard about him from people that knew him for the old days, he was a guy not too comfortable with who he truly was. So the spelling change and the fake voice would be consistent behavior from a person in denial of their true roots. Now he thinks he's Tom Joad. It's all very strange.
25 - Eric Olsen
the accent appears in some songs - he doesn't have it when he speaks, which I have heard him do at length on several occasions
I would be happy to view any vidence at all that he was ever "Springstein."
"the first child of Adele and Douglas Springsteen ... Their surname is Dutch (not Jewish, as is commonly supposed), but Douglas Springsteen's ancestry is mostly Irish: his wife is Italian - he rmaiden name was Zirilli."