Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been making music together for more than 50 years.
And a large part of their longevity is due to the band’s epic live performances, playing hits from across the decades for over three hours on stage.
Now, fans can get a magical behind-the-scenes glimpse of their latest world tour in Disney+’s new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
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The lifelong friendship between Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band guitarist Stephen Van Zandt is profiled in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. (Disney)
The documentary also explores another aspect of the band’s longevity: the lifelong friendship between frontman Springsteen and guitarist Steven Van Zandt (or Stevie, as she prefers to call him).
“We’ve been friends since we were 15, so it’s a long-term relationship and you can’t replace that, you can’t fake it,” Van Zandt, 73, told 9honey Celebrity from a London hotel.
“So that’s what I’m there every night. I mean, that’s my role: clean rhythm guitar and best friend (or) second banana, as you know it,” he laughs.
“I’m the Dean Martin to Frank Sinatra, or the Bud Abbott to Lou Costello, whatever it takes, whatever is appropriate at the time, whether it’s serious or fun. It’s a brotherly love.” A solid relationship. ”
According to Van Zandt, the two have only clashed three times in their 60-year friendship, including once in the ’80s when the guitarist and songwriter left the band they had been together for more than a decade. It is said that it became
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Van Zandt, 73, told 9honey Celebrity that his 60-year friendship with Springsteen, 75, was like a brotherhood (pictured center, with Tom Zimney on the left and Jon Landau on the right). (Dave Bennett)
Van Zandt said in his 2021 memoir, Unrequited Infatuations, that he felt Springsteen, also known as The Boss, did not take his advice at the time and did not allow him a seat at the decision-making table. .
Now, 40 years later, Van Zandt receives the coveted promotion to music director while preparing for his current tour, a moment captured in a documentary.
“I’m the Dean Martin to his Frank Sinatra, or the Bud Abbott to his Lou Costello.”
“Well, that’s nice,” he laughed. “So I think official recognition has a role to play.”
Van Zandt told 9honey Celebrity that his role as musical director to Springsteen’s bandleader is to anticipate the 75-year-old singer’s needs in advance.
“Mainly, I try to reflect his personality and what I think he wants to hear,” Van Zandt says.
“So the job is to fuse the Balkan mind, where you think the same way and keep in mind that we have the same roots, like we say we grew up together.” I’m putting it in… So it’s kind of easy at this point.”
One thing that’s different about this tour is that the band’s core member, Patti Scialfa, has been largely absent from the stage since being diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Scialfa first revealed his diagnosis in 2018 in the documentary, explaining to fans that “touring became a challenge for me.”
“[Myeloma]affects my immune system, so I have to be careful about what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she says in the film.
Van Zandt’s coveted promotion to music director comes as he prepares for his current tour, a moment captured in the documentary. (Disney)
Van Zandt told 9honey Celebrity, “Obviously we miss her and we wish her all the best,” but the band is considering not having Springsteen’s wife, Scialfa, on stage for the time being. He said he was making adjustments.
“It’s slowly happening,” he says of the mother of three not touring anymore.
“She had other things to do, whether it was because of her illness or having to attend her daughter’s games.
“I mean, she’s been on and off the tour a few times, so in that sense we were used to it.”
Van Zandt said the tour experience has not changed and that fans are “actually surprised.”
Van Zandt says, “Of course we miss her,” but the band has been making adjustments for some time to keep Patti Scialfa (second from right) off stage. (Disney)
“The intensity of this special show took the entire audience to the next level, something we never thought possible,” he told 9honey Celebrity.
“I didn’t expect it to be any more enthusiastic, and the crowd surprised me on this tour.”
The singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer is responsible for some of the band’s biggest hits, including “Born in the USA,” “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” and “Hungry Heart.” I worked on it.
He says it was an “absolute revelation” when the audience chanted his words for the first time at a packed live show.
“I was completely shocked by that,” Van Zandt recalled.
The singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer is responsible for some of the band’s biggest hits, including “Born in the USA,” “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” and “Hungry Heart.” I worked on it. (Dave Bennett)
“That was the beginning for me of understanding that it was possible to communicate from country to country without going through the government. This was a huge revelation and led to my entire political involvement.”
Decades later, the stadium is still filled with 90,000 screaming fans, and Van Zandt is pinching himself a little.
“I’m not surprised that people are still coming, but I still feel lucky,” he says.
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“I think there’s an element of luck, but it’s also an element of quality work, and I’d like to think it pays off.”
The world tour, which has already been going on for two years and will continue until next year, has taken the band through the US and Europe but is unlikely to reach Australia.
“Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Van Zandt told 9honey Celebrity.
“This is an amazing place. I honestly think it’s a completely different species than humans. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The world tour, which has been going on for two years and will continue until next year, has taken the band through the US and Europe, but it seems unlikely it will reach Australia. (Disney)
“It’s a place I could consider living, and depending on what happens in November, I wouldn’t rule it out,” he jokes.
“But I don’t know if I can handle that. I wish we were closer, I wish we had faster planes or something.”
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be available to stream on Disney+ starting October 25th.
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