Bruce Springsteen admits he wouldn’t want to be in an up-and-coming band in 2024.
The Boss makes the statement in a new interview with the BBC, where he laments what he perceives as the death of the traditional ‘rock star’. “I wouldn’t want to be a young band starting today,” he says. “The day of the quote ‘rock star’ is in twilight.”
However, the legendary singer-songwriter, guitarist and E Street Band leader still has hope for the younger generation, pointing to the success of 28-year-old US country star Zach Bryan. “But I’ve had some encouragement,” he continues. “My young friend, Zach Bryan, just sold out two stadium nights in Philadelphia, so there’s still some young people coming up.”
“The arc of most bands is to break apart. Even two guys can’t stay together. Simon can’t stand Garfunkel, Don couldn’t stand Phil Everly, and then you have the kids in Oasis… so the tradition carries on.
“It’s the nature of people to not get along, so that’s something you need to write into your projection of the kind of band you want to be in. I don’t like drama. I don’t want people knocking heads. I don’t want to hear about a bunch of bull backstage. I don’t put up with any of that stuff. We weeded it out a long time ago. The band started out crazy and made its way to sanity.”
In his autobiography, he talks about blinking 100 times a minute and chewing his knuckles. Van Zandt calls him “the most introverted guy you’ve met in your whole life".
So how did he become the performer who, with the E Street Band, started tearing up stages all around the world?
“Introversion is a funny thing,” he says. “There's a yin and a yang to it.
“On my own, I can be very internal. I've written a lot of internal music - Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Nebraska, parts of The River - all about people who live these very intense, borderline violent, internal lives.
“But the joyful side of me, which I got from my mother, allows me to sing Rosalita and Born to Run and Hungry Heart.
"I'm Irish-Italian, so I got the blues and I got the joy at the same time.”
It’s a typical Springsteen answer – analytical, sincere, intrinsically linking his life to his music.
Van Zandt, who witnessed Springsteen’s transformation, sees it differently.
“His first two records didn’t do well. Record companies were ready to drop him. His only dream was about to die.
“So my very shy friend reaches inside and says, ‘I'll put the guitar down and start fronting the band', which is huge move, right? Because the guitar's a defence, it’s actually a wall between you and your audience. So he had to put that away and learn a whole new craft.”
It all came to a head at New York's Bottom Line Club, shortly before the release of Springsteen’s breakout album Born To Run in 1975.
Source: BBC - GuitarWorld
