Some Things Just Don't Change

Most people know Steve Van Zandt as either Silvio on The Sopranos or as Miami Steve in the E Street Band. (named by Bruce because they were spending so much time waiting for David Sancious outside his apartment to pick him up for rehearsals) but to me, I am forever impressed with three specific things. One, that he was able to verbalize to the Brecker Brothers on the spur of the moment the horn parts for "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out." (And he wasn't even in the band at the time.)

Two, the outstanding collaboration of "Sun City" which he not only wrote but arranged. I mean, forget about the era of celebrity benefit songs, what other record smashes together the talents of Joey Ramone, George Clinton, Lou Reed and Eddie Kendricks (among many others, black and white) in such a powerful way. It was mindblowing then and it still is even if the message isn't timely anymore.

But third, and most important to me since I'm a songwriter, are the songs he wrote for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Particularly the ones for their second record, "This time it's for real." Iif he did nothing else, for my money, he deserves a place in the rock and roll pantheon. That group always had its problems and I got to know them kind of casually when they were part of the film of "Adventures in Babysitting" which was done at the Deke house in Toronto way back in 1987. But the songs he wrote for them (some with Bruce) are still ones I sing to this day. Astounding echoes of 60's soul classics that have a life of their own. I always wanted to say to him how much those songs mattered to me but as my life drifts slowly off course from where I thought it would be, I realize that's probably not bloody likely. It's like the dream I have when I run into Elvis Costello (and Linda Ronstadt for that matter) and say, "Thank you for teaching me how to write songs."

Most of the time (in my experience) when you meet artists whose work you respect, you're supremely disappointed by them as people. I'm sure if I was somebody I'd disappoint people as well.

I'm not even anybody and I can do that. Almost effortlessly. But not on purpose.