"HIS PHOTOS BLEED ATMOSPHERE"
Springteen on Clinch, Clinch on the Bruce Brunch
Danny Clinch's massive new book of photographs, Still Moving, is out now, to grace discerning coffee tables as the holidays approach. As long as those tables are sturdy — this sucker is heavy! Congrats to Danny on such a beautiful, career-spanning collection of images, from Bruce to E Street and beyond.

In his foreword to the book, Springsteen writes:

When I look at Danny's photos... no matter how diverse the performer, musical styles or setting... there is always his knowledge of the artist; his eye for the striking; the captured moment of definition; and the black magic, voodoo, guitar-slinging world of rock and roll that I've lived for since I was fourteen years old. Danny nonchalantly carries this with him when he shows up on your doorstep, along with his hyperawareness of history and place. His photos bleed atmosphere. The atmosphere of time, of music, and of magic being made, conjured by the ordinary people who were struck by that lightning. There's Bob Dylan elegantly reading the (Spanish!) newspaper or staring out that light-filled window. The Beastie Boys in a dead-serious comic trance about to go on. Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, the grand archtitects, barely staring at each other from opposing pages. Now they're ancient kings with no more wars to fight, but still the living, breathing embodiments of a secret everyone else in this book would sell their souls at the crossroads for. If you wouldn't, you don't belong here. If Danny wouldn't, he wouldn't deserve to take their fucking pictures....

With Danny as a guest on his Bruce Brunch program last week, DJ and host Tom Cunningham called that foreword "one of the most beautiful things that I've ever read... you can tell the love and respect that he put into writing this."

Clinch says the foreword blew his mind: "I couldn't believe it. I had to read it like ten times just to wrap my head around it. It was very moving for me; I honestly couldn't believe it. I asked him, casually, if he would be interested in writing something for the book, and he agreed... but I was really amazed at how seriously he took it."

Thanks to Mr. Cunningham, you can listen to the entire Bruce Brunch segment with Danny Clinch here:

Here at Backstreet Records, we're in the process of sending out signed copies now to everyone who pre-ordered... with limited quantities still available!

Click here to order Still Moving signed by Danny Clinch

- September 30, 2014 - interview recorded and edited by Gary Titus

"AN EVENING WITH THOM ZIMNY" BRINGS RARE BOSS FOOTAGE TO BIG SCREEN
Last week's 65th birthday for Bruce Springsteen also brought a special celebration for fans: "An Evening With Thom Zimny" at Monmouth University. The September 23 event at the University's Pollak Theatre, presented by the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, promised surprises from the vault; the filmmaker and official Bruce Springsteen archivist did not disappoint. Leading off with footage from a 1977 birthday celebration (complete with guitar-shaped cake) straight into "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" from 1976 (with the Miami Horns!), the two-hour-plus showcase was a visual feast for fans.

Backstreets' own Chris Phillips chaired the proceedings, introducing each film segment and interviewing Zimny along the way about a range of topics including his filmmaking process, what it's like to work with Bruce, and how concert performances are filmed. Showing Hunter of Invisible Game on the big screen for the first time — Zimny thanked the crowd for allowing him the honor — they touched on The Searchers as an influence and discussed the way Springsteen developed his character for films like this and "A Night With the Jersey Devil," also screened.

Zimny [above left, with Phillips] also talked about cutting performance films from Chris Hilson-directed live footage, compared with directing and even storyboarding his own (as with 2009's full Darkness performance filmed at the Paramount Theatre, from which "The Promised Land" was screened). Sometimes the camera operators really just have to fend for themselves, as Zimny described while introducing Springsteen's daredevil performance of the "Apollo Medley" at the Apollo Theater. He noticed Bruce scoping out the Apollo interior during soundcheck for the live broadcast, but no one had any inkling that Bruce intended to perform death-defying feats on the balcony. The resulting footage cut together by Zimny, with cameras scrambling to track Springsteen's clambering up to the balcony and shimmying back down, perfectly captured the surprise of that night.

The deeper archival portion of the program was every bit as mind-blowing as promised, also including:

• a 1972 acoustic performance of "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" from Max's Kansas City
• a 1973 E Street Band take on "New York City Serenade" featuring a jaw-dropping turn on piano by a teenage David Sancious, and Vini Lopez on tambourine — a clip that garnered a standing ovation
• a segment featuring young Danny Federici vamping on the accordion, soundchecking for "Sandy" as a bearded Bruce looked on, leading into a performance of "Kitty's Back" from the Monmouth Arts Center (now the Count Basie Theatre) in 1975
• a rousing New Year's '75 performance of "Mountain of Love" at the Tower Theater, with the band in white suits and fedoras
• footage of a shirtless Bruce and bandana-less Steven rehearsing "Raise Your Hand" at home in 1977, with the E Street Band and an off-camera horn section
• "The Price You Pay" from Cork, Ireland 2013, with remixed, pristine audio by Bob Clearmountain (who also mixed sound for the Apollo Theater clip)

In the audience were former Springsteen manager Carl "Tinker" West, Bruce Brunch host Tom Cunningham, and engineer/audio archivist Toby Scott. A beaming Vini Lopez [right] was also in attendance and could at times be heard singing harmony along with the film audio; he received his own well-deserved standing ovation from the audience at the conclusion of the evening. "I was very touched; that was very nice," he remarked later. "I just keep trying to work and do what I do," and people (including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) finally noticed.

Lopez had seen some of the selections before but was surprised to see footage like "New York City Serenade." "If I had that shirt I'd still wear it," he said. "It was great to see that stuff up on the big screen." 

The night closed with one more silver screen debut, the recent fan-centric video for "Dream Baby Dream" that showed, as Phillips said, "the effect Bruce Springsteen still has on an audience at age 65." Zimny did not take audience questions during the event, and details about ongoing/upcoming projects were scant. But when asked about his approach to working with Bruce, Zimny commented, "Sometimes magic happens by accident" if the right parts have been assembled. Indeed it does.
- September 29, 2014 - Lisa Iannucci reporting - photographs by A.M. Saddler (1,2) and courtesy of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection (3)

LUCKY SEVEN: REMASTERS OF SPRINGSTEEN'S '73-'84 ALBUMS DUE 11/17
Mastering master Bob Ludwig gives Backstreets the lowdown
This November, Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings is set to release a box set that utilizes state-of-the-art technology to revisit several of Springsteen’s classic recordings: the incredible run of albums from his first decade in the studio. Bruce Springsteen: The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984 contains newly remastered editions of Springsteen's first seven LPs, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. through Born in the U.SA, and will be available in both vinyl and CD configurations.

Since 1992, when Columbia reissued Born to Run in a gold-CD MasterSound edition, many fans have hoped for remastered upgrades to the rest of Springsteen's catalog for the digital age; in the 22 years since, only Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town have received that treatment, as part of their respective box sets. The wait ends here, including fresh remasters of BTR and Darkness, which benefit from a previously unavailable tape transfer technique — more on that in a moment.

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973)
Born to Run (1975)
Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
The River (1980)
Nebraska (1982)
Born in the U.S.A. (1984)

All seven of the albums are newly remastered, five for the first time ever, and all are making their remastered debuts on vinyl. Original LP packaging is being replicated for each, and the box set also includes a 60-page book featuring rarely seen photos, memorabilia, and original press clippings from Springsteen's first ten years as a recording artist.

For the audio, renowned mastering engineer Bob Ludwig is again at the helm. A partner to Springsteen since coming in to assist with the challenges of Nebraska in '82, Ludwig has handled mastering for the vast majority of Springsteen's output over the last 30 years, as well as the remastering: he was the ears for Born to Run's '92 MasterSound reissue and its 30th Anniversary remaster, along with the 2010 edition of Darkness on the Edge of Town for The Promise box set.

Backstreets recently had a chance to speak with Ludwig, to find out further details about what this massive project entailed and what listeners can expect.
We first heard a sampling of the catalog upgrade earlier this year, when a number of Springsteen albums spanning the past 40 years were made available on iTunes in newly remastered form. Ludwig confirms that Apple's 'Mastered for iTunes' initiative was the catalyst for this effort. "Mastered for iTunes slowly started three years ago," he says, "but it's now pretty standard for any new project. It involves starting from 24-bit sources instead of the CD's 16-bit standard, from which all downloads were formerly created."

Continue reading much more of our converstion with Bob Ludwig about the forthcoming remasters here

Bruce Springsteen: The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984 will be released on November 17.

Backstreet Records will be carrying both configurations; watch this space, and we'll make an announcement when we begin taking pre-orders.
- September 24, 2014 - Christopher Phillips reporting

DO WE HAVE TO SAY THE NUMBER?
We do. Sixty-five's a big one. Bruce himself looked at it as a milestone, more than two decades ago... and one he planned to blow right by:

"I'm a lifetime musician; I'm going to be playing music forever. I don't foresee a time when I would not be onstage somewhere, playing a guitar and playing it loud, with power and passion. I look forward to being 60 or 65 and doing that."
—Bruce Springsteen to Rolling Stone, 1992

And now it's here... and now it's here. And every bit of that volume, power, and passion is still here, too. Happy birthday, Bruce. We look forward to you being 70 or 75 or 80 and still doing that.

Plenty of fun birthday tributes out there on the web today — we've also posted a photo from Bruce's 50th on our Facebook page you'll wanna see, and Blogness, as usual, does a good job of rounding those things up; be sure to check out their list of links including some dreamshows from Stan Goldstein at NJ.com, and Instagram greetings from Tom Morello (sez "More badass than ever at 65") and Patti Scialfa.

Movie night!
Backstreets, meanwhile, is on the road for the occasion — up in New Jersey for tonight's special birthday celebration at Monmouth University, An Evening With Thom Zimny. Come join us there for a conversation between Bruce's film archivist/collborator and Backstreets' Chris Phillips, along with plenty of treats from deep down in the vaults that Thom is bringing to share with us on the big screen. We promise it'll be worth dealing with Jersey traffic on a school night... we'll even have cake!
- September 23, 2014 - image courtesy of our friends at Badlands Portugal; hat tip to Hal Schwartz for remembering the perfect quote

AUTHORS, SCHOLARS AND FANS DISCUSS, DEBATE AND CELEBRATE "FIFTY YEARS OF MAKIN' THIS GUITAR TALK"
Today's 65th-Birthday Boy is a college dropout who's often sung the praises of learning more from three-minute records than from school. Not exactly the typical candidate for an all-day university forum centered around his achievements (let alone three previous multi-day symposia at the same university in 2005, 2009 and 2012.) This particular dropout is named Bruce Springsteen, however, and approximately 200 folks who've written about, studied and/or drawn enjoyment and inspiration from his music gathered together this past Saturday in celebration of another very significant anniversary: the passage of fifty years since Springsteen took his first serious steps, in July of 1964, to begin his life as a musician.

The event was Fifty Years of "Makin' This Guitar Talk," a forum organized by Friends of The Bruce Springsteen Special Collection and held on the beautiful campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, home of the Special Collection. Backstreets was represented by editor/publisher Christopher Phillips and contributing writer Shawn Poole, both of whom also are active on the board of Friends. They were joined by many other respected, well-known panelists and moderators for a full day of interactive conversations that included questions and comments from audience members. The complete agenda and listing of panelists/moderators can still be viewed here. [Above, panelist and photographer Barry Schneier, whose Glory Bound exhibition of Springsteen photos and more is on display now at Monmouth]

The forum's first five panel discussions were devoted to discussing and debating various aspects of Springsteen's art and its enduring impact: "Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Songs," "Springsteen's Evolving Relationship With His Audience," "New, Exciting Springsteen-Related Academic Projects," "Springsteen & Live Performance" and "Springsteen, Theology, Spirituality, Community, the Social Gospel & the Hurt Song." [Above, the "Performance" panel with (L-R) Rich Russo, Jean Mikle, Holly Cara Price, Stan Goldstein, and Phillips]

The sixth panel offered the audience a sneak-preview of the forthcoming anthology Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen, including some of the contributors reading selected passages from their stories and a display of the book's photo-insert Photographs on the Edge of Town by Mark Krajnak. Stay tuned to Backstreets.com for more information about this anthology as its official publication date draws closer. Audience members also had time to meet one-on-one with panelists and moderators, buy books (including exclusive advance copies of Trouble in the Heartland) and get them signed by authors.

Lunch in beautiful Wilson Hall was complimented by live performances of Springsteen classics by some of Monmouth University's finest music students, under the direction of Monmouth University's Music Industry Program Director Joe Rapolla. (Their brief concert included a great punk-rock version of "Born to Run", a true highlight of the day.) Friends' Executive Director Melanie Paggioli closed the forum with a promise that the Friends will continue to organize special events like it further on up the road.

Indeed, the very next one will happen tonight, in celebration of Bruce's birthday, featuring his longtime film archivist/collaborator Thom Zimny bringing some treasures from the vault for a rare screening/conversation (with Backstreets' own Chris Phillips) in Monmouth University's Pollak Theatre. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, click here or phone 732-263-6889, and we'll hope to see you tonight.
- September 23, 2014 - photographs by Mark Krajnak (1,4) and Shawn Poole (2,3)

PROUD AS A PEACOCK: 40 YEARS AGO TODAY
Of course we know that tomorrow, September 23, is a particularly special day in Boss history. But here on birthday eve, let's mark another anniversary — 40 years ago, on September 22, 1974, Bruce Springsteen and his new-model E Street Band played on the lawn at Kean College in Union NJ. This outdoor concert yielded the first known audio recording of the new lineup, as well as the first photos of a Springsteen concert showing rookies Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan in the band. Photographer James Shive was there with his camera and captured these images. The shot below has never been seen before, and Shive is offering it now as a limited 16" x 20" print from the Shive Archive in an edition of 100. Bruce and the band opened that show with "Spirit in the Night": "Singin' our birthday songs..."

- September 22, 2014 - photographs by James Shive/www.shivearchive.com

SPRINGSTEEN TO APPEAR IN NEW GLEN CAMPBELL DOC
Country music superstar and legendary session musician Glen Campbell is the subject of a new documentary, I'll Be Me by James Keach (Walk the Line) and Trevor Albert (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). The documentary centers around the legendary singer/guitarist and his struggle with Alzheimer's, which he was diagnosed with in 2011. Bruce Springsteen was interviewed for the documentary, and he appears in the trailer above, along with The Edge and Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Campbell began his career as a session musician in Los Angeles, recording with artists as varied as Nat King Cole, Merle Haggard and the Monkees. In 1964, he landed a four-month gig as the touring bassist for the Beach Boys, replacing Brian Wilson, who wanted to focus on recording. Campbell hit paydirt as a solo artist with his recording of John Hartford's "Gentle On My Mind," and Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." In 1968, another of Webb's songs, "Wichita Lineman," and "I Wanna Live," gave Campbell two more smashes on the Country charts that effortlessly crossed over to Pop radio.

In 1969, Campbell became a familiar fixture across America via his television series, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, a program that cemented Campbell's reputation as an entertainer to be reckoned with. The show featured a variety of superstars of the day, including Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and Bread.

Campbell's career high, however, was yet to come. In 1975, he released the single "Rhinestone Cowboy," a mega-hit with which he will forever be associated, that went to number one on Billboard's Hot 100 and Hot Country charts.

In 2008, Glen, by now a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, released the Meet Glen Campbell album, a collection of covers by contemporary acts like the Replacements, U2 and the Foo Fighters. The album was met with critical acclaim, and a follow up, Ghost On the Canvas, was announced.

Two months before Ghost on the Canvas was released, Campbell revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and that the tour to support the album would be his last. The album's title track (written by former Replacement Paul Westerberg, who also appears in the video) was released as a single, and Glen's farewell tour was extended until 2012. Campbell gave his last performance on November 12 of that year.

I'll Be Me opens in theaters on October 24.
- September 22, 2014 - John Howie Jr. reporting

BACKSTREETS COMES TO JERSEY FOR 65th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
This weekend in New Jersey, Boss birthday festivities begin — and in addition to celebrating Springsteen's 65th birthday, we're also marking his 50-year milestone as a musician. As Bruce says in the clip above, "I've been doing this [as of July 2014] for 50 years. Feel like I've just started, man! I've got another 50 in me."

On Saturday, a host of authors, scholars and DJs will convene at Monmouth University for an all-day forum, 50 Years of Makin' This Guitar Talk, sponsored by Monmouth U and the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection. See the full agenda here, with panelists including Backstreets' own Chris Phillips and Shawn Poole. Tickets still available here. We hope to see you there!

And just a few days later, on Bruce's actual birthday (Tuesday, September 23) we'll back at Monmouth U for An Evening With Thom Zimny, where Bruce's film archivist will be bringing a bunch of treats to show on the big screen along, with Phillips moderating some Q&A onstage at the Pollak Theater. Come one come all!
- September 18, 2014

Fan of @springsteen? Meet Chris Phillips of @backstreetsmag tomorrow at the Roost @FearringtonNC between 5-8pm #booksandbeer #springsteen

— McIntyre's Books (@mcibooks) September 17, 2014

If you can't make it to Roost tonight, Talk About a Dream is available signed from Backstreet Records, and we ship anywhere in the world. The 450-page book collects 40 years of interviews with Springsteen. Garry Tallent calls it "a must-read for all serious Bruceaholics"; Nils Lofgren says, "No artist has ever been as candid, informative, and entertaining as Bruce is in this wonderful book... I highly recommend it."
- September 18, 2014

THAT'S WHY IT'S POETRY
Erin Keane's new poetry book, Demolition of the Promised Land, is a modern, rhythmical collection of work about love and loss and life, mixed together with settings in the South, with Nashville and Memphis, and there is heartbreak and there is sadness and there is joy. It is a lovely body of work.

There are also nine poems about Bruce Springsteen.

That's right, the title reference is not accidental. Keane characterizes Bruce's role in this anthology as "guide, ghost and accidental guru." They are not so much about Bruce but use him as a spirit animal, as a device, or even as a deus ex machina. Bruce is in the supermarket, he is in the Pine Barrens, he is visiting Washington D.C. He is a mythical figure, a flight of fancy, a theme. You would think this wouldn't work or would be so distracting that they would take the reader out of the poem, but it does not. The poems are serious, delightful, fantastical and heartbreaking.

Don’t get me wrong; this is not fanfic, nor is it meant to be ironic. Without the Springsteen-related poems, Demolition of the Promised Land, Keane's third volume of poetry, would still be an engaging, emotive collection of work.

Backstreets spoke with Keane via email.

When did you write your first poem about Bruce? Can you talk a little bit about what inspired it?
I started writing the Bruce poems in 2011. I had been listening to Darkness on the Edge of Town on repeat and I found myself delighted and fascinated by how he pronounces the word dream, which made me start to think about how malleable Bruce's accent is when he sings. Sometimes he has a real Southern accent. Doesn't he sound a little like a lost Pogue in "Death to My Hometown"? I was born in New Jersey, and my family moved around a lot until we settled in western Kentucky, where my mother's mother was born. My own accent changes and shifts depending on where I am, who I'm with, and my emotional state. I started thinking about how Bruce Springsteen reminds me of both of my hometowns, and why.

Which poem was first? Did you then make an effort to "find" more or did they just keep presenting themselves?
So the first poem in the series was "The Dream and What Follows," and then I just started thinking about Bruce as a character who both is and is not the Bruce Springsteen we know as a public figure —  he became a sort of super hero, a guide to America with a lot resting on his shoulders. The Bruce character kept finding opportunities to insert himself into the landscape. One of the next poems I wrote in the series is "Outside Atlantic City," where he shows us around his secret hide-out, which is about as secret and subtle as a giant elephant-shaped building right off the beach could possibly be. The fact that Lucy still exists on the shore and is cared for is a miracle, and I wanted her to be doing something more than just existing.

When did you realize this was starting to become a theme, and how did it make you feel?
I know my writing process well enough now that when I find myself drawn back to the same subject over a period of time, I know that I have more to say on that topic. I've always written about pop culture and about music, but Bruce was fairly new to me as a subject and infinitely fascinating because he contains, as Whitman would say, multitudes — his appeal crosses class lines and spans the political spectrum. (Is there any heartbreak like Chris Christie's heartbreak when he learned Bruce didn't want to be his friend?)

When did you make the decision that he was going to be the "spirit animal" (as you mentioned to me) of this particular poetry collection?
I started writing the poems in this collection in 2007. I had just finished what became my second book, Death-Defying Acts, and that was a collection of persona poems in the voices of circus performers. I wanted to go back to writing in my own voice and see how it had changed. While I was writing, three friends died unexpectedly, pretty much one right after another. My father died when I was five, and during all of that, the central question of the poems in this book became how do you continue to love and form attachments to men if they just disappear? Enter Bruce in 2011, who could function as a foil and a role model and an accidental guru of sorts. Someone substantial who could confront the terrifying instability of the daily world with a sense of purpose and courage.

You mention that you didn't love Bruce until you turned 30. What was your relationship to his music prior to that time and how would you characterize it now?
I had kind of written him off as dad rock with a couple of dopey big '80s hits because I was a snotty know-it-all little punk with an attitude about such things. Well, Nebraska was all right. I preferred New Wave and what did they call it, college rock? from the '80s, as well as bands like The Clash and The Stooges, plus all the grunge from my high school years, that sort of thing, and a certain amount of sad-sack alt-country. And all of that, I still love. But around the time I turned 30 I had a little more life experience under my belt and I started to appreciate Springsteen's genius in a way that I didn't have the skills or maturity to understand before. I began to really appreciate how he can locate joy inside of painful stories, and how much dignity he gives the losers in his songs. And his optimism — he doesn't indulge in nihilism or petty self-destruction. And most significantly, he's not self-indulgent about his anger. Listening to a Springsteen song is a lot like listening to good Memphis soul — it feels like church, and I guess I was ready to start going back to church. I'm not an encyclopedic super-fan, but I am a strong enthusiast. And "Atlantic City" is one of a handful of songs that's guaranteed to make me cry every time I hear it. It's pretty much my "Danny Boy."

You have an obvious relationship and affinity with musical landmarks as demonstrated with your familiarity with Memphis and Nashville in the book. Have you been to the Jersey Shore? If so, did it meet your expectations?
So, I was born in New Jersey. My parents moved from downtown Manhattan to Jersey City right before I was born. Even though we moved away, my brother and I would go visit family in the summers, and we always spent time down the shore. So I don't even know it as a musical landmark in the same way I know Nashville and Memphis — I know New Jersey on a DNA level. The funny thing is, Kentucky and New Jersey seem like they would have nothing in common, but they are both deeply misunderstood states whose beauty is often undersold and whose inherent weirdness is consistently undervalued. I haven't been to Asbury Park, though, and I suspect it will feel like a real pilgrimage when I do.

Demolition of the Promised Land is published by Typecast Publishing and is available now from Backstreet Records.
- September 17, 2014 - Caryn Rose reporting

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE MOORE!
The angels are shouting "Glory hallelujah..." Hope you have a great one.
- September 17, 2014 - photograph by Patrick Lion

STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE
Springsteen returns to the NY Comedy Festival for Stand Up For Heroes 8
A fan of Bruce Springsteen? Also a fan of corny dirty jokes? Once again, the two come together again for a great cause, the 2014 Stand Up For Heroes benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Springsteen joins a November 5 bill at the Theater at Madison Square Garden that also includes Louis C.K., John Mulaney, John Oliver, and Brian Williams. Now in its eighth year, Stand Up for Heroes has raised more than $21 million in funds to help post-9/11 injured service members and their families thrive long after they return to the home front.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday September 17 at noon EST, via Ticketmaster. Last year, there was a live stream from the performance; we'll keep you posted if and when we hear of anything similar planned for this year.
- September 16, 2014

"IT'S GOTTA BE GRAND..."
Thom Zimny on the making of Hunter of Invisible Game
To celebrate Bruce's 65th birthday, the Friends of The Bruce Springsteen Special Collection and Monmouth University will be hosting an exciting evening of films presented by his archivist and collaborator Thom Zimny. On Tuesday, September 23, Zimny will be bringing a reel of footage from the vault to show on the big screen, as well as participating in a Q&A with Backstreets editor Christopher Phillips on the stage of Monmouth U's Pollak Theater.

Click here for more information on An Evening with Thom Zimny.

Click here to order $20 tickets for An Evening with Thom Zimny ONLY or, better yet, order by phone at 732-263-6889 to score the combo-ticket deal. For just $35, you'll get to attend both the 9/23 Thom Zimny event and Fifty Years of "Makin' This Guitar Talk" (lunch included) on 9/20.

For an advance taste, we've revisited a conversation Zimny had this summer on E Street Radio, focusing on the "Hunter of Invisible Game" film he made with Springsteen. Over the course of the July 16 show with host Dave Marsh, Thom gave a good deal of background on the short film; if you missed that broadcast, we've taken the liberty of editing his comments into a piece that gives you more insight into the film Bruce called "one of our best."

Here's Thom:
Jon Landau sent me the High Hopes album, and "Hunter of Invisible Game" was the one track that really stood out to me. (I even happen to have a son named Hunter, who got to work a bit with us on this film, which was nice.) When I had the chance, I talked to Jon about it, and that started a bit of dialogue with Jon and Bruce about the possibility of making a "Hunter" film. I think we just kept coming back to it. We would have a full journey with the live concerts. We were editing those and trying different things and different looks — experimenting — and at the same time doing some music videos for the High Hopes album. But we kept coming back to "Hunter," and I remember there was a moment where Bruce and I connected in New York and he just said, "It's gotta be grand, and we gotta go all out on this and tell a different story."...

Continue reading here

- September 14, 2014 - still from the short film Hunter of Invisible Game

YANKEE DOODLE, KEEP IT UP!
There are a number of famous and infamous quotes about Bruce Springsteen — from Jon Landau's "Rock and Roll Future" in 1974 to NY Fraternal Order of Police captain Bob Lucente's "floating fag" quip in 2000. One of our favorites was published 30 years ago today, written by the by-his-own-admission clueless George Will. On September 13, 1984, in the heat of Reagan's reelection campaign, Will wrote in his syndicated column for the Washington Post:

"I have not got a clue about Springsteen’s politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: ‘Born in the U.S.A.!'”

Still, there are worse things to do with your summer vacation. Click the article above for a larger version of Will's full column, also published under the titles "Bruce Springsteen's U.S.A." and "A Yankee Doodle Springsteen" 30 years ago today.
- September 13, 2014 - with thanks to Ron Bostwick

TAKE THE SHIRTS OFF OUR BACKS: EVERY TEE IN STOCK ON SALE!
It's not often we need to do inventory reduction... but we're drowning in shirts over here at Backstreet Records. The new Staff T-shirt just arrived (SuperSubs, we're folding them up now, yours will be on its way to you soon), and those stacks have pushed our shirt shelves past the tipping point. Help us make room, wouldja?

For the next week, we're offering 15% off every shirt in stock. From official concert wear to Backstreets tees and beyond, we've got 20 different Boss shirts available (and not all of them are black). Click here to view the full selection.

Use coupon code TEE15 to apply the discount at checkout, which will take 15% off all shirts in your cart. While they last... sale ends September 17.

Please note: 15% off sale applies only to sizes still in stock. As sizes sell out, they may be gone for good, or at least not available for backorder at the sale price.

Also, we're still taking orders for Danny Clinch's forthcoming book of rock photography, Still Moving, for which Bruce Springsteen wrote the foreword. Danny is still hand-signing all pre-orders for our customers. Feel free to combine an order for Danny's signed hardcover with a shirt order to save on shipping; just be advised that products will mail together when Still Moving is realased September 23.
- September 10, 2014

FULL DEAD MAN'S TOWN TRIBUTE STREAMING NOW
Individual tracks from the forthcoming Born in the U.S.A. tribute album have premiered on various websites in recent weeks, including "I'm Goin' Down" right here on Backstreets.com. Starting today, a week before the album's September 16 release, you can hear the entire thing online. Visit Time.com for the full album stream.

Dead Man's Town: A Tribute to Born in the U.S.A. comes out a week from today, and you can order yours now from Backstreet Records for immediate shipment upon release — we're taking pre-orders for both the CD and the vinyl LP.
- September 9, 2014

GOT ON HIS DEAD MAN'S SUIT?
Bruce to guest with Stevie on next season of Lilyhammer, reportedly as a mortician
For years, fans wondered if Stevie Van Zandt might get his old friend Bruce to join him on The Sopranos. That ship, of course, has sailed, but it looks like Frank the Fixer will have the tellyvision rendezvous that Silvio Dante never got to enjoy.

Nellie Andreeva reports Lilyhammer Season 3 buzz on Deadline.com: "I hear Van Zandt’s The Sopranos co-star Tony Sirico has joined the upcoming third season in a recurring role, and Van Zandt's longtime E Street Band mate Bruce Springsteen will be making a guest appearance." According to the Deadline story, filming has taken is taking place in New York.

Peter Wallace, of Lilyhammer's home network, Norwegian TV channel NRK, has confirmed with Dagbladet today that Springsteen does indeed play a part in the next season, to air later this year on NRK (as well as Netflix in the U.S., date not yet announced). Wallace does not describe Bruce's actual role — Andreeva hears that Springsteen will "play the owner of a mortuary" — but states that he'll appear at the end of the season [translated from the Norwegian]: "Bruce and Steven both wanted to make this happen, which we think is great, but it has taken some time. So this came at the end of filming [for Season 3]."

Springsteen previously appeared as himself in a High Fidelity cameo and of course showed his acting chops in music videos from "I'm on Fire" and "Glory Days" to the recent "A Night With the Jersey Devil" and "Hunter of Invisible Game."
- updated September 5, 2014 - photographs via Twitter

NALANI & SARINA: DIAL THEM IN CLOSE
Free download of "Save My Love" and exclusive Backstreets interview
Nalani & Sarina are two young, smart and extremely talented musicians — and Springsteen fans — hailing from Phantom Dan Federici's hometown of Flemington, NJ. The identical twins, newly turned 21, are singers and multi-instrumentalists who write, record and perform their own songs together, "bring it" live on stage, and have consciously avoided many of the music business pitfalls that would compromise their artistic visions.

Backstreets.com's Shawn Poole recently caught up with Nalani & Sarina after one of their regular gigs at Melodies Café in Ardmore, PA (just about a mile or so away from where Bryn Mawr, PA's The Main Point, one of Bruce's early stomping grounds, once stood.) You can click here for audio of Nalani & Sarina's Backstreets.com interview with Shawn. Nalani & Sarina shared with us what they find so special about Bruce Springsteen (and Roy Bittan, as well.) With a bit of input from their manager/co-producer Greg Drew (a major Springsteen fan himself), the interview also gave us insights into the sisters' own musical journey and what it was like for them to meet and sing with one of their other major influences, the legendary Sam Moore. (Watch their recent team-up with Moore on Sam & Dave's classic "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby.")

The interview was conducted in anticipation of their recording a beautiful cover of Springsteen's "Save My Love" as an exclusive Backstreets.com download.

Download a FREE mp3 of "Save My Love" here

Next week, Nalani & Sarina will perform with a full backing band at the legendary New York club The Bitter End, where they've been maintaining a monthly residency. This will mark the first time they'll get to deliver live versions of selections from their debut full-length CD, Lessons Learned, with the same full-band sound in the recorded versions. The first-rate band will consist of drummer Jim Hines (John Legend, Brian Wilson, etc.,) bassist Will Lee (CBS Orchestra, The Fab Faux, etc.,) keyboardist Tommy Mandel (Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Everett Bradley's Holidelic, etc.) and ace guitarists Oscar Rodriguez and Leni Stern. Click here for details, and visit nalanisarina.com for more show dates and information.
- September 3, 2014 - photographs by Shawn Poole

CAN YOU HEAR ME?
From the Backstreets.com audio archives, click here to hear Frank Caruso, illustrator of the upcoming Outlaw Pete picture book, in an early discussion of the project during a segment of E Street Radio's Live from E Street Nation with Dave Marsh originally aired on May 18, 2012.

For more Outlaw Pete-related audio, click here to hear both sides of the 1950 Brave Cowboy Bill vinyl children's record, recorded by Gilbert Mack & The Sandpipers with orchestration conducted by Mitchell (aka Mitch) Miller) and based on the 1950 Little Golden Book that inspired Springsteen's song "Outlaw Pete." Both the Brave Cowboy Bill book and the Brave Cowboy Bill record sleeve featured illustrations by the late, great children's book author/illustrator Richard Scarry.
- September 2, 2014 - Shawn Poole reporting

PRE-ORDER NOW FOR SIGNED COPY OF DANNY CLINCH'S NEW BOOK
Over the years, Backstreet Records has worked to bring you signed copies of numerous Springsteen-related books, thanks to the kindness of authors including Clarence Clemons, Peter Ames Carlin, and Eric Meola (signed copies of Bruce books by Debra L. Rothenberg and Christopher Phillips are still available in our shop).

Here's the next one: Still Moving, a beautiful new book of more than 200 striking photographs of musical greats, as captured by Danny Clinch. Danny has been one of Bruce's go-to photographers for well over a decade (including the album covers for The Rising, We Shall Overcome, Wrecking Ball, and High Hopes), and Springsteen is one of the many artists represented in this lavish, 300-page hardcover monograph from Abrams Books. Springsteen also wrote the foreword.

Danny has kindly agreed to autograph copies for us, for all Backstreets customers who sign up for a copy now. Still Moving is due out on Bruce's 65th birthday, September 23, so the window is tight... Danny may be signing for us as early as next week... but you can pre-order now to guarantee your copy signed by author/photographer Danny Clinch.
- August 28, 2014

FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND, E STREET RADIO CELEBRATES THE BEST OF THE 2012-2014 TOUR
Beginning tomorrow and lasting through Labor Day, E Street Radio will celebrate the Wrecking Ball/High Hopes Tour in style. First up, the 24/7 all-Springsteen satellite radio channel will air a new edition of its "Springsteen Community Conference" series. This will be a two-hour pre-recorded panel discussion on all aspects of the tour. Participants include E Street Radio's Caroline Magyarits, Dave Marsh, Jim Rotolo and Vinny Usuriello, along with special guests keyboardist Charles Giordano (who performed in every show of the tour) and writer Holly Cara Price (whose new essay on the tour debuts tomorrow at Huffington Post.) The Community Conference will air tomorrow, Friday 8/29, at 10am and 4pm; Saturday 8/30 at 12am and 8am; Sunday 8/31 at 5pm; Monday 9/1 at 10am and 4pm; and Tuesday 9/2 at 12am and 8 am. (All listed times ET.)

From Friday through Monday at 12 and 8pm each day, E Street Radio also will air complete recordings of some of the best concerts of the tour, beginning with a re-airing of the remastered Apollo Theater show (March 9, 2012) at 12pm on Friday and ending with the final show of the tour in Uncasville, CT (May 18, 2014) at 8pm on Labor Day.

Finally, each hour throughout Labor Day Weekend you'll hear songs from the Wrecking Ball/High Hopes Tour, preceded by special clips from Springsteen’s various E Street Radio interviews about the tour and his two most recent albums. Catch it all on Sirius/XM channel 20.
- August 28, 2014 - Shawn Poole reporting

CAN YOU READ ME?
"I Was Made For Lovin' You" never became a picture book, so score one for Bruce. In the vein of Bob Dylan's Forever Young, Simon & Schuster has announced Outlaw Pete, an illustrated book by Bruce Springsteen and Frank Caruso based on the Springsteen song, due for publication on November 4.

Both the song (from the 2009 Working on a Dream album) and the new book Outlaw Pete were inspired by a children's book, Brave Cowboy Bill (Simon & Schuster, 1950), which Bruce Springsteen's mother used to read to him as a child. "Outlaw Pete is essentially the story of a man trying to outlive and outrun his sins," Springsteen writes.

Caruso, a cartoonist and writer, conceived of making the song into a book and created the illustrations to accompany Springsteen's lyrics. "When Bruce wrote 'Outlaw Pete' he didn't just write a great song, he created a great character," Caruso said. "The first time I heard the song this book played out in my head. Like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Dorothy Gale and for me, even Popeye, 'Outlaw Pete' cuts deep into the folklore of our country and weaves its way into the fabric of great American literary characters. "

Dave Marsh writes, "Outlaw Pete is an adult book, illustrated by Frank Caruso, who drew and painted its pages. Caruso does more than illustrate the song. His approach, immaculately detailed, simple when it needs to be, parallels Springsteen's blend of absurdity and meditation.... Details that pass by almost unnoticed in the lyrics become central. Reading and listening have rarely so superbly complemented each other."

Outlaw Pete will be available in both hardcover and ebook formats, November 4.
- August 28, 2014

SPECIAL ZIMNY SCREENING AND MORE COMING TO MONMOUTH U
Next month, Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, home to the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, will host three interrelated happenings with a Springsteen theme. In addition to the previously announced Barry Schneier photography exhibit opening September 2, the university will co-host two events around Bruce's 65th birthday: a daylong discussion forum, and a film presentation by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny. Both events will be presented in collaboration with the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection.

The forum, titled Fifty Years of "Makin' This Guitar Talk," is scheduled for September 20, and will feature moderated discussions focusing upon various aspects of Springsteen's 50-year artistic journey. Panelists are set to include a variety of journalists and academics as well as photographer Schneier and Bruce Brunch host Tom Cunningham.

On September 23, filmmaker and Springsteen video archivist Thom Zimny will employ the state-of-the-art projection system at Monmouth's Pollak Theater to present An Evening With Thom Zimny, including a selection of clips from the vault.

Tickets may be purchased individually for $20 or $35 for both events, and go on sale today, August 28, at 10am through the Monmouth University box office. Call 732-263-6889 or visit the box office website for ticket sale information. Click here for more information on the events themselves. Proceeds from all sales will benefit Monmouth University and Friends of The Bruce Springsteen Special Collection.
- August 28, 2014 - Lisa Iannucci reporting - photograph by Jo Lopez

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, IN THE COUNTRY OF COUNTRY
Over the weekend, Springsteen was revealed as #17 of "CMT's Top 40 All-Time Artists," just ahead of Bob Dylan. The Top 40 is "a list of the most influential artists in history chosen by country stars themselves." We had a sneak preview last week, with some extended quotes from country artists singing Bruce's praises; Steve Earle said, "I don't think there's any argument about this: He's the greatest performer — and I'm talking about Elvis Presley, James Brown — Bruce Springsteen is the combination of all that and the greatest live performer that rock 'n' roll, or pop music of any sort, has ever produced."

Here we've got some additional bonus material from CMT, more Bruce talk with some of the artists who took part in the poll, including Jennifer Nettles, Rosanne Cash, the Oak Ridge Boys, Dierks Bentley, and Keith Urban.

- August 26, 2014

CONGRATS TO THE VAN ZANDTS, ROCK 'N' ROLL VANGUARDS
On Friday evening, the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ presented its inaugural Vanguard Award to Steven and Maureen Van Zandt. The pair was introduced by their friend Rich Russo, host of the syndicated Anything, Anything program. Also receiving the award were Monmouth Arts Executive Director Mary Eileen Fouratt and Lillian Burry, Director of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The Van Zandts received the award during the performance of "A Tribute to Woodstock & The Age of Aquarius" by Rockit!, a collaborative of musicians who are part of the ongoing music instruction project hosted by the Basie. Steven and Maureen curated the show, dropping by during rehearsals to offer assistance and guidance on costumes and choreography. 

Maureen spoke first, invoking the spirit of Jimi Hendrix before turning the mic over to her irrepressible husband, who commented modestly that both of them were there primarily to support the Rockit! Program. "The rock era has ended, and I miss it," said Steven, who commented that programs like Rockit!, which employs curricular materials from the Van Zandts' "Rock and Roll: An American Story" social studies curriculum, are a key ingredient to a well-rounded education. Being in a band teaches important life lessons like compromise, persuasion, and working toward a common goal, he said. "You can learn about life from being in a band."

Although the night truly belonged to the youngsters, hopes were high throughout the proceedings that Mr. Van Zandt would return to the stage, and he did not disappoint, unassumingly joining the assembled performers in full sidekick mode for a set-closing "With a Little Help From My Friends," to which he contributed guitar and backing vocals. 

In his opening speech, Count Basie Theatre CEO Adam Philipson stated that the "American Story" curriculum would continue to be a part of their ongoing Rockit! instruction, and that so far it has been a great success. The program, developed by the Van Zandts in conjunction with their Rock and Roll Forever project, is set to launch in Steven's hometown school district of Middletown, NJ in a few weeks.
- August 25, 2014 - Lisa Iannucci reporting - photographs by Tom Cunningham

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, CMT ALL-TIME ARTIST
Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle and more country admiration for the Boss
"CMT's Top 40 All-Time Artists," a list of musical greats as voted by a large panel country musicians, is being revealed an artist at a time, one each week, as part of their "Hot 20 Countdown." Heading into this weekend, we've got word that Bruce Springsteen is the new man of the hour.

A network rep tells Backstreets, "The 'Top 40' list was determined by the country music artists who were interviewed: who did they think belonged there, and why?  As you might imagine, plenty of country music icons made the list, but some pop and rock legends are there, too, like Bruce."

Above, a taste of the segment on Springsteen that will run on CMT this weekend, including some extended interview soundbites that you'll only get here. The clip includes Boss testimonials from Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jennifer Nettles, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Dierks Bentley.

Cash says: "He just keeps his head down and shows up for work. And his work happens to be one of the greatest bodies of work that we have in American music."

Tune in to the "CMT Hot 20 Countdown" Saturday, 8/23, at 11AM Eastern/Pacific, 10 Central, repeating at the same time on Sunday. The Springsteen segment, roughly five minutes, will most likely be in the last hour of the three-hour show. Thanks to our friends at CMT for the sneak peek.
- August 22, 2014

STEVIE-BRUCIE PRODUCTIONS: CAN WE GET AN AMEN?
Tomorrow night in Red Bank, Steven and Maureen Van Zandt will be honored with the Count Basie Theatre's Vanguard Award, for their "lifelong devotion to the arts in New Jersey." Chris Jordan spoke with Stevie for the Asbury Park Press, discussing his Rock and Roll Forever school curriculum, the various configurations of the E Street Band, and more.

Our favorite quote from Steve, after Jordan mentions his production on Darkness, The River, and Born in the U.S.A.: "Maybe one more time before we check out, it would be fun to produce another Bruce Springsteen record in whatever configuration the band is in... One more Stevie-Brucie production together."
- August 22, 2014

GOV SMASH!
Haven't had enough of Chris Christie on Springsteen? From the Star-Ledger, here's video of a town hall event this week where the NJ governor was asked about using Bruce's music at his events.
- August 22, 2014 - bootleg action figure package by The Sucklord, via Juxtapose

IS HE THE ICEMAN?
As the #icebucketchallenge takes social media by storm, raising awareness (and lotsa money, we hope) to fight ALS, it was only a matter of time before some high-profile dumpees issued the challenge to Bruce. Above, Eddie Vedder picks up the gauntlet thrown down by Pearl Jam bandmate Mike McCready and passes it along to the Boss — "I know he's just waiting to be challenged, as usual" — along with Tim Robbins and One Direction's Niall Horan.

Below, Eric Church accepts the challenge from Keith Urban, takes a John Deere load over the head, and "swings for the fences" by nominating Bruce along with George Strait and James Hetfield.

To help #strikeoutALS, we also point you to the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation, formed by Terry Magovern in 2005 in honor of his late fiancé, working to improve the lives of ALS patients and their families in Monmouth & Ocean Counties.

Update: Pat Riley also challenged Bruce right before taking a bucketful over the head.
- August 17, 2014

WE GOT A DEAL FOR YOU RIGHT HERE
Kathleen Edwards is a phenomenal singer-songwriter — we're partial to her Asking For Flowers album, and her duet on "Golden State" with John Doe, but you can really start anywhere. She's a great interpreter, too, as evidenced by this new cover of "Human Touch," just posted to Soundcloud. (If you're an R.E.M. fan, stick around for her recording of "Sweetness Follows," too.) Enjoy.
- August 15, 2014

BRUSH UP YOUR SPRINGSTEEN
First issue of online Journal of Springsteen Studies out now
After several successful symposia at Monmouth University, Springsteen scholarship has finally received the regular outlet it deserves. In January of this year, editors Jonathan D. Cohen, Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight began soliciting material for a new academic journal titled BOSS, the Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies, and the first issue has just been published in PDF form. The mission of the open access journal, which is published by the McGill University Library, is "to encourage consideration of Springsteen's body of work primarily through the political, economic and socio-cultural factors that have influenced his music and shaped its reception."

Cohen tells Backstreets, "Our journal — which is free and will be publicly available on our website — is oriented towards both academics as well as casual fans interested in reading scholarly writing on Springsteen."

Each issue of BOSS will contain several academic articles and book reviews and will highlight a particular special collection that may be useful to Springsteen scholars. The publication is freely available to all users, and potential contributors may submit editorials, articles or reviews via the online interface. Per standard practice for academic journal publication, all submissions are peer-reviewed; experts in the field evaluate work for quality of scholarship and research methodology as well as accuracy, thus ensuring that all material published in the journal meets academic community standards.

Highlights of the current issue include William Wolff's "Springsteen, Tradition and the Purpose of the Artist," which examines Bruce's role in an ongoing artistic tradition, and a penetrating review of the recent fan-based film Springsteen & I.
- August 15, 2014 - Lisa Iannucci reporting

WHERE THE SAND'S TURNIN' TO GOLD
Singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham showed up on our radar with his work on Crazy Heart ("The Weary Kind" won an Oscar and a Golden Globe), and again with his Joad tour-esque theme for FX's The Bridge, "Until I'm One With You." Here, he hops aboard the Coast City bus to "Atlantic City."
- August 13, 2014

SHAZBOT: ROBIN WILLIAMS, 1951-2014
We were very saddened by the news regarding the apparent suicide of beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams. Williams was a fan and friend of Bruce Springsteen since the '70s — Dave Marsh's Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story features the story of Williams arriving to visit Springsteen at his New Jersey home just as Bruce's April 1979 motorbike accident occurred. They also performed on the same bill for the original Bridge School benefit in 1986 and the 2012 "Stand Up For Heroes" concert; Williams enthusiastically introduced Bruce and the E Street Band at the Grammys in 2003 (above).

And of course, there's Williams' still-hilarious bit "Elmer Fudd Sings Bruce Springsteen," from his 1983 television special An Evening with Robin Williams (also released in audio-only form on the out-of-print album Throbbing Python of Love and as one side of a rare 12-inch vinyl promo single.) It's a brief reminder of the immensely talented person we've lost all too soon. Backstreets.com extends our deepest sympathies to all who knew and loved Robin Williams. May he rest in peace.