By James Turano
Mighty Mouse. Mighty Joe Young. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. A Mighty Wind. Mighty Thor. Freak the Mighty. Mighty Ducks. Lord, Almighty!
But in the Bruce Springsteen sphere of fandom there is only one who truly lives up to the “Mighty” moniker: Max Weinberg.
For some 45 years, the now 70-year-old Weinberg and his big beat have been the sonic engine driving the powerful, pounding, chugging, and charging musical locomotive that is Springsteen’s E Street Band. Currently on a hiatus, as Springsteen and the E Streeters plan a possible return to the stage in 2022 for the first time since 2017, Weinberg still is keeping his musical train moving fast and furious down a rock and roll track.
He will steer his own rocking box car and cargo—the unique, all-request “Max Weinberg’s Jukebox”—as it pulls into the station at Ravinia Festival on September 19. Speaking from his home in Florida, Weinberg shared his excitement for his Ravinia debut.
“It’s my job to entertain, to play my best. When I play drums, I take no prisoners. As someone described, I play the drums as if they owe me money. I like that”
“I’ve known about Ravinia for years and years. It is the premier summer, outdoor experience in the country. It has a long, impressive history, and a diverse lineup. They are selective as to who they book, so when they called to have us play there, it was a huge honor. We’re looking forward to it. There’s nothing better than playing outdoors on a beautiful summer night,” he said.
Weinberg’s drumming career has twisted and turned to its own rhythm since he first was enthralled by rock music and the drums at age 5, watching Elvis Presley and his drummer, D.J. Fontana, on television on The Milton Berle Show in 1956. By age 6, he was playing the drums in a local New Jersey band at bar mitzvahs and weddings, and soon was influenced by high-profile bandleaders and drummers of the day including Xavier Cugat, Buddy Rich, and Gene Krupa. Naturally, when The Beatles invaded the US in 1964, Weinberg’s drumming tastes immediately switched to a swinging rock beat.
After fortuitously answering a Village Voice ad to audition for Springsteen in 1974, Weinberg won the job, abandoned the thought of a law career, and ever since has added the thunderous backbeat to almost every Springsteen hallmark—most notably the glorious booming, banging bombast on “Born In the USA.”
Weinberg has been a key player on Bruce Springsteen’s studio recordings, beginning with the classic Born to Run album in 1975, and his sound and stamina have been essential elements of The Boss’s fabled marathon shows with, as Bruce touts, the “heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, booty-shaking, love-making, Viagra-taking, earth-quaking” legendary E Street Band.
Weinberg reflected, “Working with Bruce has been a special, special experience unlike anything I’ve ever done in my life.” Anchoring a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band might be enough for many, but not for “Mighty” Max Weinberg, as Springsteen affectionately and declaratively describes him.
Weinberg’s life and career is defined by detours and destiny. After Springsteen disbanded The E Street Band in 1989, Weinberg stopped drumming for four years, finished his college degree, became a record label talent scout, and even did a six-week stint in law school. “Even during the time when he broke up the band, Bruce told me to not stop drumming. I didn’t want to; I just didn’t want playing music to be my occupation. I was 38 years old, and I had a wife, a toddler, and a baby to support,” Weinberg stated.
Many 30- and 40-somethings are likely to recognize and admire Weinberg not for his undisputed E Street heroics, but rather for his popular post as bopping bandleader of The Max Weinberg Seven and frequent comic foil for Conan O’Brien on NBC’s Late Night talk show. Beginning in 1993, he worked with O’Brien for 17 years, including the move to The Tonight Show, which ended in 2010. “My wife, Becky, and I were going to the Carnegie Deli in New York one night, and I saw Conan waiting for the light to change on Seventh Avenue. I didn’t know him, but still I recognized him, and Becky urged me to say hello. We started talking about music, and that’s how my life changed,” Weinberg recalled of the fateful initial meeting.
Because Springsteen frequently makes albums and tours either solo or with other band configurations, Weinberg and his fellow E Street Band members often embark on their own musical projects outside their sacred “Boss time.” Thus Weinberg has fronted several of his own outfits, such as Max Weinberg’s Big Band and this latest incarnation, Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, an interactive, crowd-pleasing concert experience backed by top-notch, versatile singers and musicians prepared to perform any of the 200 continuously scrolling song suggestions each night’s audience might request with a yell or applauding approval.
“It happened organically in April 2017, at Space in Evanston. It was sold out and we were playing a prepared setlist, and the reaction was great. After we finished, the audience wanted us to keep playing. We just asked them what songs they wanted to hear. We played ‘American Girl’ by Tom Petty and a few others, and they went bananas, they loved it. Immediately afterward, my manager, Mark Stein—who lives in Glencoe and has been going to Ravinia for years—came to me with the idea to shift our show to an all-request format, and it grew out of that. Now, it’s not really a concert, it’s a party,” he asserted.
“It happened organically
…
shifting our show to an all-request format. Now,
it’s not
really a concert,
it’s a party.”
Playing with Springsteen for the last five decades has schooled Weinberg for such an improvised show. Springsteen regularly veers off the evening’s prepared setlist and calls musical “audibles,” which Weinberg must be ready to play. During these moments, Springsteen shoots Weinberg a sly, devilish look, completely confident Weinberg will begin any off-the-cuff choice with the correct, rocking rhythm.
“It’s different being the leader than part of an ensemble like The E Street Band. As a bandleader I’m always thinking ahead. When I play with Bruce, I’m in the absolute moment. It’s Zen-like, time slows down. You have to be ready for what he may do. But drumming-wise, it’s the same energy.
“I like to play these classic songs like they sound on the record. It’s not a jump-off point; we play them close to the original—not exact, but just like we did it as young kids when we learned them by listening with headphones and playing them over and over. As a drummer, I have to know how to play a little of this and that. Thankfully, I’m able to do that,” Weinberg affirmed.
“It’s my job to entertain, to play my best. When I play drums, I take no prisoners. As someone described, I play the drums as if they owe me money. I like that,” Weinberg offered with a laugh.
At a Springsteen concert, Bruce calls ’em, Max plays ’em.
But during Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, you call ’em, and he plays ’em.
“There are some songs people always want to hear, like “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, “Surrender” or “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick, or “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. That’s my tribute to John Bonham. No one played like Bonham. I heard “Good Times, Bad Times” in 1969 when I was in junior high, and it changed drumming for me. It’s challenging, but it’s fun to play. We play 25–30 songs and it’s a different show every single night.
“Our song list is evolving. The songs we’re playing now are different from those when we first started this show in 2017. We’re ‘in concert’ with the audience. We’re one pulsing organism. The audience gets to hear the songs they want to hear, and I get to play the songs I grew up playing in bar bands. We play songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and sprinkle in some Bruce songs too,” he said.
Weinberg’s brave, challenging format keeps him and his band on their toes, and the audience involved, engaged, and entertained.
“People like the participatory nature of it. Even if a song isn’t on our list, we’ll give it a shot. I’ve had this weird ability since I was a little kid—if I hear a song once or twice, I know the song. As a drummer, you’re like a hockey goalie, the last line of defense. You’ve got to know every song, or at least fake your way through it. [Laughs] In Jersey, that’s what you did. It’s a skill you develop and grow up with, playing five nights a week, six hours a night,” Weinberg enthused.
Weinberg philosophically reflects on those early days and how they shaped his future goals, ambitions, and accomplishments: “Growing up in a Jewish home and going to Hebrew school four or five times a week, in addition to regular school, I learned a Jewish concept that translates as ‘lighting the world.’ When you’re a young kid, you start to think, What is my approach to spreading the light? For me, it turned out to be drumming and getting people moving and dancing.
“And I work with Bruce Springsteen, who is the ultimate ‘Dance-Meister’ at getting people involved! When you’re dancing, you can’t be in a bad mood. You don’t think of the world’s problems or your own problems. You’re just having fun. My way of contributing to ‘light the world’ has been through music.”■
James Turano is a freelance writer and a former entertainment editor, feature writer, and columnist for national and local magazines and newspapers. He has written official programs for eight Elton John tours since 2003 and is also a Chicago radio personality and host on WGN 720AM.