Safari Books Online is a digital library providing on-demand subscription access to thousands of learning resources.
- Create BookmarkCreate Bookmark
- Create Note or TagCreate Note or Tag
- DownloadDownload
- PrintPrint
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg, LA 1990
How tough was it for The E Street Band in the early days?
It was tough on the road, but we always had a great band. All my life I wanted to be in a great band, a band that left people blown away. When I first went on the road with Bruce I was 23—I’m 38 now—and the only thing I had was a set of drums. No car, no place to live. For me, it was the greatest life in the world. I was getting 50 to 75 bucks every week, playing six shows a week. I loved it. We rode the buses for ten years—long rides. Eight or ten hours on the bus was nothing to me. But it was tough, because physically you got worn down.
Now, I feel very privileged to have gone through such an experience, because if you make it today you don’t do that kind of thing anymore. There are still bands on the road, but not like it was then. Now you make your first record and if you’re successful you go straight to the arenas. We played for six years before we played an arena show.