Max Weinberg has led an interesting life as a musician. He recorded and toured with Bruce Springsteen and it’s his snare shots that propel Bruce’s biggest hit, “Born In The USA.” When Springsteen disbanded his E Street Band in 1989, Weinberg tried a variety of things–producing records, session work, Law School, college drum clinics, even (according to Wikipedia) motivational speaking to corporate audiences–before becoming the band leader for Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” on NBC in 1993, a job he held for 17 years.
Now, in what Weinberg calls his “third act,” he has formed a 15-piece big band, appearing at the Englert Theatre Oct. 22. Weinberg was in Italy when I spoke to him about his current project and where it fits into his career.
Comparing playing with a big band versus a rock band, he said “it’s a challenge. This isn’t easy music to play.
“I was a rock drummer first,” he said, “I started playing with big bands when I did one-man appearances with college groups–I’d do a drum clinic and rehearse with their Jazz groups and then we’d put on a concert.”
He was excited to be touring as the leader of his own big band. “Whatever I do, I always strive for excellence,” he said.
What inspired Weinberg to form the band was his exposure in his youth to big band music on television and in concerts. He was a particular fan of drummer Buddy Rich’s band. When I asked him if he grew up thinking big band music was square, he said “Never! When I was growing up, my older brother took me into New York to see Broadway Musicals–Yul Brynner in ‘The King & I’ and Mary Martin in ‘Peter Pan’–and I loved them. I appreciated Broadway music, big band Jazz–anything that was really well done, that was great entertainment.”
I asked him about taking on the expense of touring with a big band and he laughed and said, “Duke Ellington said ‘an artistic success outweighs any financial loss.’ It is expensive to tour, but I’m lucky to be in the position to do it. And I view this as a start-up business; I plan to keep going with it. I think it can make money eventually.”
Weinberg has worked with a variety of arrangers to write charts for the big band and mentioned his trumpeter Brian Paresh as having contributed several arrangements. “We also do a few Count Basie numbers and an adaptation of Basie’s version of Steve Allen’s ‘This Could Be The Start of Something Big.’”
The band will also play a medley of vintage television show theme songs. “Back in the ‘60s, every show had a theme song that played out over the credits for a couple of minutes, and there was some great music written for them.”
About acting in the comedy bits on “Late Night,” he said, “I was always happy to do it, I enjoyed it. I guess being a drummer, timing had something to do with it.” Of what became a staple “Late Night” bit, cutting to Weinberg for a reaction shot, he said “The first time it happened, they cut to me for a reaction, and I didn’t have anything to say, I was just deadpan, and it got a laugh, and if you do something that gets a laugh on television, you’re going to do it again.”
Despite being in one of the most famous bands in the world, and being on television every weeknight for nearly two decades, Weinberg seemed genuinely eager to be coming to Iowa to play.
We talked about contemporary music and, maybe because I was calling from Iowa, he singled out Slipknot for praise, saying the drummer Joey Jordison was a great player. “Actually, Slipknot was a big influence on my son [Jay] becoming a drummer,” he said. He’s been impressed by the technical skill of heavy metal drummers, “even if it’s not my thing particularly I can appreciate anything done really well.”
I asked him about his reputation for being a hard-hitting drummer. He said, “I don’t really hit that hard. But to make a band jump you have to have a certain snap to your playing. I studied with Joe Morello, the drummer for the Dave Brubeck Trio, and he taught me some techniques for getting a lot of different effects on the drums without having to move your hands much. Think about playing with impact instead of just playing loud. I’m trying to move people, to get them to think with their bottoms.”
“If people want to have a fun evening hearing a great band, tell them to come on down.”
