What Bruce Springsteen Thinks of Hank Azaria’s E Street Cover Band – ryan
The Boss apparently has thoughts on Hank Azaria’s tribute band.
During the April 16 episode of Todaythe actor/comedian appeared on the show with his Bruce Springsteen, where they performed the rock legend’s 1984 hit “Dancing in the Dark.”
But before their set, Azaria, 60, revealed that Springsteen himself knows about his cover band, the EZ Street Band.
Hank Azaria and The EZ Street Band/Instagram
“He heard about it,” the Brockmire alum said, laughing. “He and his wife Patti (Scialfa) and I, we share a dentist friend.”
Azaria then explained that Springsteen “texted me one day” and asked to see his “favorite video” of the band performing.
“I sent them ‘Thunder Road,’” he said. “If I knew Patti was in his chair at the time, I wouldn’t have sent it. But apparently she liked it, she showed it to Bruce.”
Co-host Dylan Dreyer noted that she heard that the “Born to Run” hitmaker “liked it, too.”
Azaria then imitated Springsteen’s voice and replied: “I heard he liked it. I hope so. I do hope so.”
He also shared that there’s a philanthropic element to his cover band — all of the money made goes to his charity Four Through Nine Foundationwhich he runs with his wife Katie Wright.
“Yeah, we play for the kids and we have a lot of fun,” said Azaria.
The Friends actor then detailed how the project began.
According to Azaria, he “felt a certain way” about turning 60.
“To cheer myself up, I said I’m gonna throw a reverse surprise party, tell all my friends — most of them are Springsteen fans — that I had a cover band coming, didn’t tell them that I was working for months to be the frontman, surprised them with it and we raised a lot of money that night for charity,” he said. “It went well, so we’re still doing it.”
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Gus Stewart/Redferns/Getty
In February, Azaria spoke about his love of Springsteen during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark.
“I’m from Queens. Queens is just like Asbury Park but less water,” he teased. “I’ve been imitating Bruce since I was a teenager. A lot of my early impressions are based on hero worship, Bruce being at the top.”
He then revealed that it was a “goal” of the bands to get the “Hungry Heart” performers to come to one of the EZ Street Band’s shows.