'The Sopranos'
Steven Van Zandt is TV's rocking mobster and "Extra" talked to him about jumping from the E-Street Band to the Bada Bing. Bruce Springsteen and Tony Soprano, both New Jersey bosses, call this guy their right hand man.
This week, "Extra" caught up with Van Zandt at his other gig. He hosts "Little Steven's Underground Garage." It is a critically acclaimed, weekly syndicated radio show featuring nothing but rock ‘n' roll.
A lifelong gangster movie buff, Van Zandt reveals he never even considered acting until "Sopranos" creator David Chase called him out of the blue after seeing him give a speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Van Zandt says, "There was a Jersey connection there or something. He called and said, ‘You want to be in my new TV show?’ I said, ‘I don't know, I’m not really doing anything. Maybe I’ll check it out.’"
Van Zandt even helped develop his character, suggesting that Silvio run his own nightclub, a 1940's Copacabana type of joint. But because the upstart show had a strictly limited budget, Van Zandt explains, "We turned it into a strip club and that's how the strip club thing happened."
Steven Van Zandt now stands as a legitimate contender for a Springsteen Grammy and a "Sopranos" Emmy next year.
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