Nils Lofgren: Uh, no. [Laughter] Basically, in a word, no.
The bottom line is we haven’t been together in over two years. Clarence is a devastating loss. He’s one of my best friends off stage. We spoke every week. I stood next to him for 27 years. We literally are just, you know, gotten together for two days and just kind of brush off the two years and figure out what band we’re going to be next. And the fact that there are shows booked in summer is beautiful. We’re all excited, but I mean, it’s way too early to tell. And we’re not even going there for, I don’t think, awhile. That’s not something you can do lightly. Like I say, with everybody, and Clarence was at the top of the list, there’s no Clarence 2. There’s no such thing. It’s a loss that you cannot replace. So what are we going to do? I don’t know. Whatever Bruce decides. He’s a master band leader. We’re all great band mates with a lot of opinions. And I’m sure over the next month or two, we’ll delve into it. But it’s not happening today. Today we’re just kind of look at each other in the face. I mean, I stay in touch with everyone on the phone, but it’s just exciting to look at each other and there’s a gratitude – and kind of a somber gratitude now that Danny’s gone and Clarence is gone. And it’s not just that. It’s just like you guys, I’m assuming, all of us in life, in and out of show business. When you get old enough, you start saying goodbye to people. I got a song Miss You, Ray that’s all about that kind of loss on my record. Life’s grand, man, but it gets rough. You start saying goodbye to family and friends more and more and they’re heavy hits. So this is as heavy a hit as we’re going to take as a band and what we’re going to do remains to be seen. I have complete faith that Bruce will come up with something. But let’s be very clear. We all know there is no Clarence 2 and there will never be. So what happens? I don’t know, man, and respectfully, down the road, when it comes to what goes on the next few months before shows start, that’s really information that should come from Bruce and Jon Landau, not me as a spokesman.
CJ: Yeah, we figured that would be the answer, but we had to try.
Nils Lofgren: Course you do, course you do.
TD: Nils I’ve got a question, out of the blue, do you think the E Street Band should be in the Rock n Roll hall of fame?
Nils Lofgren: Oh come on. A band like us, that’s still getting started – we’ve still got to do another 40 years before they will put us in the hall of fame.
TD: Okay, you’ve got to earn it.
Nils Lofgren: How silly. I got to admit, I’m still the new guy in the band. I’ve only been there 27 years with Patti, but all those guys, rightfully so, I think it sticks in their craw a bit and it’s a sore spot. I don’t want to speak for them, but I sympathize with them and even though I’m in the band I don’t. … Look, I left record companies 16 years ago. I’m kind of like an off the grid guy that never had a hit record, just singing, playing, making records, and trying to stay engaged, and I have successfully stayed engaged and thrilled and grateful for my musical career and the people that show up. And just ‘cause it’s 300 people instead of 30,000 people, I don’t care. I want to give ‘em the best show I can possibly give every night.
I think the E Street Band a long, long time ago belonged in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but look, there’s a lot of people who should be there that aren’t. I mean, Free should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Paul Rodgers’ first band obviously. It’s just politics and, you know, when they honor somebody I think that’s great, but when they forget to honor somebody, to me, I think it’s kind of the bureaucracy and politics of it. And I have a sense of humor about it. To me, I almost wear it as a badge of honor: Yeah, the E Street Band doesn’t belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fine. Come see us play. Tell me what you think. I don’t really care. Right now, as a planet, I’m a 60-year-old man and I’m not just a kid. I look around and we got a lot deeper problems than the E Street Band getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
And I got to promise you that for 27 years, I can guarantee you that there has not been one second where that lack of notoriety has hurt us on stage in front of an audience. Not for one second has it hurt us. And so, maybe, I know it hurts the other guys’ feelings a little more, but to me, I see it as a badge of honor. Yeah, right, we don’t belong in the Hall of Fame. Of course not. Go talk to the guys in the tuxedos. I’m sure they’ll have a good reason why we haven’t made it yet.
CJ: All right Nils, one last question before you go, in the tour coming up, is there an E Street band rarity that you would really like to see in the set list or your favorite to play live?
Nils Lofgren: Not, not my favorite to play live, no. I think on the Born in the USA tour we played Man at the Top once. It’s not my favorite song to play live, but it’s one of my favorite Bruce songs I’d love to see. But there’s hundreds of them, man, there’s so many great songs. And I love playing them all. The challenging ones, the fun ones, the simple ones, the complex ones. Bruce is a master songwriter and he’s still getting better. And it’s just mind-blowing to be in a band with 300 great songs to choose from and a guy to deliver them like that. So I’m down for it all. But that’s one song that comes to mind. Another one is Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart, which we play once in a while. In my first appearance as a session singer, Bruce threw me at his side as a harmony and I love that song. Of course, there’s a lot of great stuff on the Tracks record, but those two come to mind. And we have played them intermittently over the last 30 years.
CJ: All right good stuff. So Nils, you and I met in Dublin at a cigar store before The Rising Show out there, are you still a cigar fan?
Nils Lofgren: Oh, no, you know, I do that once in a while at Thanksgiving or Christmas with my brothers, but I kind of missed that boat these last holidays. Once in a while I’ll take a few puffs at a special with my brothers, but I’m not really a cigar fan. I’m a singer so I should probably remain a distant fan of cigars and not get too close.
Thanks for letting people know about my record.
Stone Pony London
The SPL's Nils Lofgren Old School Intervew: Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
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