Bruce Springsteen Drops E Street Band Bombshell at Netflix Emmys FYC Event
Libby Hill
Good news for fans of the wild, the innocent and the E Street Band.
During his conversation with Martin Scorsese dissecting the nuances of performance and the creation of his Netflix variety special “Springsteen on Broadway,” Bruce Springsteen swung a — yes, wrecking ball — of epic proportions about his musical future.
While discussing with Scorsese how artistic creation is about capturing a splinter of the divine, the “Born to Run” artist used an apt example, displaying that even creative geniuses run into a spot of writer’s block every now and then.
“I’ve spent about seven years without writing anything for the [E Street Band]. I couldn’t write anything for the band. And of course, you think you’ll never be able to do that again,” Springsteen admitted. “It’s a trick every time you do it. But it’s a trick because [of] that factor that you can’t explain, cannot be self-consciously duplicated. It has to come to you in inspiration.”
Seven years would put Springsteen back in the days of the 2012 “Wrecking Ball” album and subsequent tour, which spanned 2012 into 2013 and resumed in 2014 as the “High Hopes” tour in support of a new album of the same name. If that math seems specious, keep in mind that the latter album was comprised of cover songs, outtakes, and new version of songs from previous albums and tours.
Mercifully, though, perhaps because America is actually the land of hope and dreams, it would appear that Springsteen’s writing drought has reached its conclusion. “About a month or so ago, I wrote almost an album’s full of material for the band,” he shared. “I know where it came from, but at the same time it just came out of almost nowhere. I had about two weeks of those little daily visitations. It was so nice. It makes you so happy. You go, ‘Fuck, I’m not fucked! There will be another tour!'”
“But you have to capture a little bit of the divine to do that,” he added.
From the horse’s mouth: Springsteen is not fucked. There will (eventually) be another tour with the E Street Band.
When that album and tour will be announced no one knows. For now, fans will have to settle for Springsteen’s 19th studio album, “Western Stars,” scheduled for release on June 14.
