Music legend Bruce Springsteen recently reckoned that younger musicians have it much harder nowadays, and reflected on the inner dynamics of his long-running E Street Band.
The life of professional musicians was never really a career path one chose for job stability and benefits but there seems to be a consensus among veteran high-profile musicians that the current state of affairs is radically different from when they were making their first steps, and not in a good way.
Al Di Meola recently noted how “there are no record companies that will support [young musicians] and help build a career like we had”, while Josh Homme said earlier this year that it’s “more difficult than ever to ride around in a van, and play six nights a week.”
In a new interview with BBC, The Boss said that “The day of the quote ‘rock star’ is in twilight”, adding:
“I wouldn’t want to be a young band starting today.”
Springsteen isn’t all doom and gloom on the topic, as he notes some young artists give him hope:
“But I’ve had some encouragement. My young friend, Zach Bryan, just sold out two stadium nights in Philadelphia, so there’s still some young people coming up.”
Springsteen also highlighted the secret behind the longevity of the E Street Band, which keeps going strong even after 52 years, saying:
“When we’re not playing, we rarely see each other. We’ve seen each other enough!”
The Boss said that it’s rare for bands to stay together for as long, suggesting that “the arc of most bands is to break apart.” He added:
“Even two guys can’t stay together. Simon can’t stand Garfunkel, Don couldn’t stand Phil Everly, and then you have the kids in Oasis… so the tradition carries on. It’s the nature of people to not get along, so that’s something you need to write into your projection of the kind of band you want to be in.”
“I don’t like drama. I don’t want people knocking heads. I don’t want to hear about a bunch of bull backstage. I don’t put up with any of that stuff. We weeded it out a long time ago. The band started out crazy and made its way to sanity.”
Disney+ released a documentary about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band titled “Road Diary” on October 25th.