MAY 2004

Mixed Bag Radio host, Pete Fornatale, recently sat down with Southside Johnny and asked him about some of his friends . . .

PF: What's it like for you when you turn on late night television and HBO on a Sunday night and see your guys doing all of this TV stuff?

SSJ: You mean Conan and The Sopranos? The one thing that I came to realize years ago that everybody from the Asbury Park area was such a real character. Like La Bamba, like Bobby he was completely insane. Steven (Steven Van Zandt, who portrays Silvio Dante on The Sopranos) was always this bizarre larger-than-life person, so it makes sense that he's a bizarre larger-than-life person on TV. They're not normal people!

PF: Give me a quick story on each of these four names. First, La Bamba.

SSJ: I remember La Bamba when he first joined the band. This is the first day he was going to be in the band. He lived with his folks in Philadelphia at the time. When we picked him up on the tour bus, he says, "I'm really glad to be in the band!" We had a couple of rehearsals, but hadn't played any dates yet, and he borrowed $40 from me.
He left the bus and came back and had a brand new hat. He borrowed money from me to buy a new hat before he played one note in a live show. And it was a great hat! I couldn't yell at him.

PF: How about the other Juke who is also in the Max Weinberg Seven, Mark "The Love Man" Pender?

SSJ: I just keep waiting for his head to explode. He plays that trumpet so hard!

PF: How about a Little Steven story?

SSJ: Steven really is that kind of guy. When we were kids together, teenagers, we all lived in a house together. It was Albany Al, Johnny Hot Keys, Miami Steve Van Zandt and me, Southside Johnny, all living in this three-bedroom apartment in Asbury Park.
We got food stamps. Somebody scammed it -- I think Al called the food stamp people. So we used to get food stamps. Steven would go to the Greek place next store, trade in the food stamps for fifty cents on the dollar, take the money, and go to the racetrack and win money.
We took that money and we financed part of the first album (I Don't Want To Go Home) with some of the money he won at the racetrack!

PF: Tell me something about Bobby Bandiera.

SSJ: I remember Bobby, after hearing the first song I thought, "This guy is really great on guitar and singing." I asked Bobby if he wanted to go on the road and he said, "Let's go! Can we leave tomorrow?" I knew he was my kind of guy!

They've been together and on the road ever since!

The tour bus pulls into the Stephen Talkhouse on May 15th. Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes will perform a benefit concert for the Stella Maris School music program. Call the Talkhouse at 631-267-3117 for tickets. Pete Fornatale and Mixed Bag Radio can be heard on XM Satellite Radio beginning later this month. Visit www.mixedbagradio.com to learn more about the show and to see exclusive video clips of past guests.