The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria to start Bruce Springsteen tribute band
The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria is starting his own Bruce Springsteen tribute band, named Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Band.
The actor and comedian, known for voicing characters including Moe, Apu and Chief Wiggum, will lead the band for the first time on August 1 at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge, with all profits going to the Four Through Nine Foundation, a social justice charity. Get tickets for that show here.
The band have said they will play a “setlist packed with Springsteen classics and deep cuts, delivered with Azaria’s unique flair and the band’s top-notch musicianship.”
Azaria himself has said: “I’ve never worked harder preparing for any role than I did in perfecting a singing vocal impression of Bruce. I can’t think of a better way to spend my time and use my passion for voices than playing these songs for a crowd that loves them and lovingly tribute Bruce, while raising money for folks who need it.”
Last year, Azaria shared how his friend, the late Friends actor Matthew Perry, helped him to get sober.
“We met almost 40 years ago, and he was, by far, the funniest friend I ever had,” Azaria wrote. “He also was the person who helped me get sober.”
“Matthew quit booze a few years before. He struggled with it, for sure. I didn’t need rehab, but I knew I had a very serious problem, so I called Matthew and asked him to take me to a meeting.”
Azaria said he went to a gathering in Brentwood, California, where he was left “daunted” by all the people in the room. “And he looked at me and said in his Matthew, half-joking, very loving way: ‘It’s something, isn’t it? God is a bunch of drunks together in a room.’”
After not initially understanding what Perry meant, Azaria said he now “thinks of that phrase every single day”.
Springsteen, meanwhile, is currently on a UK and European tour, which kicked off earlier in the month in Cardiff and will wrap up with two climactic shows at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 25 and 27.
A new concert documentary featuring The Boss is also on its way: Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will be coming to Disney+ and Hulu before the end of the year.
A Springsteen biopic titled Deliver Me From Nowhere is also currently in pre-production. The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White will portray the musician and it is set to be directed by Scott Cooper, who also helmed Crazy Heart, Black Mass, Antlers and more. Springsteen is said to be actively involved in the project.
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Max Pilley
NME
