Max Weinberg
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Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an acclaimed American drummer and television personality.
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[edit] E Street Band
He was born in Newark, New Jersey and rose to success as the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, joining in 1975 after answering a newspaper ad that famously requested "no junior Ginger Bakers" in reference to Ginger Baker's long drum solo reputation. Weinberg's consistent beat solved the E Street Band's drumming instabilities.
He suffered an acknowledged "drumming slump" around 1980, as well as repetitive stress injury and tendonitis requiring seven operations on his hands and wrists and his having to freeze his hands in order to play. [1]. Upon recovery, he released a popular and acclaimed book on rock drummers and rock drumming entitled The Big Beat and promoted it through a tour of northeast universities. Nevertheless, he made a full recovery and continued to provide a solid foundation to the E Street Band until Springsteen dissolved it in 1989.
Speaking publicly about the aftermath of the E Street Band dissolution, Weinberg has claimed that he resolved to never again play the drums. [2] Weinberg returned to school, completing his remaining 21 credits needed to complete his bachelor's degree from Seton Hall University. He then briefly attended Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, where an epiphany on the nature of life happiness during first year property class caused him to withdraw on the spot.
[edit] Return to performing
Weinberg went into the music business, joining a distribution company as a business partner. He soon realized that business life was unfulfilling, and that, for personal reasons, he needed to once again be in the music performance sector. He auditioned to be the principal drummer on the Broadway show The Who's Tommy, but was selected as the second alternate substitute percussionist. That night, Weinberg had a chance sidewalk meeting outside Carnegie Deli with newly selected Late Night host Conan O'Brien, where Weinberg spoke about his ideas for music on the show.
In 1995, Max drummed on two of Johnnie Johnson's songs: "I'm Mad" and "She Called Me Out of My Name," on Johnny's 1995 album Johnnie Be Back.
Since the inception of Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1993, he has been the leader of that show's band, The Max Weinberg 7. In the show, Weinberg's mellow persona is often a counter balance to Conan's sometimes excited and sarcastic nature. However, in many comedy bits, Weinberg is presented as a twisted character with various sexual fetishes and homicidal tendencies. In one exchange between Max and Conan, Max jokingly stated that he had once killed a roadie for taking a can of Mountain Dew from Weinberg's personal refrigerator.
When Conan O'Brien was host of Saturday Night Live on March 10, 2001, his monologue featured a visit from the SNL studio to the studio for Late Night With Conan O'Brien, where Conan discovers Weinberg engaged in sexual intercourse with a woman on his desk. In the past several years, especially since the departure of Late Night co-host Andy Richter, Max has had less of a presence in the show however lately it seems his appearances have once again increased especially during the monologue. Once Springsteen reunited the E Street Band in 1999, Weinberg began taking leaves of absence from the show in order to go out on tour. Springsteen made appearances on the O'Brien show in 1999, 2002, and 2006.
[edit] Other work
Weinberg is the author of The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock's Greatest Drummers (1991), a series of interviews with drummers from all eras, as well as a companion series of CDs released on Rhino Records. The Max Weinberg 7 released a self-titled album in 2000.
[edit] External links
- Max Weinberg Bio at Greater Talent Network (Speakers Bureau)
- Max Weinberg as drummer double in Jamesons Irish Whiskey advert
