In a recent interview with DannyWimmerPresents, Jay Weinberg reflected on his experiences with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. When asked about which was more ‘terrifying’ – joining Slipknot or playing with Springsteen – the drummer talked about his early performance with the singer. He said:
“Oh, boy! Both [were] very memorable experiences in my life, for sure. I mean, with Bruce – I credit Bruce and my dad for coming together for that idea to have me cover for him in that. They took a shot really in the true dark.”
Sharing Springsteen’s doubts about him, Weinberg recalled:
“Like, I had played my biggest show I had played at that time, maybe in front of fifty people max. So, they really took a shot in the dark only because I got up on stage to play one song, and that was the litmus test, and then when the scheduling conflict happened with my dad, Bruce was like, ‘Do you think Jay would be able to learn 400 other songs and do this on a longer-term basis?'”
He also added:
“So, they gave me that opportunity, and there was like my literal blood family as well as people who I’ve known since before I had memory for. I’ve known these people my whole life.”
Going back to the Slipknot drummer’s first gig with Bruce Springsteen, it was in 2008 when he replaced his father in the E Street Band for a show at Giants Stadium. Playing to an audience of 80 000 people, he remembered the moment in a 2021 chat with Sweetwater and described it as:
“Completely surreal. Yeah, I was 17, so it was about three years after I had started playing drums. But those three years to me was like it was kind of like self-imposed boot camp; it was all I did.”
Talking about the track he played with the band on stage, the drummer went on:
“I was fortunate enough to be on tour with them a lot of the time, so I’ve seen all this growing up, and so I knew a song like ‘Born To Run’ like the back of my hand.”
You can watch Jay Weinberg’s 2008 performance with Bruce Springsteen and his new interview in the videos below.