Exclusive Interview: Stevie Van Zandt’s TeachRock Milestone

Stevie Van Zandt called to personally tell us about October 17 at the Count Basie Center for Performing Arts in Red Bank. For it is on that day that the inaugural TeachRock Teachers Hall of Fame Celebration will be hosted by actor-writer Pete Davidson in honor of educators nationwide. Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist Tom Morello, The E Street Choir, comedians Jeff Ross and Rickonia plus Kool & The Gang will all be on hand. Earlier that day, Van Zandt will be inducted into the Count Basie Center Walk Of Fame. The phone rings. It’s Stevie.

Stevie Van Zandt: Mike?
The Jersey Sound: Yeah, hey Stevie, thanks for calling. So I understand you moved back to New Jersey.
SVZ: Yeah, man, I’ve come full-circle here.

TJS: How long did you live outside of the state?
SVZ: Oh, I don’t know, a mere 50 years or so.

TJS: And where were you?
SVZ: Greenwich Village.

TJS: And where are you now?
SVZ: Monmouth County

TJS: You’re being honored October 17. Only Count Basie, Bon Jovi, Darlene Love, The Smithereens, The B-52s and Dramarama are on the Basie Center’s Walk of Fame of New Jersey artists. Now you. How does that make you feel?
SVZ: It’s a nice way to start the day.

TeachRock

TJS: That’s it?
SVZ: Yeah, because, more importantly, is what happens after that. The TeachRock fundraiser for my foundation, my education curriculum, is really what I’m all about. Halls of Fame are nice, walks of fame are nice, certainly nothing wrong with that, but, y’know, what really matters is making damn sure this next generation of kids gets educated the right way and that’s exactly what we’re attempting to do with TeachRock.org. We’re teaching kids the basic fundamental disciplines—science, technology, engineering and math—through music. And we’re doing it according to significant standards, following all the right rules. Kids wonder why they’re in that classroom because they think they have all the answers already in their pocket. You gotta give ‘em a reason to be there. And that’s what we do.

TJS: It’s known that kids who study music do better in all the other subjects.
SVZ: That’s a fact. I have tremendous gratitude for those who taught me. And I’m really concerned about this particular generation being lost! There’s such a huge generation gap going on. I thought ours in the 1960s was the biggest gap in history but, I swear to God, this one is bigger. It’s just more subtle. Back then, we were at war with our parents. It was so obvious. This one may not be that obvious, but man, this generation is faster than us, smarter than us, and we better damn well get their attention fast. You can imagine what these teachers go through every day. You know! You’re married to a music teacher, right? You experience it first-hand.

TJS: Wow, you remembered. She comes home every day with such stories!
SVZ: Yes, it’s always about the students. But what October 17 is really about are the teachers. To be honest, we designed this thing to be for and about teachers everywhere. We want to give tools to the teachers just to help them get through their day and make it fun, man. Hey, if it’s fun for the teachers, then they’re going to pass along that energy to the students. That’s how we figure it. And it’s happening. I think I told you. We hit a million students and 80,000 teachers so far. And now, on Oct. 17, we’re starting a Teacher Hall of Fame. It’s a new idea. This will be the inaugural event. We’re hoping people who care about education will come and donate generously. Every penny goes into spreading the word, man. Teaching teachers how to teach. And we’re doing quite well.

TJS: You were at the New Jersey Hall of Fame recently inducting Eddie Brigati of The Rascals. Eddie is filled with angst over how he was treated and how his brother, the late David Brigati, never got the respect or credit he deserved for his Rascals involvement of writing, arranging and singing. I had an idea to make David Brigati an official Rascal posthumously like the BeeGees did with Andy Gibb but apparently [keyboardist] Felix [Cavaliere] said no.
SVZ: Felix is not a good guy. OK? Let’s just keep it at that for today.

Little Steven Production By Michael Ryan Kravetsky

TJS: You said something of a similar nature when your Rascals Broadway musical Once Upon A Dream ended prematurely. There was no reason for it ever to stop as everybody who saw it loved it! You said Felix acted like a spoiled rock star instead of a team player so you pulled the plug.
SVZ: It was just one of those things, man. Fooled the hell out of me. He pretended to be my friend…but he wasn’t. I considered that musical the best work I had ever done. I’ll be proud of that forever. Whoever had a chance to see it, I’m glad they had that experience.

TJS: Eddie Brigati went on and on about you and your wife Maureen were his patron saints and he will always love you for it. He loved the fact that your motivation was purely musical. You loved those songs. Period.
SVZ: Oh yeah, Bigtime. But I’ll say this. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. You never know. We still may make a movie. We’ll see.

TJS: By every indication, it was some night. Tommy James told me he had a great time with you singing “Mony Mony.”
SVZ: How great is Tommy? I mean, really. He’s so over-the-top great. He should be in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. He’s one of the most under-rated artists ever. The critics who run the Hall tend of be a bit elitist sometimes when it comes to the pop stars. They got no problem with the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons of the world but there seems to be a little bit of prejudice against the pop stars who deserve to be in. Certainly Tommy James is one of them, along with Paul Revere & The Raiders and Herman’s Hermits. So what if they made their living in the pop world? Hey, once upon a time, it was ALL the pop world. There’s no reason to be prejudiced against those guys. Tommy James made great records. Period. Plus, Tommy’s a great producer. He’s a great arranger. He’s a great songwriter. So so under-rated. Most people only know his hit singles but get into his albums! Man, this cat is the real thing!

TJS: And when he married his manager, Carol Ross (who taught me publicity when I worked for her after leaving the Aquarian Weekly), I considered it one of the happiest rock’n’roll stories in years.
SVZ: Yeah yeah, I totally agree. Carol’s the greatest. We knew them separately also. But seeing them come together was just so wonderful!

TJS: Boy are you going to feel good when you wake up October 18. You’ll probably remember October 17 for the rest of your life.
SVZ: I look forward to that. I think it’s sold-out, I don’t know. It’s going to be so much fun. I bet Bruce will stop in. It’s gonna be one of those nights where all of our friends gather for TeachRock.org, something I consider the most important project of my life. This is the legacy I leave behind. Hopefully it’ll be expanded enough to be permanent. Once everybody starts realizing how successful it is, I expect nothing less than to completely transform the education system in this country, which I think we need. I think every teacher would agree with me. That’s our goal, man.