In a recent chat with Brazil’s Headbangers News, Jay Weinberg talked about filling in for his father, Max Weinberg, at a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band show on June 22 in Barcelona, Spain.
The drummer shared the differences in how he played with Slipknot, Suicidal Tendencies, and Springsteen:
“It’s interesting, because, yes, they are very different styles of music, but to me, it’s life music — it’s music for your life. The passion is all the same. I don’t really discern too much between any one of ’em. It all feels like it comes from the same place within me to be a part of it. So, I apply the same ferocity and intensity and passion that I do for Suicidal’s music as I did for Slipknot, as I did for Bruce.”
Weinberg further reflected on his experience with Springsteen:
“To get the opportunity to play with Bruce about a week ago in Barcelona, that was incredible. For Bruce to basically say, like, ‘All right, it’s Saturday night in Barcelona. We’re gonna use a shot of that energy’ that I brought to the song ‘Radio Nowhere’, that was a true honor. I hadn’t played with them in 15 years. But that’s my family; it doesn’t get more family than that. And I truly love everybody on that tour… I get to watch my dad and his friends become superheroes up there. And that’s just an amazing opportunity.”
What Did Springsteen Think About Weinberg?
Jay temporarily filled in for his dad during several shows on the 2009 ‘Working On A Dream’ tour because Max was busy as the bandleader on ‘The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien.’ Still, Bruce had doubts about him in the first place. Jay said in an interview with DannyWimmerPresents last year:
“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?’”
The musician 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.”
In November 2023, Slipknot announced on Instagram that they were parting ways with Weinberg due to a creative decision. In January, Weinberg joined Infectious Grooves, replacing Brooks Wackerman, and played his first show with them on March 23, 2024. Around the same time, he also joined Suicidal Tendencies, taking over from Greyson Nekrutman.
You can watch the rest of his interview below.