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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We last checked in with Little Steven (Van Zandt) back in early 2018 (FTV: \u00a02-7-18) when we reviewed his second album with his \u2018other band\u2019, The Disciples of Soul. \u00a0We say \u2018other band\u2019 because Van Zandt\u2019s name has been more closely associated with his previous work with both Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Bruce Springsteen. \u00a0The Disciples of Soul began as a side project that put out two albums roughly fifteen years apart, the latest being 2018\u2019s <\/span>Soulfire<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Since we last checked in on him, Little Steven has taken his thirteen piece Disciples band on an 18 month world tour, recorded a soon to be released live album from that tour, and is in the process of wrapping up a new studio album that will up the Disciples\u2019 recorded output to four albums. \u00a0Surely Little Steven could be a member of the Rolling Stones in that he never sits still long enough to gather any moss. Near the end of 2018, Van Zandt sat down with <\/span>Blues Music Magazine<\/span><\/i> to clarify why one of the originators of what is termed \u2018The New Jersey Sound\u2019 of rock and roll has more recently been rubbing elbows with those in the realm of \u2018The Blues\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0About the time the <\/span>Blues Music Magazine<\/span><\/i> piece on Little Steven came out, I happen to catch a glimpse of a CNN report about a Los Angeles teacher\u2019s strike. \u00a0Lo and behold, who had linked arms and was marching along with the front line of strikers? Little Steven, of course. \u00a0This was not surprising when one considers that one of his many projects is an educational foundation (Teach Rock) he founded to reach school kids. \u00a0Teach Rock provides kids with lessons to help them make a connection between school and the real world. This is no fly-by-night publicity stunt designed to sell more records. \u00a0Little Steven is as passionate about education as he is music. The aim here is to excite both students and teachers about education via the history of music. The lessons that the Teach Rock Foundation have developed follow state educational objectives so they fit into just about any school curriculum. \u00a0\u00a0He very much wants the lessons to reach beyond the standard STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) by making sure that the Arts are included, which would make it a STEAM program. With materials that are applicable to teachers of in many disciplines, the lessons only require users to sign up to the Foundation\u2019s mailing list to use the lesson plans which are distributed free of charge at <\/span>www.teachrock.org<\/span><\/a> .<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Little Steven learned about the blues from bands like The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, John Mayall, and Paul Butterfield, just like a lot of other American kids. \u00a0As Van Zandt told <\/span>Blues Blast<\/span><\/i>,<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI never heard of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, or Bo Diddley before that. \u00a0I didn\u2019t know of any of the \u201850s pioneers. I got turned on by the first Stones album, \u00a0That\u2019s where I learned about Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, and Muddy Waters. That led me to the Southside of Chicago. \u00a0I focused my energies there. That was my main area . . . it\u2019s were the guys who influenced me as a guitar player came from.\u201d \u00a0Still, he picked up something else from The Rolling Stones about becoming a performing musician: \u201cThe coolest thing for me that changed my life was Mick Jagger performing. \u00a0He\u2019s the only performer I\u2019ve ever seen who didn\u2019t smile. The first time I saw him doing <\/span>Little Red Rooster<\/span><\/i> without smiling was the coolest thing I\u2019d seen. \u00a0I realized later that he took it out of show business and showed me that this was a lifestyle, and I thought that was gonna be my lifestyle, my life.\u201d \u00a0Little Steven may have found his calling, but there were a lot more lessons to be learned along the way. Van Zandt and Southside Johnny Lyon were in many ways pioneers who explored a lot of music while inventing what is now commonly known as \u2018The New Jersey Sound\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0According to Van Zandt, they got the idea to be more than just a rock band when they (Little Steven, Southside Johnny, and Bruce Springsteen) visited a nightclub in the backwoods of New Jersey to see the legendary soul singers Sam and Dave. \u00a0Southside and Little Steven had a revelation that night: \u201cWe\u2019re gonna be the white Sam and Dave. We\u2019d add horns, but with rock guitars.\u201d All they needed to do was fine tune the idea and the best way to do that was to play. Van Zandt continued the story: \u00a0\u201cThere had been a storm, and the roof of a club had caved in. They were gonna close at the end of August, so [before they closed the club] they wanted to milk a few more bucks from the summer tourist. We said we\u2019d play for the door, but we\u2019d play what we want. \u00a0They were closing in three weeks so, as long as they didn\u2019t have to pay us, they didn\u2019t give a (expletive deleted) as long as we brought friends to buy beer [laughs]. We come and do Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, and Stax album tracks. The first week, we had 15 people and then 150, then 250, and then they fixed the roof and we ended up playing three nights a week. \u00a0They expanded the club to a 1,000 people, and we did those three nights for a year or two. That was a hellova residency. That was the Asbury Jukes. Those kinds of residencies are where you really make your bones.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In previous interviews, Van Zandt has made the point that it this is exactly the kind of dues that too many musicians fail to pay today when they do more promotion on digital platforms than performing in real clubs. \u00a0It is also the reason why Little Steven got involved with the IBC (International Blues Challenge). It allows him to work with young musicians in workshops around the world. He helped rescue the floundering Notodden Blues School in Norway which has since been rechristened Little Steven\u2019s Blues School. \u00a0There he meets and works with young Norwegian musicians on what he calls \u2018The Five Crafts\u2019. To be a musician, Van Zandt encourages his young players to 1) learn their instrument, 2) analyze their favorite records and pick them apart to see how they are crafted, 3) perform with like minded musicians which will lead them to, 4) understanding music composition and eventually, 5) to an understanding of the recording process. \u00a0It is the template that certainly worked for his career and other musicians can take their career to whatever level they wish with these tools. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s all about controlling your own destiny as much as you can,\u201d says Van Zandt. \u00a0\u201cAs far as learning your craft, you are in total control of that. You can go in your room and practice and practice until your fingers bleed, \u00a0You don\u2019t need a lawyer to do that. You don\u2019t need a manager. We can always find a local club or bar with a bad night. That\u2019s consistent all over the world. \u00a0You go to the guy and say, \u2018We\u2019ll take the door, you take the bar, and let us do our thing.\u2019\u201d Little Steven was talking to <\/span>Blues Blast Magazine<\/span><\/i> was because of his deep held belief that all music is rooted in the blues. \u00a0One may play other styles, but if you go back and study the origins of different forms of popular music, you always come back to the blues. \u00a0As he told <\/span>BBM: \u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u201cI don\u2019t know who led to who, but to me it was all research about learning my profession. \u00a0I\u2019d go back and learn where they came from and study Charley Patton, Son House, Rev. Gary Davis. \u00a0Then Eric Clapton was going on and on about Robert Johnson, I guess I better listen to him. You try and learn from where they were coming from as much as you could even if there was no practical use for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Van Zandt expanded his thoughts on how playing music evolves by using Eric Clapton\u2019s career as an example. \u00a0Little Steven pointed out that in Clapton\u2019s early work with John Mayall\u2019s Bluesbreakers and with Cream, he used a different guitar tone on almost every song they recorded. \u00a0Once he began focusing on singing more and more, Clapton used his voice as the primary vehicle in his songs and the guitar playing became much less varied and he was less concerned about tone (even though he is still a great guitar player). \u00a0Again Van Zandt returned to the idea that he wasn\u2019t just going to be a musician in a band, he was developing a lifestyle: \u201cTo me, pop music is about individuals, and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll is about bands. Pop singers were saying, \u2018Look at me.\u2019 Bands were communicating friendship, family, and brotherhood.\u201d \u00a0Van Zandt was not as concerned with following trends as he was with making his lifestyle and extension of his artistic expression.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Before he was \u2018Little Steven\u2019, Zandt lived in Asbury Park, New Jersey with John Lyon and another future E-Street band member, Garry Tallent. \u00a0They learned their instruments via Chess Records made by Little Walter, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Howlin\u2019 Wolf. Little Walter\u2019s band, The Jukes, gave them the template for their band name, The Asbury Jukes. \u00a0\u2018Southside Johnny\u2019 took his moniker to honor the Southside of Chicago, home of the Chess sound that they immersed themselves in. \u2018Little Steven\u2019 took on his name in honor of his blues music mentor, Little Walter. Before all of this took hold, the teenage Van Zandt related to The Beatles, but, \u201cWe couldn\u2019t do that. \u00a0However, four months later (after The Beatles broke into America), the Rolling Stones came over and they made it look easier. They didn\u2019t have great harmonies, their hair was messed up, and they wore different clothes. I learned all about the blues through the Rolling Stones, John Mayall, and Paul Butterfield.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Little Steven has been building the Teach Rock program for a decade and has dedicated much time into reaching kids through music. \u00a0As he explained the program to <\/span>Blues Blast<\/span><\/i>: \u00a0\u201cWe started writing the history of Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll for schools ten years ago. \u00a0Music is a nice common ground for teachers to immediately establish a rapport with their students. \u00a0Instead of saying, \u2018Take that IPod out of your ear,\u2019 we say, \u2018What are you listening to?\u2019 We have 100 lessons at teachrock.org that teachers can use for free. \u00a0All the videos and records are properly licensed, and they meet the state standards. Statistics show that if students like one single class or one single teacher, they will go to school. \u00a0If they come to one class that they like and that class keeps them in school, we want to be that cool class they look forward to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the Disciples\u2019 2018 tour (called <\/span>The Soulfire Teacher Solidarity Tour 2018)<\/span><\/i>, Little Steven put aside 500 free tickets for teachers and provided a one hour Professional Development workshop explaining how to integrate the Teach Rock program into their schools. It seems that Little Steven does indeed have a passion and vision for the power of music to drive education. \u00a0We like to think that WOAS-FM has been contributing to the same mission during our 40 year history. <\/span><\/p>\n The 2019 Disciples of Soul tour visited Milwaukee this past May. \u00a0While I would dearly have loved to be in the audience for this show, there were too many loose ends that needed to be wrapped up for our 40th anniversary \/ birthday party \/ volunteer appreciation open house that the public is invited to on June 6 from 2:30 to 4:30 pm . \u00a0Drop by our studios in the OASD building (if you find the library, you will find us) on Parker Avenue. Stop in and have some cake and ice cream with us and look over the scrapbook of photos we have assembled from across the years. <\/span><\/p>\n It is hard to believe how fast the time has flown since our last swarray when WOAS hit 30! <\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Little Steven and the DofS doing\u00a0Forever.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>