| Max Weinberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 13 1951 |
| Origin | Newark, New Jersey, USA |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
| Years active | 1974 – present |
| Label(s) | Columbia |
| Associated acts |
Bruce Springsteen E Street Band The Max Weinberg 7 Late Night with Conan O' Brien |
Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality. He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
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E Street Band
Weinberg rose to success as the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, joining in 1974 after answering a newspaper ad that famously requested "no junior Ginger Bakers" in reference to 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 tendinitis, requiring seven operations on his hands and wrists. 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. Despite his injuries, he made a full recovery and continued to provide a solid foundation to the 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. Weinberg returned to school at Seton Hall University, completing the remaining 21 credits needed to attain his bachelor's degree. He then briefly attended Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, but withdrew before his first year was complete. Weinberg returned to the E Street Band when Springsteen re-formed the band in 1995, and again in 1999. In 2007, Weinberg started touring with the E Street Band again.
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 (played by Max's real-life wife, Becky). In the past several years, especially since the departure of Late Night co-host Andy Richter, Max's role in the show began to decrease; however, lately, it seems his appearances have increased substantially, especially during the monologue. He is also featured in several sketches, many of which portray him as a pervert. 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.
A memorable moment on Late Night occurred when Death From Above 1979 performed as the musical guest. As the end of the song neared singer/drummer Sebastien Grainger left his drum kit to sing at centre stage, and Max ran in and played with the band on Sebastien's kit to end the song.
Family
Max Weinberg comes from an extremely musical family. His sister Nancy Winston is a professional pianist and singer who is well known in New York City for her regular appearances at the Cafe Pierre, the Plaza Hotel, and other top piano rooms. Max played drums on Nancy's self-titled debut CD. Max and his family are season ticket holders and avid fans of the New Jersey Devils.
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. He also played drums on the Meat Loaf Album "Bat out of Hell" playing on the tracks Bat out of Hell, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth and Paradise by the Dashboard Light. He was the live drummer for 10,000 Maniacs in 1992 after their drummer Jerry Augustyniak was injured. He also had played with Death From Above 1979 on the Conan O'Brien Show.
References in popular culture
- In the "Futurama" episode "Xmas Story," Conan O'Brien guest starred as himself (as a head in a jar.) After finishing his comedy monologue, he said offstage, "Play me off, Max!" When we see Max Weinberg's head, it is nothing but a skull. Conan then says, "Looks like someone forgot to feed Max!"
