by EVAN BLEIER

The World According to Steven Van Zandt

Before he hit the road with Springsteen, we caught up with the 72-year-old to discuss how he preps for touring, the launch of his new brand and the legacy of The Sopranos nearly 25 years after the show’s debut.

InsideHook: What made you get into the wellness business with the Underground Apothecary? Steven Van Zandt: During the pandemic, we kept hearing the doctors talk about how our immune systems have become so vulnerable and so weak. A friend of mine has a company that produces organic, raw materials like ginger and kava and turmeric. We thought we’d try to make some healthy products and infuse them with various things to help the immune system to maybe change some people’s habits. 

IH: With the work you are doing on that project, how did you prepare for the tour? SVZ: With previous tours, I’ve always boxed for a couple of months. I figured out that one round of boxing equals about 15 minutes on stage. You try and build up your endurance and get to about 12 rounds. Twelve rounds equals about three hours on stage. Anything more than that, your adrenaline's going to take over anyway.For pure endurance, I found that boxing is the closest thing to rock and roll.

InsideHook: How much Sopranos-related stuff are you still involved in? SVZ: I stay very close to [show creator] David Chase even though he moved to LA. We run into each other now and then. Tony Sirico, who we just lost, would come to my Little Steven’s Policeman’s Ball every year and Vinny Pastore usually hosts it. So, I see a couple of them now and then that whole reunion thing brought a lot of us together for the first time in many years.

InsideHook: Between The Sopranos and Springsteen, you’ve become synonymous with New Jersey right? SVZ: They were 20 years apart, but I actually witnessed New Jersey becoming fashionable twice in a lifetime. I’m very lucky to have been part of both of those things and a bunch of other things. You don’t really dwell on it. I’m very proud of it all, but let’s just try and keep moving forward. That’s the whole trick in life. Just keep the quality level high with whatever you’re doing and keep finding something new to be interested in.

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