E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt is the subject of the new documentary Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, premiering June 22 on HBO and streaming on Max.
Of course, the film delves into his work with Bruce Springsteen, and Van Zandt tells ABC Audio that director Bill Teck gives fans some new insight into the beginnings of their lifelong friendship and partnership.
“Bill really tells the story of those early Asbury days in a little bit more detailed way than most people even know,” Stevie shares. “And I think that’s going to be exciting for the fans before we even get into my other lives.”
The film features interviews with Van Zandt’s fellow musicians, including Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Jackson Browne, and Teck says they were all eager to participate.
“People had been waiting, like, their whole lives to talk about Stevie,” he says. “Like you could tell that people knew, you know, how much of a story there was. … They wanted to be part of telling it.”
The film also delves into Van Zandt’s career as an activist, music historian and more, some things people may not be aware of, and Van Zandt says he hopes the doc helps bring his work “to a larger audience.”
“That’s the nice thing about film, you know, it can find a way to tell the story and all these things you don’t have to categorize necessarily,” he says.
And while fans will certainly learn a lot about Stevie watching the doc, they won’t be the ones getting an education.
“I hope it explains my life to me,” Van Zandt jokes. “Because it doesn’t make any sense, really. You know, I was just following things according to my instinct and wherever it went.”
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