I had a ten-piece band when I was 21 years old, the Bruce Springsteen Band. This is just a slightly expanded version of a band I had before I ever signed a record contract. We had singers and horns.

An unfulfilled life makes a hard man.

That's what being a front man is all about - the idea of having something supple underneath you, that machine that roars and can turn on a dime.

Is there anybody alive out there?

The Clash were a major influence on my own music. They were the best rock 'n' roll band. Thanks, Joe.

Yeah, I had gay friends. The first thing I realized was that everybody's different, and it becomes obvious that all of the gay stereotypes are ridiculous.

I grew up with a very big extended family, with a lot of aunts. We had about five or six houses on one street.