Van Zandt Says Springsteen Band Rehearsing More

(The New York Post) - Steven Van Zandt says Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are having to do more rehearsing than normal for their upcoming world tour because of the band's unusual new album.

"We usually only rehearse for a week or two," Van Zandt said at a premiere of his Netflix series, "Lilyhammer," in New York. "But the music is ... interesting and more difficult. And we have other things to figure out because of [the absence of the late] Clarence [Clemons]."

Advanced reports on the album, "Wrecking Ball," say it is rife with "new textures," "loops, electronic percussion" and "rhythms from hip-hop to Irish folk."

The band will play New York's Apollo Theater on March 9 for SiriusXM before its world tour.

Van Zandt said Springsteen was going to let him promote his new series while he toured each city with the band, adding, "Bruce has been very understanding."

At the Crosby Street Hotel screening of "Lilyhammer" on Wednesday, Springsteen was a VIP guest -- but finding him turned into a "Where's Waldo?" exercise.

He entered the hotel and quickly jumped into an elevator going up, even though the screening was in the basement, to avoid press, saying he did not want to be photographed without Van Zandt, who had yet to arrive.

Read more: The New York Post