I have been a fan of Bruce Springsteen my entire adult life. When I was an unhappy high schooler living in Southern Indiana in the early 1970s, I ran away from home. For reasons which are too long to explain here, I headed to Chicago and in an effort to get warm talked my way into a club called The Quiet Knight. I knew the music of the headliners, an acapella group called The Persuasions. But I had never heard of the opener, a charismatic young rocker named Bruce Springsteen.
I instantly felt a connection to his music and have seen him live a number of times over the years. Sometimes at some very iconic and pivotal moments in his career (both at the Roxy and at Winterland). I don't always love his music (I could be happy never hearing his Woody Guthrie-inspired stuff ever again), but I've always been fascinated by his music and approach to his craft.
This Friday Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band premieres Friday, October 25thon Hulu and Disney+. And while on the face of it the documentary is a look behind-the-scenes of his latest world tour, longtime Springsteen documentarian Thom Zimny has put together a nuanced and often surprising rumination of lost friends and the undefinable something that happens when this specific group of musicians gets together.
I had the opportunity to speak with Zimny a few weeks ago about the documentary and the experience of having worked with Springsteen for over twenty years and it was a fascinating conversation. I'm admit to being jealous that he's developed such a connection with one of my favorite artists, but that is also what made the discussion so enlightening.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity:
One of the things that surprised me about Road Diary is that it doesn't have the usual framing you see in most music documentaries. There are a number of voiceovers from Bruce, but there are only a couple of times where he's really talking to the camera. I think that ends up working really well and it was not at all what I expected going into the film.
I'm so glad to hear that. I've been making films with Bruce for 24 years, and I always like to change up and play with the language of the storytelling, language being how do you shoot it, how do you edit it. With Road Diary, I wanted this feeling of being a bit of a fan who is having a conversation with Bruce.
The movie's voiceover serves as a vehicle for Bruce to tell his inner thoughts of the tour, the songs, the community, the fans. There's nothing like Bruce's writing, and his voiceovers bring the film out to a whole other level. The interviews I got with the band were really an important element in building, because the band stayed with me and sat for hours going through details of the current tour, the rehearsals, and also the E Street history. So what I ended up with are two different tools to play with in the editing room to tell this story.
Well, it's interesting with the band because there is that tension from both Bruce's side and the band's side of this relationship that, aside from family, is the most important relationship they're ever going to have. At the same time, they've worked apart as much or more than they worked together, and you can tell that there's some complicated emotions there.
I think the documentary gave me this opportunity to shoot some of the verite footage of the rehearsals, and in that you see people who have known each other for 50 years, and in that there's complications, and in that there's always an energy of conflict with creating. So I knew I had a sequence for the film right away when they were rehearsing one song and they needed to practice a little bit more and get into the groove. That told me that this was a story about coming back, of finding the band's sound again, and also a story of getting the new music out there.
When you're filming these documentaries, you have to keep your eyes open for the story points and also small moments that you need to examine, and in that you see the dynamics of the band, the relationships, and the history. 
You mentioned talking to the fans, and there are a couple of things in the documentary that seem, if not directly, to sort of obliquely address questions the fans have had about the tour, one of which is the set list. And as Bruce is talking about it, as the band's talking about the set list, and you're cutting to some earlier footage from 70s, 80s of the band, I realized that it finally made sense to me in that it's almost like a baseball player, a pitcher, who, when he's young, he's got the fastball, and he just keeps throwing the fastball and that's all he needs. And when he gets older, he's at that point, and his band's at that point where they need the slider, they need to mix it up. He can't run around stage all night, so he needs something else to have that tension with the audience, and he's using the set list and that story as a way to do it.
I think the set list serves as a vehicle to explore the history of Bruce's songwriting, but also to tell the viewer that this is a storyteller. This is a man creating an emotional arc with a group of songs. This is not just a concert that's coming back after the world was shut down from the pandemic.
These songs, when placed together in a certain way, are creating an emotional space that people are connecting to, and also it's a conversation that Bruce is having with his audience. That's what I started to see when he pieced together these songs. When you're looking at footage, sometimes you get obsessed about something, and you don't quite know why. And one of the things I really loved was seeing Bruce on the rehearsal day list the songs he wanted to practice, and in that list you get a sense of not only the vast body of work that he's created, but a repeated story, a theme coming up.
When it's grouped with new groups of songs, for example, Letter to You, you suddenly realize that, much like the Broadway show, he was crafting a musical narrative. That to me was something I wanted to chase and try to explain to an audience, and also use as a vehicle to expand upon his themes, his themes of mortality, his themes of brotherhood and friendship in the 50 years with the band. Bruce's energy is that he's one foot in the past looking at things and processing, and the other foot in the moment, getting ready for another tour.
That's an energy you just try to straddle and capture with your cameras, and it's not always easy to explain verbally.
One of the highlights of the film is the little segment with Patti, and her talking about her diagnosis. What was that conversation like? She certainly could have not talked about it at all, and no one would have known one way or the other what they didn't see.
I'm assuming that she and Bruce decided this is what we want to do, this is the way we want to do it. Can you talk a little bit about that?
I don't know of anything pre-planned in the way you're describing, because my experience with it was that I interviewed Patti for a long time, and we talked about a range of subjects. And in that, I got to the place of conversing about the tour, and also some of the recent shows that I saw her participate in.
And in that was the exchange about the details of why she wasn't touring. For me, that was just a really important moment, because it came from a place of being in and around the band for this amount of time, and having that level of trust. So it wasn't something that was ever discussed as an idea to reveal, and it came out of long hours of conversations.
And also, I think a relationship of working with Patti as an artist, and on her solo material, knowing her for a long time. And also just hearing her new music, which is just fantastic. She's got a fantastic record that she's making, and I'm helping with some of the visuals on that.
So the dialogue and the revelation came from that place of trust.
You know, the trust is an interesting issue. A lot of people have talked about how long you've worked with Bruce, 24 years. And I would suspect as a filmmaker, that's a double-edged sword. You build that trust with someone, and you're able to maybe push them in a way that an outsider couldn't. But on the other hand, there's always that danger of being too familiar with a person, of not wanting to show something because you know it'll be hurtful to them, or something you know they don't want to talk about.
I think that the relationship I've had creatively with John and Bruce has always given me a space to not feel like there's a list of things, or there's any sort of rules. When I approached Road Diary, I was just told to come on by and enjoy the rehearsals, and let's film a little bit and see what happens. There was never a discussion in any of the creative process to not try to capture the moment.
And that might be the band struggling with an arrangement, or some of the stories of the history of the past, or even Stephen's description and explanation of why the title music director came up now after 40 years. Within that is a space, but I also never feel a burden by the experience or the years, because I go to it as a job that I'm starting for the first time, every time they call me for a new project. I don't rely on the history to taint my energy to find story.
And the longer I know them, I do think there are positive things of having that time and trust, but also my desire to tell stories in a real way has never gone away, even with getting to know them more and being around them.
I think one of the things that's to me interesting about Bruce, and not knowing him at all, is that whether he's inwardly confident about it or not, he's always been outwardly confident about the fact that, these are the decisions I'm making, you just have to live with it. I'm not working with the E Street Band right now, I have other things, sorry. I'm not playing this song you like, I'm sorry, but this is my decision. And he seems pretty centered and confident about what he sees as his vision. And sometimes you see artists get torn up trying to do fan service or trying to do what they think will be a great selling record, and he seems sort of remarkably not affected by those pressures.
When you think about Bruce's commitment to his vision, I think in the film Road Diary, what happened for me in watching one of the interviews with John Landau, was that I saw this magical moment where John described that exact thing, his focus, his attention. When you're sometimes sitting across from someone, you hear something and you wear many hats the way I do, which is I'm an editor and a director and a producer. The editor in me knew that this was a moment that would end up in the film, when John describes Bruce's intention and focus, and that he is the maestro.
So I think John in the film and the other band members unpack and explain that there's moments where they might not have clarity on what Bruce is thinking, but at the end of the day, he's the band leader who is in control. He is the maestro. That is my favorite quote of the film, and it is a very telling moment, because the band was questioning why he didn't want to rehearse, and they took some action.
And at the same time, Bruce is trying to hold on to an energy, an energy of being spontaneous and embracing the idea of a lack of control, making mistakes. Right there, you have the creative forces of E Street, people who want to refine , like Stephen, the band musical director, and Bruce, who wants to keep it raw. And then John looking at it and saying, well, this is Bruce, the maestro.
So I think when you look at the vision of Bruce the artist, this film is giving you an opportunity to hear it from the guys who have been with him for 50 years, and I'm just glad to help unpack some of the mystery.
You mentioned that moment where he decides, I don't want to rehearse anymore, I'm leaving. And a lot of documentaries would have unpacked that a little bit more. Getting a quote from him saying, "oh, I just, I've done all the rehearsals I want to do, this is why, blah, blah, blah." Or, "You know, I'm tired and I'm X years old, and I just don't want to do this anymore." And there isn't any of that. It's just, he leaves and the band, as you said, moves on.
And there's not a lot of even discussion from the band side about why they're doing it other than Little Steven saying, "Well, we needed more rehearsal, and I stepped up." You don't try and explain the nuances of why it's happening, it just happens, and the documentary just goes on.
Well, thanks, because it's something I'm really grateful to have, which is that voice that sometimes doesn't go to the place of wanting to break it down as far.
I trust my audience. I trust my audience will take the next step and watch Steven work with the band and piece together this story. I don't interrupt that sort of like natural flow with Bruce cementing, "I didn't want to do it because of X." It's almost in some ways that I wait for a natural moment to happen.
And in the documentary, what happens is that Bruce turns to the band and goes, "We need to keep it messy. We got to have mistakes. That's what makes it live."
That's better than any sit down interview I could ever give. What is happening? Bruce is not aware of the cameras. He's talking to the band, and he's reassuring them to believe in the power of not being in control before a live performance, saying literally to them, "We're going to do our best, but we're going to embrace what the gods throw us."
That's the chaos of E Street that I've witnessed. And that's the energy of the show. 
Well, let me wrap it up with this question. You have spent a couple of decades working with him. And is there something about Bruce Springsteen or the band or anything in that world that you just find yourself thinking, "You know what, I still don't understand what's going on here. You know, I don't understand this relationship?"
I don't understand the motivation. I have spent all this time with him. And I still don't quite understand what's going on.
I think in the past 24 years, I've had all kinds of experiences listening to the band, watching them record in the studio, playing live. And there is a magic that I was able to get a little bit closer to in this film. Which is the musical language of the band coming together and performing. Especially with the new songs, when you see E Street, there is something that I can't put into words.
But for a moment, the band is trying to find itself. And it just sounds like a band and sounds of music. And in the air, something happens that becomes E Street.
And this film was the first one where I got close to that process. What I mean in the air is suddenly, musically, things click. Your memory and the DNA of the E Street sound kicks in.
A magical process happens where you suddenly are listening to the band play a song. And that happens with new material. That's an amazing thing that I can't really say I understand.
I can't put it into, I barely can put it into words. Bruce opens up a notebook, shows the band a new song. And then there's something magical that happens that you're whistling that song in your head.
And it's now another song in the catalog of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. You know, with Road Diary, what happened was a lot of times I would see in that rehearsal footage the magical moments happening in the contemporary footage that looked exactly like the footage from 1978 with the band in Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Their body language, their gestures.
In a lot of ways, there's a musical language going on that has been there since age 15 or 16. And I couldn't really explain it, though I witnessed it from afar.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band premieres Friday, October 25th, 2024 on Hulu and Disney+.
