[UPDATED] Springsteen cover band's inauguration concert strikes a bad chord
Update 01/16/17: On Monday, members of the B-Street Band announced they're dropping out of the Trump inaugural event. Will Forte told the Associated Press his decision was based "solely on the respect and gratitude we have for Bruce and the E Street Band. This whole thing just got blown out of proportion."
You can read our original story here:
The founder of a Bruce Springsteen cover band says his group is being unfairly attacked over its decision to play a Washington gala on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration.
In an interview with As It Happens guest host Helen Mann, Will Forte, the founder of The B-Street Band, said he had been overwhelmed by negative feedback.
I was brought up in a coal mining town by hard-working parents that taught me a few things. They taught me that when you make a promise, you uphold your promise...when you sign a contract, you honour your contract.- Will Forte, founder of The B-Street Band
"I didn't expect this," he said. "I stayed up a lot trying to answer every individual person that contacted me. And then it became thousands."
Even Garry Tallent, bassist for Bruce Springsteen's real band, the E-Street Band, tweeted his disapproval.
Please tell me this is more fake news. Or at least a joke. <a href="https://t.co/I8pyvHKPsy">https://t.co/I8pyvHKPsy</a>
—@gwtallentAccording to Forte, that's exactly what it is. Forte attributed the backlash to inaccurate headlines suggesting the band would be playing at the official Trump party.
"When they see that, then of course they're upset because they think that we're not respecting Bruce's music or his wishes," he said.
In fact, the Garden State Inaugural Gala is a nonpartisan, New Jersey-themed event. Forte said his band will also play covers of other popular New Jersey artists such as Frankie Valli and Frank Sinatra.
"It's a celebration of New Jersey, and it's a celebration of the office—for respect for the office of the President," Forte said. "It's a non-political event."
Forte's band also played at the ball in 2009 and 2013. To them, he said, it's just one more show.
"We don't have an agent, we don't have a manager, we do everything ourselves," he said. "We're just a bunch of working musicians."
Springsteen himself has vocally condemned Donald Trump, saying before the election that the United States was "under siege by a moron."
But while Forte insisted he will honour the contract he signed, he suggested there was one person who might be able to convince him not to play.
"Unless I hear from the real Boss," he said, "I'm going to go through with it."