Actor and producer Hank Azaria is most known for his voice parts, most notably those of “The Simpsons” favorites like bartender Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, and the Comic Book Guy. And now add another voice role to the Emmy winner’s resume: that of Bruce Springsteen. With his new stage project, Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band, the New Jersey-raised performer pays tribute to the music of the rock icon, connecting his and his group’s loving interpretations of classic Springsteen songs with in-character between-song banter. “I think of it as a theatrical performance,” he says. “I’m staying in character as Bruce even though I’m telling stories about myself. It’s a performance piece, but I’m not a Bruce impersonator.” Azaria answered the questions below via email. “Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band: A Springsteen Celebration” will be performed on January 23 at the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill.
—Peter Aaron
When and how did you first hear Bruce Springsteen and what was it about his music that you found so compelling as a kid? Besides his songs themselves being so great, what is it about them that resonates with you enough now to make you want to actually interpret them with a live show like the one you’re doing?
I first heard Bruce Springsteen at camp when I was 12 years old, in 1976. My friend was playing the Born to Run album and I immediately loved it. I think Bruce’s music has that rare quality that makes you feel like Bruce is singing to you and about you. It all feels really personal. As I was turning 60 my nostalgia for that era of music grew really intense, especially for Springsteen. And I just wanted it to be part of my birthday celebration. So, I decided to throw what I called a reverse surprise party in which I told my friends I had a great Springsteen tribute band coming and didn’t tell them I worked for months to front it. And it went so well and created so much joy that I decided to keep doing it.
Naturally, with the job of being a performing actor and voice actor, you portray characters. And with the EZ Street Band project you portray Springsteen by channeling his singing and performing style. But within Springsteen’s songs there are characters as well; the James Dean-ish rebel in “Badlands,” the desperate, convicted robber and killer in “Johnny 99,” and so on. When you’re performing the songs, are the characters themselves ever in your mind, or is it more about nailing Bruce?
What an interesting question. It is primarily about nailing Bruce. Especially vocally. Both his singing and his spoken word. I think I love all those characters from his songs so much that they’ve already left an impression on me that I can’t help but already include them in the song that I’m singing. But beyond that is the movie playing in my head when I hear a Bruce song, which I think is another one of his gifts as a storyteller. Everyone has their own personal relationship to his music.
Great actors like you can easily switch between moods and personalities, often within the same performance. The mood of say, your work on “The Simpsons,” is ironically and irreverently humorous, while the moods of Springsteen’s songs are often earnest or poignant. As an artist, what’s it like to move back and forth between such divergent feels? Is it hard to keep Moe the bartender in check when you’re up there doing the Boss?
I was taught early on that the root of comedy and drama are the same. You try to bring as much truth as possible to your performance and commit to it as much as you can. That’s what makes comedy funny and drama compelling—your full investment in it. That goes for all the character voices that I perform.
Tell us about the Four Through Nine Foundation, the charity group that’s benefitted via your EZ Street Band performances. When and why was it founded, and where does the name come from?
I’ve been giving to charity for the last 30 years, and I found it easier to create a foundation several years ago. We give primarily to education, human rights, and health and wellness causes. I’m a sober guy, and Four Through Nine refers to steps four and nine in the 12 steps of recovery in which you look for your own part in things and then make amends and offer your service as part of healing yourself and the world.
What do you most hope audiences get from your Springsteen-themed show, and where do you plan to take it moving forward? Do you feel like it’s something that could eventually become a Broadway or Off-Broadway residency production a la the one the songwriter himself did?
Right now, my goal is just to enjoy performing this. Which I do a couple of times a month, all over the place. I’m not sure how Bruce manages to sing every night like he does on tour or on Broadway or wherever. I’m working towards having half as much vocal stamina as the Boss has. We play small clubs and large theaters and big festivals. It’s all just really fun!
This article appears in January 2026.
