HANK AZARIA
The Emmy-winning, Tony-nominated actor Hank Azaria, who is best known for his work on “The Simpsons,” will sing Bruce Springsteen songs with his EZ Street Band at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Nov. 15.
Tickets will go on sale Aug. 16, with pre-sales beginning Aug. 14 at 10 a.m.; visit ticketmaster.com. Proceeds will go to Azaria’s Four Through Nine Foundation, which is committed to social justice, education and recovery causes
According to the band’s website, ezstreetnyc.com, “About nine months ago ‘I had the crazy idea that I would like to sing some Springsteen songs to surprise people at my 60th birthday party.’ So Azaria called his son’s former jazz piano teacher, Adam Kromelow, who played in a Genesis tribute band, and asked him if he could put together a band. ‘At first I wasn’t sure I could capture Bruce’s singing voice — talking like him is no problem, I mean, that’s my day job!’
“Azaria got obsessed with singing as exactly like Bruce as he could. He practiced every day for about 6 months, trying songs, abandoning them, circling back, and each time feeling like he was getting closer and closer to actually sounding a lot like his boyhood idol. About 4 months into this obsession, after driving his wife and son nearly insane with his constant ‘scream singing’ around the house, ‘something “unlocked” in my voice — I kind of couldn’t believe how Bruce-like it sounded!’ ”
Azaria has done the voices for Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and other “Simpsons” characters. His many other credits include the movies “Quiz Show,” “Heat,” “The Birdcage” and “Godzilla”; the TV series “Mad About You,” “Friends,” “Ray Donovan” and “Huff”; the TV film “Tuesdays With Morrie”; and the Broadway shows “Spamalot” and “The Farnsworth Invention.”
On Aug. 1, Azaria and the EZ Street Band played a sold-out show at (le) poisson rouge in New York.
The group will also perform at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York, Aug. 23; Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia, Oct. 31; and Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, Nov. 8.
Here is a video of Azaria’s “Born to Run,” at (le) poisson rouge.
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