Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, the original drummer for the E Street Band was in several bands with Bruce Springsteen but one band in particular has always had a cult-like following - Steel Mill. The stories of the early shows are legendary with crowds of a few thousand people pouring into a college gymnasium or outdoors in a festival. They came to see a band that defied the times by playing original music; a band that always put on a live show that left you breathless; and a band that rocked. I mean, really rocked! Steel Mill was often compared to the bluesy rock and roll of bands like Led Zeppelin. The music is a long way from E Street, but the similarities are there as well. Through these songs you can start to see the songwriting of Bruce Springsteen emerge.
Steel Mill is comprised of veteran Jersey musician including Bernie Brausewetter, John Luraschi, Bill Kacerek, alongside Vini Lopez. Together they recreate the sounds and the vibe that Steel Mill brought to the scene several decades ago.
"We try to do it like the old band would have done it," said Vini Lopez. "When I listen to the bootlegs it's like yeah, I remember we used to do this part. So when we rehearse I'll say "There's another part we're gonna put in here." It's just a matter of staying where you are. Every song tells its own little story and goes its own way.
"The songs sound fresh because they are fresh. They still tell stories about now. I'm honored to do these songs and have fun with them."
The band recently released their first collection of Steel Mill songs with the CD entitled "The Dead Sea Chronicles". Featuring nine songs including classic Steel Mill songs like "Goin' Back To Georgia", "The Judge" (also known as "He's Guilty (Send That Boy To Jail)"), "The American Song", "Janey", and "The Wind And The Rain" - the brillant epic song featuring some of the best guitar licks ever written by Springsteen. In addition, the CD also contains "Asbury Park", a song Vini Lopez has played for many years. It's a hilarious account of the problems that city has had with redevelopment and lack of progress. Unfortunately, many of the lyrics in the song still ring true nearly a decade later.
"The Dead Sea Chronicles" is available from the band's website at www.steelmillretro.com. Lopez says that they have been in talks with a possible label or distributor but he's not rushing to make a deal with anyone.
"I'd go up with a label, but it's got to be right," he explained. "I'm not into taking a partner that's going to take all of my money - not that I'm going to make a lot of money..."
The market for Steel Mill songs may be bigger than Lopez thinks it is. A quick search of Google for "Bruce Springsteen" + "Steel Mill" comes up with over 10,000 different websites - some featuring loads of information on his former band. Ironically, many of these website owners weren't even born when Steel Mill was first creating the music! To fans of Bruce Springsteen who turn to bootlegs to hear his older music, the songs that Vini and Steel Mill are playing now will be a revelation. Instead of hearing them on muffled recordings, you'll hear them the way the songs were meant to be played with loud booming guitars, thunderous bass and drums, and swirling keyboards. One listen and you'll understand why the band's music has stood the test of time.
Vini says he got the idea to bring the band back a few years ago when he guested with Boccigalupe & the Bad Boys at a gig at BB Kings Club in New York City.
"They invited me to come up and sit in with them and jam," recalled Lopez. "Well I really didn't want to do Johnny B. Goode anymore. I wanted to do something I like, so I asked Tony (Boccigalupe) if he'd mind doing some of the Steel Mill Songs. So we learned a few and that's what we did."
Lopez estimates that Steel Mill had about 25 songs in their catalog and he's already planning out songs for a second CD. Not only does he have Springsteen's blessing for this project but he said that Bruce wants him to do some of the Bruce Springsteen Band stuff - one of the bands just before the E Street Band was created.
"Bruce told me about 25 years ago that it was ok if I wanted to do the Steel Mill stuff," said Lopez. "It just wasn't right then. Now I've got the chance to do it good. But I still wanted to make sure it was ok with him again before I started doing it."
Vini got the go-ahead during The Rising tour before one of the band shows at the Meadowlands. Later that night, Springsteen called him on stage to handle the drums on "Spirit In The Night".
The band hopes to recreate even more of the old Steel Mill vibe with a free outdoor concert or two in the spring and summer. "We'll find a place where we can do it and just invite some good bands and have a free show. Do it like the old days," said Lopez.
Just like they say, "everything old is new again"...
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
