In
1967 Vini Lopez was in a band with Billy Chinnock, Danny Federici and Garry
Tallent. They were called "The Downtown Tangiers Rockin' Rhythm and Blues Band."
They played at Steve Paul's Scene in NYC as well as doing a tour for The
Electric Circus around the Midwest and North East. At the end of that tour the
band broke up.Danny and Vini were best friends and they wanted to keep playing together, so they were looking for others to do the same. Vini heard about this kid Bruce Springsteen so he wanted to hear him play. He found out that Bruce was playing with his band Earth at an Italian/American club in Long Branch. Vini's friend Chuck Dillon and Vini went to see the band. They got there and Bruce was playing and he sounded great. After his set was over, Vini started to talk to him. He told him who he was and that Danny and him were looking to start a band. Vini invited him to jam at the Upstage in Asbury Park.
On night Danny and Vini were going up the stairs at the Upstage and we were hearing some good music coming from the third floor. When we got to the top of the stairs, They looked and there was Bruce and Little Vinnie Roslin up on the stage playing away. After their set Danny and Vini when up to Bruce and Little Vinnie and asked if they could jam with them.
After their jam they went down to the Green Mermaid coffee shop to talk. After Bruce told them about writing his own songs Vini told him about this fellow that he had met a few years earlier, Tinker (Carl West). Tinker said that if he ever started to do something original to "look him up." That's exactly what they did. Tinker set us up. They could practice in his surfboard factory, he built them a PA and he had a truck to move them around. He became their 5th band member, their Manager. At that point they formed a band called "Child." It was short lived because someone else already had the name. Steel Mill popped out of Chuck Dillon's mouth and that stuck. They now became STEEL MILL. Steel Mill became the band to see around the Jersey shore and in Richmond, VA. They also went to California in late 1969 and early 1970. Where they recorded a 3 song demo for Bill Graham in his studio.
After the California trip, Steve Van Zandt joined the band on bass guitar. And they played more gigs as Steel Mill. One night, when Vini was going to bed in the bathroom (his part time bedroom) in Tinkers factory, Bruce told Vini that he was stopping Steel Mill and moving on to form a new band and different music. More R&B style. He asked if Vini would stay and play the drums. Of course he did and that's when they formed "The Bruce Springsteen Band" With Bruce, Garry, Danny, Steve, David Sancious and Vini. Danny and David were interchangeable. This core of musicians later became what we know today as the E. Street Band. As Steel Mill was the epitome, The Bruce Springsteen Band didn't quite make it as big. It had a lot of musicians. Sax and Trumpet, Two Girl singers (Deloris Holmes and Barbara Dinkins" and the rest of the guys. It was a lot to carry around so the band eventually broke up.
Bruce went on his own for a while and the rest of us, with Southside Johnny, formed the Sundance Blues Band and played to keep busy. In the interim, Bruce through Tinker met Mike Appel. Who in turn introduced Bruce to John Hammond of CBS records. They sign Bruce to a contract. When Bruce wanted musicians for the recording he called upon Steel Mill to help him out. They practiced in Pt. Pleasant NJ. they learned the songs in about a week. Then they recorded them at 914 Studios in Blauvelt NY for the album "Greetings from Asbury Park." They also recorded
"The Wild, The Innocent, and the E. St. Shuffle" at 914. That is the Steel Mill story and the birth of Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band as told by VINI "MAD DOG" LOPEZ. This album "DEAD SEA CHRONICLES" on MEGA INTERNATIONAL RECORDS features songs that were written in the days of Steel Mill by Bruce Springsteen for Steel Mill, Songs that have never before been recorded or released, and features Vini "Mad Dog Lopez "The first beat from E-Street"