Max Weinberg - Breakup and Career Choices

Breakup and Career Choices

The news left him "a zombie for about six months." Even before the breakup, he had returned to school at Seton Hall University in early 1989. The band breakup occurred during his second semester at Seton Hall, on his way to completing the remaining 21 credits needed to obtain his bachelor's degree in communications. He graduated from there later in 1989. He then briefly attended Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, but withdrew after six weeks. Weinberg asked Ringo Starr for advice on how to go on when the band that had made your life had broken up. Weinberg and Springsteen remained on friendly terms during this period.

In 1990, Weinberg began offering motivational seminars oriented towards corporations to augment his one-person college show business. He received the HERO Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in October 1990 for his work for that organization. The Big Beat was republished in 1991.

Weinberg thought his career as a musician was over and considered himself retired as a drummer. He went into the music business instead, joining a distribution company as a business partner. He worked as an executive for the Music Master label. He formed his own record company, Hard Ticket Entertainment, in 1990. In 1991 they issued an album that he produced by a group he formed, Killer Joe, called Scene of the Crime. He had sought out this career path because "I didn't want to continually be competing with 'Mighty Max'," but he found business life unfulfilling. Because of that, and for personal reasons as well, he needed to return to performing. Weinberg later reflected, "I felt at times, after the E Street Band broke up, so anonymous it was painful."

He looked through the Yellow Pages for jobs and played at bar mitzvahs for $125; he later said " was glad to do it." Weinberg became the live drummer for 10,000 Maniacs in 1992 after their drummer Jerry Augustyniak was injured five days before a five-week tour. He went after that assignment once he heard it was open and later said, "I lived on a bus and had a roommate. Not exactly like the E Street Band, but I loved it. It reminded me that I am a drummer and I'm good. I was put here to play the drums. To turn my back on that ability was wrong." He played at the January 1993 inauguration of Bill Clinton. Weinberg auditioned in 1993 to be the principal drummer on the Broadway show The Who's Tommy, but was selected instead as the second alternate substitute percussionist. Despite the very low pay, Weinberg was nevertheless happy: "I'd buried drumming so far into my psyche. I felt I'd resurrected it." Of Springsteen's work, Weinberg felt "that I would never get to play these songs again."