Actor/Voice Artist
Website: ezstreetnyc.com
Six-time Emmy Award-winning voice artist Hank Azaria, perhaps best known for his work on the Simpsons, is channeling the iconic vocals and performing style of Bruce Springsteen in a new tribute band that made its debut Aug. 1, with proceeds going toward a charitable foundation. He shared more about the project with Music Connection below.
MC: Of all the tribute bands you could have created, what inspired you to choose Springsteen?
HA: I’ve been imitating Bruce since I was a teen. It gives me such joy to hear and share his music that I wanted to do it as a present for myself on my birthday. Then it went so well that it seemed a shame not to continue doing it.
MC: You’ve said you’ve “never worked harder preparing for any role.” What were the greatest challenges of learning to harness Springsteen?
HA: I’ve been mimicking Bruce’s speaking voice since I was a young man, but I had to take the craft of singing much more seriously in order to try to recreate those vocals. Bruce’s voice has a certain amount of rasp to it, which can be challenging to sustain at times.
I learned a lot about singing and how to support my voice with proper breathing. My personal takeaways—three words: JOY, JOY and JOY (with the occasional throat lozenge and panic attack thrown in).
Net proceeds from this project benefit the 4 Through 9 Foundation, an organization dedicated to education, social justice and recovery causes.
MC: What inspired you to start this nonprofit?
HA: Education has always been a cause I’ve been passionate about. Currently, I sit on the board at the DREAM school in New York. Social justice has become very important to me over the last decade. I really admire the Human Solidarity Project’s compassionate and connected approach to those issues.
