24 / 7, because I had the songs already picked, I had the whole thing figured out. I said,“ Look – I’ m going to do all 60 years of rock and roll, and I’ m going to play the roots of rock and roll, and I’ m going to connect the dots.” And everybody said,“ You can’ t do that! It’ s impossible!” And I said,“ No, it can be done. If you get the right songs.” So now Underground Garage is an institution, you know? Nobody wanted it. Nobody thought that it would work, And now it’ s the only place you’ re ever going to hear real rock and roll. And not only the great old stuff, like album tracks from The Kinks and The Yardbirds, but you’ re also hearing over 700 new bands. So you’ re getting the best of both worlds, and I hand-picked every single song, to my own taste.

IE: Plus, you get to tell your Paul- Harvey-ish rock reminiscences.

“ Lilyhammer”?

LS: Yeah. I was producing The Cocktail Slippers, mixing their record in Bergen, Norway, when somebody said,“ A husband and wife are here to say hello.” I went down to see them, and they said,“ We wrote a TV show for you.” So the two are definitely related. But Norway – and Scandinavia, in general – is just the rock and roll capitol of the world, and they’ re kind of freaks about it. They know more about America than we do.

IE: It was weird that there was such controversy over The Sopranos finale. From your conversation in the boat, it was pretty clear. LS: Did you see that Vanity Fair article? They went back and interviewed all the people years later, and I think I ended the article. The interviewer said to me,“ How

did it really end?” And I said,“ Okay – I’ m gonna tell you once and for all how it ended.” And the writer leans in, like we’ re sharing a secret, and I said,“ You really wanna know how it ended? The director yelled‘ Cut,’ and the actors went home! And that was it!”

IE: Well, it must feel great to be part of so many different brotherhoods. LS: Yeah! And that was the whole idea of being in a band in the first place. And that’ s the difference between pop music –

which is about solo artists – and bands, which are about rock and roll. Where you’ re talking about family, friendship, brotherhood, the gang.

IE: Leather jackets optional? LS: Definitely. Leather jackets optional!

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul appear October 8 at House Of Blues, Chicago

Tom Lanham