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