From all appearances Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Max Weinberg doesn't like sitting still.

It wasn't long after he came off the 89-show run on Bruce Springsteen's The River Tour with  the rest of his compadres in The E Street Band that he launched "Max Weinberg's Jukebox,"  a new concept to keep himself busy that happens to be packing smaller and more intimate venues all over the country.

"My idea is to really make this a party and play the songs you want to hear," he recently told

The Newtown Bee during an exclusive chat, "except you have Max Weinberg on drums and some of the most talented guys playing your favorite song that you just shouted out."

Billing the gigs as "a truly interactive experience," Weinberg told

The Bee that kind of like an episode of 24 - but with a drum kit - he invites audiences to create the band's set list in real time.  

Perusing a constantly scrolling video menu of over 200 songs from some obscure "one hit wonders," to the Beatles and Stones, to a few The E Street Band favorites, the crowd gets to yell out their choices and Weinberg says he and the band will play them.

If that is an experience you want to have, there will be two chances to get up close and personal with his "Mighty" self: in Pawling, N.Y., on Sunday, December 3 in the cozy, club-like Daryl's House; or make it a double and grab tickets now for the more theatrical setting of Tarrytown Music Hall on January 19.

Weinberg has been thrilling audiences as the driving heartbeat behind The E Street Band for 43 years, and is known to millions of others from his 17 year stint as the bandleader and comedic foil to television host Conan O'Brien. In fact, Weinberg is the only musician in history to make the leap from a starring role in one of the world's iconic rock groups to leading his eponymous band on NBC's

Late Night and The Tonight Show.

Harkening back to that opening observation about not sitting still - Weinberg managed to do both of those gigs simultaneously, and with notable enthusiasm for ten years beginning in 1999.

Throughout more than a half-century smacking the skins, Weinberg has also occupied his time working alongside diverse collaborators including James Brown, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, BB King, Tony Bennett, Ringo Starr, John Fogerty, Stevie Winwood, Sheryl Crow - even Isaac Hayes performing his legendary "Shaft" with a 30 piece orchestra Max conducted on

Late Night.

And who could forget that Weinberg had the best seat in the house when in 2009 Springsteen and The E Street Band performed center field at Super Bowl XXXXIII to the largest halftime show audience ever for that event - over 100 MILLION people.

To note, Weinberg also left his audible mark on the two biggest selling rock albums in history - Bruce Springsteen's

Born In The USA and Meat Loaf's original Bat Out Of Hell, which sparked a great story during his interview.

But hey, it's Max Weinberg, so getting a few minutes to talk about anything in his radient career was kind of a pinch-me experience because as I told him when we connected, I may be an E-Street fan, but I'm a Max Weinberg admirer.

The Newtown Bee: There are drummers I like to watch, and drummers I like to listen to ... you happen to be both. In your developing years, how much attention did you pay to how you presented yourself as a performer versus how well you played as a percussionist?

Max Weinberg: That's a great question because when I was coming up in the '50s, variety TV shows were the staple of household entertainment - especially because we were only able to get three channels. And those shows always had the great bands, those television orchestras.

So look at the early to mid-'60s Count Basie band, whose drummers were unbelievable showmen flipping their sticks up in the air and popping their eyes  really physically selling it with their drums - that impressed me. So I came up as a show band drummer. It wasn't about, 'hey look at me' drum solos, it was playing in service of something bigger - show tunes, a great singer, maybe a great guitar player or horn section.

The Bee: But you managed to carve out a style that is quite unique and memorable, yourself. When I mentioned to another drummer friend about our chat he laughed and told me to tell you to sit up straight...

Weinberg: (laughing) It's not that unique, I mean go back to the films of Gene Krupa or go back to the '30s with Chick Webb, who was Buddy Rich's hero. These were drummers who not only played great, they made you want to do what they were doing. Even with the Stones - look at Charlie Watts. He just sat there but you could feel the seriousness with which he approached his drumming.

My approach in the 17 years before I met Bruce lent itself to power, intensity, showmanship, and putting the message of the rhythm forward. It wasn't for showing off, it was to add to whatever was going on in front of me.

The Bee: I was schooled from a former bandmate and drum teacher who taught me to appreciate a less-is-more mentality. You seem to be one who prefers a small number of instruments surrounding you versus a mountain of toms and cymbals?

Weinberg: Basically John, I can do everything I have to do with only a snare drum. I don't need the other drums - they are nice to have. But as a matter of fact, when I auditioned for Bruce in 1974, I only brought a bass drum, snare, a high-hat, and another cymbal. The ad for the job said they needed an R&B style like Chuck Berry, so I didn't want to lug a bunch of drums with me.

I didn't realize I was making a minimalist statement when I walked in there, but it turned out to be the case. And it showed the seriousness of my stuff. There was only one time I used three tom-toms, and that was on

The River, on "The Price You Pay," and it was only to get a certain effect Bruce wanted.

The Bee: Otherwise it was always a small set?

Weinberg: I never thought I needed more. And I think it turned off a lot of serious band leaders, especially during the '70s when you showed up with a lot of drums. That was not a statement I wanted to make.

On the other hand, look at my son Jay, who plays drums with Slipknot. He has 12 drums, 10 cymbals, and he plays them really well. He was just voted one of the best drummers in heavy metal music, which makes me so proud as a father. And he deserves it, he works his butt off. Thank heavens I didn't have to buy him that set, though! 

The Bee: Are the songs you play by request with the Jukebox mostly hits?

Weinberg: Even the ones that are not big hits have meaning to whomever would want them to be played. And it's a very esoteric list - approaching 300 songs - from The Monkees to AC/DC. And when I play with these musicians around the country, and it's not the same guys every night, I picked them for the ability to get down into the details.

There are some we play every night like "The Weight" with my old and dear late friend Levon Helm on drums, and even before his passing one of the most popular songs we played was "American Girl" by Tom Petty. So we never know what we're going to play for the most part. And since most of the places we play serve adult beverages, it's really much more a party than a concert.

The Bee: A lot of people are surprised to learn that you were drummer on some of the original Bat Out of Hell hits. What it was like to be in the room with Meat, Jim Steinman, (producer)Todd Rundgren, and your E Street buddy Roy Bittan recording those iconic songs?

Weinberg: I first met Jim and Meat Loaf because my high school friend was their manager. So one day he calls me up and asks me to come down to a rehearsal studio in New York to hear some new songs. So I did, and it was just me, Jim, Meat Loaf, and my friend David. So they played me "Bat Out of Hell," and a little of "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," and I started noticing that all the songs were taken from clichés, which I thought was an interesting approach. And afterwards Dave and I went out for a drink and I said this isn't arena rock, this is theatrical - like Jesus Christ Superstar or Hair. So he asked me to help put a band together for the session and I said sure.

The Bee: Now that's a daunting assignment...

Weinberg: The first call was to Roy, and he went on to actually enjoy a long friendship with Steinman. But remembering back, the unbelievable thing was, they took it to every single record company and nobody wanted to touch it. I was on tour at the beginning of '77 and Dave called me not knowing what to do.

Then an A&R guy named Popovich at Epic Records agreed to give them a label. So he got the songs figuring he could parlay them with Meat Loaf's

Rocky Horror Picture Show fans, and ended up making this record on a label called Cleveland International. And I'll tell you the truth - there wasn't anybody in that room making that record who thought it would be successful ... except Steve Popovich. So we rehearsed in this little attic studio in Woodstock [N.Y.] and they ended up convincing Todd Rundgren to produce it.

The Bee: And he certainly has a reputation for helping launch some big talent, besides his own success.

Weinberg: He is a genius, and Todd had this vision for taking these piano demos and directing the whole thing like Toscanini. I mean as a producer, he was involved with every single aspect, down to using his own band for most of the rest of the record, and he famously fired me. It was shocking at the time, but we grew to be friends since.

So from going to never believing this record would get made in that little rehearsal studio on 57th Street, to those recording sessions, to it being one of the top selling rock albums in history was for me one of the greatest things of my young life after performing with Bruce and The E Street Band. But this is why I'm not a record mogul. I recognized the talent, but didn't think those long songs would ever get played on the radio.

The Bee: That's what I remember most about those hits - they were long and had these really fun and interesting breaks. I mean, calling in Phil Rizzuto? C'mon, who does that?

Weinberg: It is interesting because I remember we actually had to record that song "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights" modularly. We recorded that a verse at a time - and I remember the difficulty we had getting the vocals just right. We'd do 16 bars and then stop, then another 16 bars. We'd go section by section. And we really hoped we'd get Rizzuto to come in and do that read, and he came through.

The Bee: I was privileged being in Brooklyn seeing you inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. I'll remember that set forever with original E Streeters Vini Lopez and David Sancious sitting in.

Weinberg: Well it was a marvelous night. My family was there, and it was really nice because we were named the first band ever in a category for achieving musical excellence. I guess the judges determined we were neither fish nor fowl.

For me it was great because as a kid, my biggest hero was JFK. And he urged Americans to live their lives and to pursue their work along the lines of excellence. Nobody can be perfect, but everyone could pursue their life and work along the line of excellence. And it was particularly special - as a musician - to be recognized for that. It was personally pleasing and forever connected me to that sentiment from my hero, John F. Kennedy.

The Bee: And I have to say I felt Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici we were there in spirit.

Weinberg: Of course I was sorry Danny and Clarence couldn't be there. I was at the very first Hall of Fame induction at the Waldorf with them though, and that was a much more freewheeling night.

But at our Hall of Fame event, it was great fun to play with the E-Street's original drummer Vini Lopez - who I say is one of the two most influential drummers of my career along with Ernest "Boom" Carter. If it wasn't for Ernest following a different career path, I'd probably be a lawyer right now.

Click here for tickets to Weinberg's December 3 set at Daryl's House in Pawling, N.Y. 

To check out Weinberg's show at Tarrytown Music Hall, click here.

Max Weinberg's Jukebox performs "She's The One" at New York's City Winery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxXN2z5l-qk

Max Weinberg and the band are 'in the groove' in this 2004 bit with Conan O'Brien:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX2ZURSeDd0