tas: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with rock music legend steven van zandt. he is also known for his acting all the iconic television series, "the sopranos." he has a new series on netflix called "lilyhammer." >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with

your community to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: please welcome steven van zandt to this program. he has been a member of music's all-time great band, bruce springsteen and the e street band. they opened the grammy awards with inappropriate song for our time. he played a memorable role in one of the most acclaimed tv series, "the sopranos." he has a new program for netfl

ix called "lilyhammer." >> benjamin seigel. do not call him bugsy. he built the world's largest casino in the middle of the desert. everybody laughed, but today that place is called las vegas. we have at the same opportunity. when we are done, people are going to forget the olympics were ever here. >> what is that? >> it is union stuff. >> are there any non-union

related questions? i am glad you brought that up. you are fired. [laughter] tavis: you are not such a nice guy. >> that is true. i get to do things that are not socially acceptable. tavis: this is the first original series for netflix. how did it come to be? >> it impresses me very much. it is a little bit quirky to say the least. we did it for no-recent tv. ganstgster witness protection,

lillehammer. i was not planning on playing a gangster again. the premise is we were not sure it was going to work, but we said let's try it. there are people over there that are like that. the language is a little bit tough. it was an experiment that i think worked out very well. the best was the fact that the lead guy is speaking english in a subtitled show. it draws you in a little bit. i am not trying to hate on the norwegians. >> are you serious?

tavis: you were on "the sopranos," you were with bruce springsteen, and now you are on norwegian tv. >> i do not know much about it. nobody knows anything about it. richest country in the world. right there with saudi arabia. but they are a very interesting place. nobody knows much about them. you cannot name a product. you cannot name a celebrity. that is more than most people know. it is a very insular, odd country. nobody is supposed to be better than anybody else, even though they are very wealthy. you would never know it by being there. they do not export much. this will probably be the

biggest export ever. we did it for nrk, which is like there bbc. it is the national station. who expected it to be so cool? tavis: do they know anything about you as an actor or an artist? >> bruce springsteen and e street band are very big there. that was part of the reason, i am sure, they came to me. they wanted me to be very involved, and wanted me to become one of the writers. i thought it was a risk, in a way. at the same time, it was an adventure. i love doing things like that. tavis: norway is a wonderfully rich people, nobel peace prize "the sopranos."

how can that be in the country that gives out the nobel peace prize? >> because all that stuff is soprano. i am trying to put it together. as nasty and violent as we are you know? we have to keep it together. they are civilized. tavis: they seem so civilized to be "sopranos" fans. i do not get that. >> it is vicarious living through the arts. we broke records. the biggest show in norwegian history. curiosity. the third week it played in it was bigger. tavis: 8 episodes now. you can see the whole thing on netbooks. >> even for network, they watch

two or three at a time. that is what people do now. they are a little bit ahead of everybody else now. it is a thing. tavis: we have not even gotten to what "lillehammer" is all about. we know it is about a mafioso who is basically a fish out of water. tell me more about this character. >> he is called frank the fixer. he is a boss in new york. frank gets along with everybody. everybody loves him. you need it parking ticket taken care of, or a speeding ticket -- you know what i am saying. tavis: frank the fixer. >> everybody loves him. the boss suddenly dies. the boss's brother is not cool. it is based a little bit on reality, on the gotti situation.

this guy gets intimidated by the fact that everybody loves frank. they try to kill him. the character is so shocked by someone trying to kill him that he overreacts. he wants to get out of the country. he accuses lillehammer. he is a boss. he is a very different character than silvio of "the sopranos." silvio was narrow. he watched tony's back and protected him. that was his main job. this guy is a little more inside. he is a little more outgoing. he gets into more situations.

once you put him in norway, where there is no crime, he has to not only figure out how to make a living, but he has to try to integrate into that society. they are a monoculture the opposite of american society. you take that on every level. tavis: i do not disagree. >> they are one ethnic group pretty much. it is a very big country actually. they do not lock their doors outside of oslo. pretty much a singular people. they make rules, they keep them, and they follow them. it is the exact opposite of america, especially the type of american mob guy. they have the instinct. it is a fun clash of two cultures. not a comedy exactly.

it is what we call a dramedy. tavis: i am laughing because frank the fixer is in norway, where nothing needs fixing. what do you fix in norway? nobody has problems. >> that is exactly his problem. tavis: since you have been part of a band for years, and netflix is on the cutting edge give me your assessment of where you think tv is going and consumers are going, and what importance that is going to play in the future. it did not surprise me, actually. it shocked me, but did not surprise me. the headline says that young people watch more television than ever before, but not on television.

they watch it, but not on tv. >> it is an on-demand world. that is what they have over there already. it is on the ipad. they watch it on their watches. you know. and neflix is a little ahead on that, adjusting the content to these other places. you know. and not flex -- and neflix is a little ahead on that, adjusting the content to these other places. but it is more than that. with this show, first of all they are starting to expand overseas into probably every territory within five years. tavis: different countries. >> pretty much in canada and south america. they are going to move on. the whole talk about global communications is starting to become real. it is not just a phrase.

eventually, it could be one-stop shopping. now, you are on worldwide, which is already interesting. you combine that with the concept of buying foreign shows. maybe because you have a foreign person in a local show, in a domestic show, that creates this new communication of content that i think could be very exciting. i do not know if the lead guy speaking english works outside scandinavia are not. that remains to be seen. but mixing of actors from different countries, and knowing that for america and worldwide, all of a sudden, it makes this whole global things in real, cultural exchange, content exchange technological

exchange everywhere. all of that is all on netflix. there will be five or six other players coming in shortly. but they have the jump on everybody. i feel within a few years all content will be on all devices. i think exclusive content is going to go away, except for those that you create. original programming will define the technology, right? as opposed to who gets the deal for a catalog. kids are not going to know the difference. what is hbo? what the show time? they want access to everything. you create your own programming. that will be your exclusive. that is how people will be defined.

tavis: prince told me 20 years ago content is king. that was 20 years ago he said this. if you control the content these days it is everything now. it is all about content. there are many discussions about the delivery system. music discussions are all about the delivery system. nobody talks about the craft. i appreciated dave grohl's speech at the grammys. he talked about craft. i am always talking about the craft. with the music, you have to write a good song. let's not forget that.

the script has to be great. there has to be a great song. that is what we have to focus on, not how it is going to be delivered. tavis: i am always anxious to ask this question of any great artist. for stephen van sant, what is a good song? >> you have to have your own high standards to begin with. where does that come from? that comes from analyzing and in the case of music, what we call the bar band phase of your career which a lot of bands are skipping right now which is very bad. the struggle and learn the instrument. the first thing you have to do is learn other people's songs your favorite songs.

you have been banned. you then go into a club or a bar and play those songs, all your favorite songs of your heroes. by learning other people's songs, you start to analyze the songs. the start to establish standards for yourself. having learned all your favorite songs, you begin to right. -- write. all you are trying to do is make a song as close to good as your favorite songs. that is the key. as you do that, you get better. you also, by the way, learn how to perform during that phase. you are learning how to write. you are learning how to perform. that is the most important. there are many bands skipping that phase. they go from learning the instrument to writing songs and putting them out on the website or whatever. bad idea. bad idea. you need that interaction with

people to learn, to keep your standards of. we have a little bit of the advantage, growing up, because we were all dance fans, fans of rock and roll, which nobody remembers. before there was disco techno, and all that stuff people danced to rock-and-roll. it was mixed very much together in the 60's. you go back to look at old rock- and-roll shows. rolling stones come on, marvin gaye comes on. smokey robinson comes on. every single show. all that music was influencing rock-and-roll at the same time it was coexisting with it. it was all dance music. when you got a job in a bar your job was to make people dance. you had to pull them out of that seat which made you more of an intense performer. it created more intensity.

we have carried that into the concert stage of our career. people say "why are you guys so intense all the time?" that is why. you had to pull people out of the chairs, make them dance. tavis: you have maintained that intensity for four decades. >> an answer. we grew up -- i firmly believe there was a 20 your time from about 51 to 71 but was a renaissance. our standards for said very high, mostly by the british invasion -- beatles, rolling stones, all that. at the same time, you have motown. you know the list. the four tops, the temptations on and on.

you had sex with sam and dave. -- stacks with sam and dave. an incredible amount of great music that we were learning and trying to aspire to reach. we were still trying. we were still region. -- reaching. tavis: you are way too honest. >> that is how that works. that is what keeps you intense trying to get that level you are probably not going to get to. we set our standards very, very high. we are just trying to reach it. tavis: what i adore about you is not just your appreciation for the craft but there is clearly -- and want to phrase this just right -- a deep and abiding love you have for your fans. so many artists say "i love my

fans." when you were on stage for three hours plus, you do not have to do that, particularly at this age. you have earned your stripes. you have sold millions of records all over the world. there must be a love there. you have to get up. you lay everything out there. >> to make it in a band was a miracle. it was the impossible dream right? literally. we were kids from new jersey right? you're going to the beach if you're lucky. tavis: you have not got a hit show from kids that new jersey. they are not going anywhere, but it is a hit show. [laughter] >> originally, there was no money on the jersey shore.

nobody would hate to go on and boardwalk. -- pay to go on that boardwalk. it was such an impossible dream that once you managed to make it -- we made it pretty late. we were in bars five, six, seven years. the beatles were there four or five years. most everybody else makes it a little quicker than that. by the time we got there, we thought we were the last ones in the door. so we do not take anything for granted, you know what i mean? you're asking people to love you. you're asking people to need you and to want you to make your thing an essential part of their lives. once they actually do that you better believe in the obligation and responsibility.

it is a social contract. it is an emotional contract. tavis: all bruce springsteen and the street and fans were devastated-- and e street frans were devastated when we lost clarence clemens a year ago. what would you say to fans of with the houston? -- whitney houston? >> the vibe over the whole show, we already were coming with it from clarence. then whitney you know? we are built for that. we are prepared for that. we are serious people. it is not the most commercial thing in the world. but when it comes to serious issues and serious moments, it

is kind of built in. bruce is one of the greatest writers in history when talking about serious issues. we are a band that is going to deliver at this point the way he writes it. it is going to be sad. it is a tragic moment. there is no getting around that. all you have to do is take the power of that work over clarence clemens, or whitney houston added james -- etta james amy winehouse -- you carry it on, because that is what they would want. you pick up that flag and carry it. you inspire the next generation

and get as much fun as you can before you can check out. tavis: you guys are doing that well, and back out on the road in march. >> it is going to be at the shrine of shrines. i am a little nervous about that. tavis: the apollo. >> i am going to be looking for that hope. [laughter] -- that hook. tavis: i do not think they are coming for the e street band. a great artist. actor as well, from "the sopranos." now a project called "lillehammer" on netflix. until next time, keep the faith. >> for more information on

today's show visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: join me next time for a conversation with an acclaimed author on "the man within my head." that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone we all love. it is not just a street or a boulevard, but the place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be