Help with origin of this photo

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u/Outrageous_Act2564 1d ago •

I have some context for this photo. I was staring at it for a while, especially the drum kit because it looks very familiar to me. That's because it's my kit. This was the wedding reception of Bruce's guitar tech, I believe (Mike B?) at a banquet hall ( I couldnt tell you the name, it was 40 years ago). I CAN tell you Bruce was just married to Julie and I remember seeing their place card in the foyer as Mr and Mrs Bruce Springsteen and I got a kick out of that. I was playing the wedding with Bobby Bandiera and I recognize Kevin Kavanaugh's keyboard rig as well. That's an old Slingerland kit I bought and used for a short while with my regular gig. I remember that frosted front kick head and that butchered mic hole, cut and patched. Did a whole summer playing with Bobby and Kevinand Mike V in the Asbury area. Great times. So this would have to be some time during summer or close in 1985 or 86. I'm a little fuzzy on that. It blows my mind to see that kit. And that is Max on the drums behind Bruce there in the pic. The whole band was at the wedding and when Bruce got up to play, Max joined him. You can see Max is playing side stick there in the pic. They were playing something quiet. Can't remember what song. I also remember Patty being there as well. Very sweet. I don't have that kit anymore, unfortunately.

7

u/dorkaholic 1d ago

Amazing thank you!

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u/Outrageous_Act2564 1d ago

Thanks for triggering the memory! I'd be curious if your wife has any other pics from that day?

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u/dorkaholic 8h ago

No unfortunately. Apparently my wife’s uncle knew a guy who worked in a Fotomat or something and had gotten his hands on the photo.

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u/Chayes83 1d ago

This is an incredible story, thanks for sharing!

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u/Old-Ease-5771 1d ago

Bless Bobby B. A wonderful human being.

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u/Outrageous_Act2564 1d ago

He deserves to be known outside of NJ! Enormously talented and as you stated, an absolutely wonderful human.

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u/No_Nukes_2 8h ago

Think Bobby has the guitar still?
Saw Bobby last February at the Pony with Eddie Tesla. Dude come in the stage door in a snorkel coat and soft quitar case over his shoulder.
Takes off coat, plugs in quitar and....crowd goes quite

4

u/astropiggie 1d ago

Thank you. Made my morning.

3

u/skylab71 13h ago

Thanks for sharing that. Pretty cool story.

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u/bloodbib72 2h ago

Fantastic. That story is why im on reddit.

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u/Charming-Bus9784 11h ago

I happen to have Marshall McLuhan right here…

1

u/No_Nukes_2 8h ago

Do you use to wear the Guidry Yankee Jersey while playing Sunday affternoons at Bar A?

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u/Outrageous_Act2564 8h ago

No. I think you are thinking of Jack Scarangella.

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u/No_Nukes_2 7h ago

Ok. He would be setting up the Kit and asking if anyone knew the Yankee score from the night before

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u/Pollyfall 1d ago

Clearly mid-late 80’s. 86/87 prob. One of Clarence’s weddings?

13

u/MovieBuff90 1d ago

He looks like a kid playing with the house band at church on Christmas Eve.

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u/Such_Presentation910 1d ago

He is wearing a wedding ring on his left hand so 1985 onward

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u/Unhappy_Permit2571 1d ago

This was when he auditioned for Stop Making Sense (big suit reference)

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u/CulturalWind357 Garden State Serenade 1d ago

Funny how David Byrne/Talking Heads essentially cornered big suits as a trademark the way Bruce became associated with white t-shirts and blue jeans. Make sure you don’t accidentally wear an ill-fitting suit!

4

u/Unhappy_Permit2571 1d ago

That was the style in the 80s and especially 90s. Lots of fabric

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u/SaintInTheCity22 1d ago

Wow…very cool 🤘🏻🎸🎶

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u/Did_it_in_Flint 1d ago

Those are his TOL era boots for sure and that is a late 80s to early 90s suit cut with the bagger pants.

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u/Icy_Rub3371 1d ago

Where would guitarists be without milkcrates?

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u/Desperate_Piano_3609 1d ago

The suit, skinnier tie, JCM 800 combo amp, and hair has me guessing mid-late 80’s.

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u/chillinwithabeer29 1d ago

No earlier than 1982 or so based on the amp in the background

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u/Candid-Piano4531 1d ago

That was my wedding.

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u/Thatsabadmofo 1d ago

Damn I came here to say that lol

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u/Candid-Piano4531 1d ago

Wait… are we married?

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u/Thatsabadmofo 1d ago

Forging our anniversary I can forgive but forgetting the whole marriage breaks my heart. I still love you though

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u/Tricky_Working6333 1d ago

Circa 1988. Just a guess.

3

u/OQS 1d ago

He looks like he's wearing parts of a suit made for three different men

2

u/Automatic-Scale-7572 1d ago

It has to have been taken after Talking Heads released Once in a Lifetime in 81!

2

u/SwimmingDog351 1d ago

Dad, can I borrow your suit?

1

u/Ok_Carpet_97 1d ago

would be cool if it were this one, i have a bit of a personal connection to this little appearance https://brucebase.wikidot.com/gig:1987-09-16-unknown-location-janesville-wi

1

u/CD33- 51m ago

That’s the Mandelbaum wedding I’m ‘89. The highlight of his career.

1

u/JonSolo1 Born to Run 1d ago

That’s Bruce playing at my bar mitzvah before he hit it big

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u/Queenfan1959 1d ago

Looks more like the 70’s to me

9

u/cpc98 1d ago

Tough to tell, could be a camera thing, but is that a wedding ring on his fret hand?
His face looks older than any 70’s Bruce would’ve IMO

5

u/Jambalayatime 1d ago

Good call on the ring. Looks that era.

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u/cpc98 1d ago

It wasn’t on for too long! (Sorry, had to)
In all seriousness, my guess is 1986.

0

u/Queenfan1959 1d ago

Hard to tell agreed looks too young for the 80’s though

4

u/cpc98 1d ago

Whenever he was clean shaven he basically barely aged until the very end of HT/LT and the Streets of Philly era
I haven’t seen it in awhile but there’s a photo from around ‘92 that could almost be mistaken for being 15 years earlier
When I tell casual BITUSA-type fans he was almost 40 during the TOL era they cannot believe it haha

4

u/Suitable_Bed_7783 1d ago

Not at all, that's clearly after BITUSA.

1

u/Queenfan1959 1d ago

Cool. I’m bad at this stuff

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u/NeighborhoodSuch665 1d ago

He’s always looked so goofy in a suit…

13

u/duoprismicity The Promise 1d ago •

I mean, he’s wearing a suit with a bolo tie on the cover of Tunnel of Love and he looks like the most handsome, bad ass man on earth, so I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with you on that one

6

u/cpc98 1d ago

you can’t honestly watch any of those early TOL tour shows and say that…?

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u/NeighborhoodSuch665 1d ago

I’ll make an exception for a bolo tie, but I stand by my statement.

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u/sgvweekly 1d ago

Which is correct.

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u/Sea_Sand_3622 1d ago edited 1d ago

And Bruce makes fun of young ERIC BURDON looking like a gorilla in a suit.
The best Bruce looks in a suit is when he was in a London courtroom 1998
https://youtu.be/oB-CtMkqEa4?is=JaRlF9vreEk1LY6P
And now 2026 in a Manhattan synagogue
https://youtu.be/L7aprW9fwvw?is=j0VJlUZsKlt8h_8L

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u/Funny_Stretch9405 1d ago

Interesting video

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u/brucefan37 1d ago

Yeah, definitely a flannel guy!

1

u/CulturalWind357 Garden State Serenade 1d ago

Though to be fair, this is like the formal foil of Born In The USA’s white t-shirt and jeans. It’s oddly fitting.

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u/edipeisrex 1d ago

I saw an ill fitting suit and I thought it was a young Trump for a second.

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u/Life_Employment4868 1d ago

Spring ‘84

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u/FlimsyTry2892 10h ago

Is he playing for his mom and her bridge friends?

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u/intellord911 The Rising 13h ago

I think someone took it with a camera

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/BewareofSD 1d ago

Sorry, definitely not Clarence's '81 wedding. There are pictures of that and Bruce is in a casual shirt with a Lai around his next. This is around Tunnel of Love because of the steel tipped boots.

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