In Conversation: On Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir

Stevie Van Zandt is a musician, songwriter, actor, radio host, and activist. He is best known as the guitarist of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and the lead member of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. He is also known for his acting work, most notably in The Sopranos and Lilyhammer; his radio work as the host of Little Steven’s Underground Garage; and his devotion to music education through the TeachRock.org music history curriculum. In 2014, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir (Hachette Books) chronicles his remarkable story, one that begins in a bedroom in suburban New Jersey in the early 1960s and unfolds on some of the country’s biggest stages. While still a teenager, Van Zandt met Bruce Springsteen, a like-minded outcast/true believer who became one of his most important friends and bandmates. As “Miami Steve,” Van Zandt anchored the E Street Band as it conquered the world of rock and roll. In time, he used his fame to push for change, masterminding the recording of the anti-apartheid anthem “Sun City” and developing a curriculum to teach students of all ages through the medium of music history. Paul McCartney said “Unrequited Infatuations is a wonderfully original take on a Rock ’n’ Roll autobiography.”

Bill Teck is a director/producer based in Miami. He recently directed the Warner Bros. documentary One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & The Lost American Film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Venezia Classici Award for best documentary before being acquired by Netflix. As a producer/executive producer or director, Teck is responsible for television programs for PBS and USA Broadcasting, such as OutLoud, generation ñ, LIVE!, A Peña Family Album: The Best of Que Pasa USA, Content Miami, New Florida, Nuestra Risa and ñ Life with Melissa Hernandez. He’s the co-writer of the Simon & Schuster Fireside Press humor book The Official Spanglish Dictionary: Un Users Guia to More Than 300 Words and Phrases That Aren’t Exactly Español or Ingles, and his writing has appeared in Latina, New York Press, Street Magazine, Rock & Rap Confidential and the Miami Herald. Teck was named by Newsweek as “One of 20 Latinos to Watch” and “One of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America,” and has been honored by the National Council of La Raza.