Hank Azaria is living his own glory days.
The actor and comedian, 60, appeared on “Today” Wednesday with his Bruce Springsteen cover band, the EZ Street Band, and they performed the legendary rocker’s 1984 hit “Dancing in the Dark.”
Before the performance, Azaria told the hosts of the NBC morning show that Springsteen, 75, is well aware of his tribute band.
“He heard about it. I think he and his wife Patti [Scialfa] and I, we share a dentist friend,” Azaria explained. “He texted me one day, ‘Send me your favorite video.’ I sent them ‘Thunder Road.’ If I knew Patti was in his chair at the time, I wouldn’t have sent it. But apparently she liked it, she showed it to Bruce.”
“I heard he liked it, too,” Dylan Dreyer said to Azaria.
The “Friends” actor, imitating Springsteen’s voice, responded, “I heard he liked it. I hope so. I do hope so.”
Azaria noted that any money his band makes goes to his and his wife Katie Wright’s social-justice-themed charity, Four Through Nine Foundation.
“Yeah, we play for the kids and we have a lot of fun,” he said.
Azaria recalled to the hosts that he started the cover band last year when he “felt a certain way” about turning 60.
“To cheer myself up, I said I’m gonna throw a reverse surprise party, tell all my friends — most of them are Springsteen fans — that I had a cover band coming, didn’t tell them that I was working for months to be the frontman, surprised them with it and we raised a lot of money that night for charity,” he shared. “It went well so we’re still doing it.”
During an appearance on “Live With Kelly and Mark” in Feb., Azaria spoke about the origins of his love for Springsteen.
“I’m from Queens. Queens is just like Asbury Park but less water,” he joked. “I’ve been imitating Bruce since I was a teenager. A lot of my early impressions are based on hero worship, Bruce being at the top.”
Azaria also said that it’s “a goal of ours” to get Springsteen to one of the band’s shows.
Last year, Azaria told Rolling Stone of his 60th birthday performance, “I was more nervous that day than I’ve been for any other performance in my life.”
“I had a panic attack, to be honest with you. I was like, ‘What am I doing? This is insane. This is insane!’ And I had a full-blown panic attack,” Azaria said. “was sweating and I actually threw up. I’ve never thrown up from nerves in my life.”
The “Simpsons” actor added that he eventually wants to perform with his cover band in 2,000-seat theaters.
