Danny Federici turns 52 today. Happy Birthday to the Phantom, who, if the rumors are true, may be spending his big day in the studio with his E Street pals. Read more about Danny on his official website. Read more

   

Bruce showed up last night to celebrate his old friend and bandmate Clarence Clemon's birthday at the Foxwood Casino in Connecticut. Wearing his old battered Dolphins cap, he joined the party on stage in front of only about 200 lucky people. He helped out on "Raise Your Hand", "Pink Cadillac", "Mustang Sally" and "Glory Days". Also present on stage was BB King. Read more

   

An opera based on Bruce Springsteen's songs? Why not? Pretty soon it will be a reality according to Variety. The two directors, Darrel Larson and Stephanie Kerly Schwartz, have received permission from Bruce to proceed with the plans of turning his music into an opera or musical titled "Drive All Night". No word on when it will premiere to the public, but Bruce himself will be present at a reading of the material sometime in March. Read more on CNN Entertainment. Read more

   

Did Bruce Springsteen finish an album with the E Street Band a few weeks before the holidays? That's what we hear from one source whose reliability we cannot vouch for. Of course, it sounds interesting, but with the complete lack of rumors in this regard, we must put it in the "unlikely" category. Perhaps more reliable is the word from the same source of an attempt to get Bruce to do an acoustic show at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of fame in Cleveland this year. The Hall of Fame has allegedly tried several times before, but this year looks good, according to the source. We'll see. Read more

   

On January 11 the E Street saxophonist Clarence Clemons will turn the 60-year mark. A big Happy Birthday to the Big Man from Greasy Lake. We hope he has a few more tours in him. Read more

   

According to Billboard, Bruce will contribute to an upcoming Johnny Cash tribute album to be released in May. Johnny Cash, who will turn 70 in February, will apart from Springsteen be honored by artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne and Steve Earle. Read more

   

2001 came and went without a new studio album from Bruce, but we did get a new great live album and DVD plus the highest number of non-tour performances since 1989. What will happen in 2002 is anybody's guess. No new studio album is in the horizon, but that could change fast. We must assume it has a very high priority in Bruce's camp after more than six year with no new material. But even though Bruce is laying relatively low, Greasy Lake will continue to keep you up to date with the news and rumors, big or small. At some point during 2002, we hope to present a new design and a new structure, but you will have to keep an eye on the site to know when. Happy New Year to all our readers. Read more

   

With Jersey shore rocker Boccigalupe as one of the promoters, a group of people have started a campaign to prevent the legendary Stone Pony club in Asbury Park from being relocated. The city council in Asbury Park is currently considering moving the Pony to another location to make room for condos on the beach front. While the new commitee supports the redevelopment of the city, they feel the Stone Pony is worth preserving as an important part of the area's and the world's musical history. With a few interruptions, the club has existed in the same place since 1974. To support the campaign, you can sign a petition on www.savethestonepony.com. Read more

   

Only a week after his own run of shows in Asbury Park ended, Bruce was on stage again to celebrate the Holidays. He joined the lineup at the annual Holiday Express show at the Continental Airlines Arena and performed "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". During the former, he left the stage and sang from the midst of the crowd. The Holiday Express is a organization that combines charity and music in the Holiday season. Check out their website for more information. Read more

   

After a month's delay last week finally saw the official release of the Live in New York City DVD in Europe. The delay was due to a problem with the sound on the second disc, a problem everybody thought would be solved now. However, we're getting reports that the disc still has drop-outs in the sound and that, apparently, nothing has been done to correct it. Customers in Denmark have been offered their money back, but no word on whether the error will ever be corrected. The official Springsteen website has a suggestion as to how the problem can be eliminated, but their suggestion does not appear to work on all players Read more