The Bobby Bones Show - Lovable Actor Steve Schirripa from The Sopranos: Inside one of the greatest shows in TV History.

Episode Date: March 20, 2023

Every Sunday, we were riveted for years with appointment television with The HBO Series The Sopranos.On this episode of Takin A Walk actor Steve Schirripa joins us.He played Bobby Bacala on the series and give us the inside scoop on the show, the cast and the amazing musical soundtrack for The Sopranos courtesy of director David Chase.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of IHard Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries

while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this seasonal Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death Mike Sessario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take to Interactive CEO, Strauss Selney,

and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast, Eating While Broke, is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum-Pierre,

as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. There's an economic component to communities thriving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they failed. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On a recent episode of the podcast Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here?

We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts. Too many of us were never, ever taught. If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. Get your podcast. Earners, what's up? Look, money is something we all deal with, but financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth.

On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, our goal is simple. Make financial literacy accessible for everyone. Because when you understand the system, you can start to build within it.

Open your free iHeart radio app. Search earn your leisure and listen now. I'm Buzz Knight, the host of Taking a Walk, Music History on foot. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, tune in, Iheart or wherever you get your podcast and leave us a review as well. On this episode, we have an actor who was part of a TV series that captivated us for many years. Steve Sheripa, best known for portraying Bobby Bacala. on the Sopranos. He's also been part of Blue Bloods, and he hosts two investigative discovery series as well. And he, along with Vincent Pastori, otherwise known as Big Pussy, and Michael

Imperiali, otherwise known as Christopher Maltesante, are playing theaters across the country, including April 1st at the Strand and Providence. Welcome Steve Sheripa to taking a walk. Buzz, how are you? I'm doing excellent. I feel like I, I know you from all of the time that you spent in my living room over the years. Maybe you do, Buzz. So what about Steve is similar to Bobby Bacchala? Anything? Yeah, I think I'm a family guy. Bobby was certainly a family guy,

cared about his kids, scared about his wife. So we certainly have that, you know, in common. Bobby, thank goodness. And Bobby was a nice guy. And he kind of fell into that world. He, you know, his father was in it. And he fell into it. And he fell into it. I don't know if he would have been a wise guy if it wasn't for his dad, you know. But yeah, I'd say being family guys. do you pinch yourself just realizing that you were part of something that was so friggin' special with the Sopranos? Well, yeah, I mean, it's hard to get on, you know, it's hard to get on any TV show, period. Even the worst show, people have no idea, you know, people have no idea. Even the worst show that you go, this stinks, I hate this show, the work that goes into that. and how hard it is to get on that show an actor.

And then to be lucky enough in the right place, right time, and prepared, and lucky enough to be on that show. This is not the greatest show in TV history is something, yeah. I very much am aware of how lucky I am and how things line up in the universe. Because, you know, I came to New York for a wedding, and then come to New York. New York for that wedding.

We're probably not talking right now. You know, it's kind of like that. But yeah, I absolutely pinch myself. And it's still going and just to be a part of that. And it was an incredible experience all the way around. And not only being on the show, I mean, as the years went on, my character got bigger and bigger, you know. And, you know, here I am playing with these guys, you know, that I, you know, watched on TV. It's a little, you know, a little bit of a lightning and a.

bottle. And you guys all on the cast seem to just really enjoy each other. And now, to this day, you're having fun with Vincent Pestori and Michael Imperiali going around and having this inside conversation about the Sopranos. You're having a blast, aren't you? Oh, it's great. It's great. You know, we've been doing it for years, different versions of it, you know. And now we do it. We do it about once a month. It's a comedy-driven show. We show clips. We show slides.

We tell stories, behind-the-scenes stories that you only know if you were there. You know, we take questions from the audience. Op. is the show when we ask us some questions that, you know, popular questions that we answer. We tell stories. And because every show is different every night. And we've been packing them in. We sell out most places.

and you know, we've been doing it for a number of years. We went to Australia. We did a seven city tour there. And, you know, we're going to be in Boston, March 11th, and then Providence April 1st. Oh, man. It sounds like so much fun. So I have to ask you, the soundtrack to the Sopranos and the music was, you know,

just like the whole show. It was just crafted. tremendously. And the way some of these songs just, you know, were unearthed or certainly for me newly discovered or rediscovered, songs like living on a thin line by the kinks and, of course, the theme, you know, woke up this morning from A3. I remember space invaders from the pretenders, rambling rose from Nat King Cole, so many of them. So as a cast member, when did you finally see the music scoring piece take shape. Did you know along the way? No, no, absolutely not. Not until you watch the show on a Sunday night. We were not privy to any

of that. I watched the show on Sunday like everyone else. David Chase and a producer named Martin Bruce Lee, who was in charge of that. David Chase is a musical, you know, savant, you know. I believe drums as a kid, you know, and by the end of the show, the budget for music was half a million dollars a show. Oh, wow. Which is unheard of. Which is unheard of. And, you know, he got what he wanted. I mean, obviously, you know, this is what he wanted.

This is how it was. We had interviewed Martin Bruce Lee about the music on our podcast. We have, well, it's over now, but it's still out there talking sopranos. Me and Michael Imperial had a podcast that did like 250,000 people an episode. And he talked about the music. And, you know, it was not easy. It was very tedious and, you know, what to use, including, you know, don't stop believing at the end. There was numerous choices for that.

So the music played a huge part of the success of the show, you know. Yeah, and you don't think of these songs without thinking of the Sopranos, right? I mean, really. Yeah, absolutely. By the way, I love the podcast that you guys did. I think it was spectacular. Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

So then our brother from another mother, Stephen Van Zant, how special was it being with Stephen and of course Silvio Dante on the Sopranos. Well, Steve, he's a terrific guy, just as nice a guy as you can find, very generous guy. And, you know, when we went back to watch the shows after I had to watch them in so many years, I appreciated his performance and his character so much more.

He was so good, so, so, so good. And Sylvia was the glue that kept, you know, the crew together. He was the small one. He gave good advice. He was very smart. He wasn't, of course, he was a murderer, you know, I mean, but, you know, he was smart. He thought things out. Counsel year to Tony Soprano, as he used to Bruce Springsteen.

Yep, that's right. Absolutely, I love it. I think, boy, the character he played was just so spectacular, and he is a great guy, It's super, super sweet. And then please tell me how it was working with the late Jimmy Gandalfini. Jim's a terrific guy. It's a nicer guy. As great an actor as he was, he was even a nicer guy.

Very generous. I talk about that in the show, how generous he was to all of us. And he paid off people's mortgages. And he gave people money, people that he didn't even know. And he did it anonymously. just a wonderful guy. Just a lot of fun. We had a lot, a lot, a lot of less together.

I miss him. Were you in awe of just being on set with him performing? No. You can't be in awe of someone when you're acting opposite them. That's not going to work, you know? Yeah. You know, I mean, I certainly appreciated his stuff. He was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

But, you know, when you're on, set and you're working, you can't think in those terms, or you'll never get anything done, you know? You're right. And then you've migrated off to other great work, Blue Bloods,

and also you've got a couple of Discovery series, investigative discovery shows. I did. I created some, I created a bunch of shows for them, and I've been on Blue Bloods for eight years. I got to work later on this afternoon. It's a wonderful show.

I've done over 127 episodes of that show, more than double the Sopranos, and we shoot here in New York, and that's a wonderful cast, and just happy to be a part of that great show, you know. And I was on another series from Molly Ringwall years ago, right after the Sopranos. I've been very lucky.

I've been working steady for 23 years, and, you know, we'll see how long we could keep going. And who's been most influential to you as an actor, you know, as you've studied acting, and, you know, look to kind of create your own voice? You know, really, no one. I mean, I talked to Michael Imperialis with close friends, and I talk to him. You know, I'm not a very actory guy, you know, like a lot of people. There's a lot of actory people that act that way.

You know, I talk to Michael a lot. I was in a movie that he directed, you know. And so, you know, I go to him. Otherwise, I just do my work, you know. I have had Scanlan and the Joanna Pexton, you know, and I just kind of do my thing, you know, Buzz. I don't like talk about it. You know, when you go, you'll be surprised when you go on auditions or you're in an you'll be surprised how, you know, everyone's trying to outdo each other, you know,

especially actors that don't work that much. Yes. Well, I have to tell you, you make it all look very easy, and I know it's not easy, and I'm so grateful for the work that you've done and continue to do, and I appreciate you being on taking a walk. Thank you very much, Buzz. Good luck to you and we'll talk again. You take care.

Thank you. Taking a walk with Buzz Night is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of IHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast,

Math and Magic, stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this season on Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death Mike Cesario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture.

You're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take to Interactive CEO, Strauss Selnick, and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast Eating While Broke is bringing real conversations about money, growth and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum Pierre, as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. There's an economic component to communities thriving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they failed. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here?

We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth starting with the mindset shifts too many of us were never, ever taught. If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to money and wealth with John Hope.

Brian from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Earners, what's up? Look, money is something we all deal with, but financial literacy is what helps turn income into real wealth. On each episode of the podcast, Earn Your Leisure, we break down the conversations you need to understand money, investing, and entrepreneurship. From stocks and real estate to credit, business, and generational wealth, our goal is simple. Make financial literacy accessible for everyone. Because when you understand the system, you can start to build within it. Open your free IHeart radio app.

Search Earn Your Leisure and listen now. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.