Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul — featuring guitarist Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band and "Sopranos" fame — are performing at the Palace Theater on Friday, May 4.

Albany is one of five initial dates for his 2018 tour that supports Teachrock and the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. Teachers can participate in a pre-concert seminar about the foundation's music curriculum, watch the band rehearse for the show and get a free ticket to the show. Sign up at teachrock.org/tour.

It's a professional development opportunity and salute to teachers, Van Zandt told the Times Union in a phone interview today. The music curriculum offered through the foundation also is free.

A full report from the interview will be published on timesunion.com closer to the show, but here are a couple of outtakes for Sopranos and E Street Band fans:

On the "Sopranos" prequel:

"Oh yeah yeah they just announced it. I've been trying to talk David Chase into it for 10 years. It looks like he's going to do it now. Of course people expect you to be in it. (Laughing throughout these next statements) I'm going to be in it in name only. It's going to be a 20-year version of me. But the actors that people know aren't going to be in it. I'm getting a lot of congratulations. I don't think people understand the concept of a prequel. "

On an E Street Band tour:

"We haven't really talked about it. You know Bruce is having a really good time on Broadway. It's extremely successful. Nobody quite dreamed it would be quite this successful, we knew it would be great. We will see what he wants to do. I picture him doing that at least a good part of this year. And then we will start talking about something. I think we've got one more phenomenal tour before we slow down. That might be 2019, might be 2020. I don't know, we will see. I don't know this for a fact. I'm guessing. It feels like we will be back. He's so prolific. He's always writing. He's always creating. He's really quite an inspiration and always has been. He's got something working in that crazy brain of his. We'll all find out what that is together."

— Joyce Bassett