Lofgren Finds Silver Lining After Springsteen Stint : Pop music: The veteran guitarist, used to playing stadiums with the Boss, is touring in clubs with his own band.

For Nils Lofgren, this is life A.B.

That’s life After Brooooooce .

At least that’s how many rock fans see it. Most had probably never heard of Lofgren before he replaced guitarist Steve Van Zandt in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1984, during the monumental “Born in the U.S.A.” tour. Even those who had followed Lofgren’s career before Bruce likely look at his new “Silver Lining” album as part of a new, post-Boss phase.

But that’s not Lofgren’s view.

“I don’t relate to that ‘life after Bruce’ stuff,” he said by phone from San Francisco, where he gave a concert this week. Lofgren and his band will be at the Bacchanal in San Diego tonight and the Roxy on Friday.

For one thing, he said, he still expects more life with Bruce.

“Bruce never fired the E Street Band,” said the guitarist, known for his acrobatics both on the fretboard and the stage, where he often does back flips off a trampoline. “That was just what the press corps said. . . . He’s just making his third solo album. I love him as a friend, and whatever he does I’m behind 1,000%. And if in a year or two I’m on stage playing with him again I’ll have a ball.”

For another, Lofgren’s stint with Springsteen is only one entry on his resume. So, for that matter, are his work with Neil Young (he played piano on “After the Gold Rush” and was in a mid-’70s version of Crazy Horse) and Ringo Starr (he was part of the All-Starr Band for a 1989 tour). Still, it’s those duties for which he is best known.

“I’ve been making my own music since I was 17,” said Lofgren, 39, a Chicago native who spent his teen years in Bethesda, Md. “So for 22 years, 90% of that time I’ve been a bandleader, playing my music. The media focus tends to be on me playing with famous people like Neil Young, Ringo Starr or Bruce. It’s really just been a small but beautiful part of my career, as time goes.”

But he accepts the fact that attention on him often focuses on his connections.

“That doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Maybe if somebody knows about me because I played guitar for Bruce, maybe they’ll get my record and like my music. And all those experiences have given me confidence. There are a lot of great guitar players, but few get the opportunity to be in great bands like I have.”

What it hasn’t given him is recognition in his own right. Despite guest appearances by Springsteen, Starr, fellow E-Streeter Clarence Clemons and the Band’s Levon Helm, “Silver Lining” has not commanded much radio airplay.

That puts it in league with all his albums, back to his Wunderkind time with his band Grin two decades ago through 1985’s “Flip,” recorded and released during the “Born in the U.S.A.” tour, but still a commercial failure. So now he’s on the road, back playing clubs to promote the new album, a big step down from the stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters he’s played in with Springsteen and Starr in the past.

“In a perfect world I’d be getting massive radio airplay, which I’m not, and reaching more people and playing nice theaters,” he said. “I love to play. Nothing’s gonna stop me from playing. But sure, man, if I had my druthers I’d play in theaters. . . . I’m frustrated over the lack of airplay and commercial success because I make records for people and I want to touch people in a positive way. But I don’t know what else to do, so I’ll keep at it.

“I love playing and I’ll always be a musician. When I’m 80 I hope to be playing the blues somewhere. For me it’s not an option to pack it in. I’m in it for the long haul.”