Steven Van Zandt its 500th show in front of a sold out crowd at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square. The guests included the band Green Day; Steve Buscemi, star of "The Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire"; Vincent Pastore, aka "Big Pussy Bonpensiero" from "The Sopranos"; actor and director Tim Robbins; and singer Debbie Harry of the group Blondie. Van Zandt is also the program director for two radio channels for the Sirius Satellite Radio network. The channels continuously broadcast on satellite radio in the US, and worldwide on Sirius Internet Radio. One channel, named "Underground Garage", has the same philosophy
The Sopranos as a destination for talent looking for cutting-edge original series work." The show has frequently been criticized for perpetuating negative stereotypes about Italian Americans. Several major organizations have voiced their concern that "The Sopranos" presents a very distorted and harmful stereotype of Italian Americans and their cultural values, including the National Italian American Foundation, Order Sons of Italy in America, Unico National, and the Italic Institute of America. In 2000, officials in Essex County, New Jersey denied producers permission to film on county-owned property, arguing that the show depicts Italian Americans in a "less than favorable light." In 2002, organizers