Contests

Fan Club Exclusive: 60% Discount on Dylan By Schatzberg Large Format Art Book

Hi everyone! We're excited to let you know about a special opportunity to purchase a discounted copy of the book, Dylan By Schatzberg.

This beautiful, hard-cover, large format book (July 2020 release) with many rare and unseen photos has a list price of $35 and in some stores is as much as $80 - but we have arranged with the publisher for U.S. residents* to purchase this book through the Fan Club for $23, shipping and tax included! This is the best deal out there by at least a few bucks!

Jerry Schatzberg, of course, did the cover photo for Blonde On Blonde, and has been one of Bob's most intimate, access-granted photographers over the years -- capturing the coolness of mid-60s Bob like no other!

If you want in on this deal please send me an email right away at info@thebobdylanfanclub.com, letting us know how many you will buy and your address for shipping.

We need to have a minimum order of around 30 books to get this deal, so once we get close to that we'll email you back with info about how to pay and get the ball rolling! Please don't email us unless it is with a firm commitment to purchase!
 

* We are sorry to not be able to offer to non-U.S. residents at this price, BUT if you live outside the U.S. and want to know what the cost would be to get one, please feel free to email us your address details and we can let you know. You'd still receive the 60% discount for the book, but we'll need to calculate exact shipping cost from us to you. We will also be getting a list of distributors outside the U.S. to pass along to our UK, Europe, and other non-U.S. members.
 

New Contest to win exclusive Bob Dylan / Johnny Cash 7" Vinyl - available only in German Rolling Stone issue #11

I know we are all anxiously anticipating the new Bootleg Series release featuring Bob & Johnny Cash. Well, related to this, we have generously been offered several copies of the new German ROLLING STONE issue #11 which features an Exclusive Bob Dylan x Johnny Cash 7“ vinyl! Contest is currently running exclusively on our Facebook Fan Club page! 

Here are some details:

 
• Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash 7-inch single is only available in the ROLLING STONE issue #11/2019 
Tracks:
• A-Side: Bob Dylan „Tell Me That It Isn‘t True“
• B-Side: Bob Dylan feat. Johnny Cash „Big River“
 
 

WINNERS OF NEW SACD VERSION OF LIVE 1964 ANNOUNCED - THANKS TO AUDIO FIDELITY FOR PROVIDING THE PRIZE COPIES!

WINNERS OF LATEST CONTEST ANNOUNCED AND A SPECIAL FAN CLUB CODE FOR 20% OFF -- Thanks to everyone who participated in this contest! Congratulations to our winners: Teresa Sullivan Cody, Paul Best, Joe Milanese and Richard Chanel.  Audio Fidelity has set up a special code for Fan Club members to purchase the NEW SACD release of Live 1964 at 20% off. Please visit Audio Fidelity and use code BDFC64 in the coupon code box. Your 20% discount will be applied!

HUGE New Year Contest!

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,

Nothing is better, nothing is best, but we can certainly have our favorites!

Bob was out and about in 2015: on tour with a new album; on TV; he even made a speech!

What was a favorite Bob moment for you from the past year? It could be a moment at a show you attended, or a song off Shadows in the Night, or maybe even the IBM commercial featuring Bob and Watson! Whatever it is, simply write up a short answer and email it to us at info@thebobdylanfanclub.com. We’ll pick winners in about a week.

Here are the prizes up for grabs:

This book by professor and fan David Gaines is a personal memoir that incorporates growing up with Bob Dylan in a way that is familiar to many of us, the music and lyrics affecting our thoughts and even actions. From teaching Bob’s songs in his university English courses, to traveling to Hibbing for Dylan Days, it’s a sweet and fun exploration of how Bob has influenced his life and career. Some of you may even be in his story!
 

 

 

 

 
Be one of our 6 winners to start 2016 with a boost to your Bob reading by sending an email with your answer as soon as possible to info@thebobdylanfanclub.com! Thanks for your participation, happy new year and, as always,
If you see us, say hello!

Caroline & Kait, Co-Directors
 

Dylan Goes Electric! Contest Update and An Interview with Author Elijah Wald

Dylan Goes Electric! Contest Update, and An Interview with Author Elijah Wald

 

Congratulations to our winners Andy, Dag, David, Frank, Marty and Richard, who all won copies of Dylan Goes Electric!  Big thanks to Dey Street Books for providing the copies for our contest. The book is now hot off the press so if you’re not among the winners, fear not – you can order a copy from the publisher at this link, or from numerous other sites or your local book store!

 

Bob Dylan Fan Club: Thank you for writing such a wonderful book and for agreeing to answer a few questions for The Bob Dylan Fan Club. 

I was struck by how your book is in large part a presentation of many different accounts, perspectives and opinions, rather than a particular point of view that you seem to be trying to get across. This makes it a fascinating recounting of events, since it comes at the subject from multiple angles and even admittedly through the haze of time and memory. I love this aspect of your book and found it very refreshing, as so many things that one reads about Bob Dylan seem to be written by someone trying to get their own opinion across as if it was fact!

That said, is there a key point or takeaway on the matter of Bob's electric performance on the night of July 25, 1965 that you want the audience to 'get' from reading your book?  Given the radical divergence in the ways that people recall that day, are there even any 'truths' to be revealed?

 

Elijah Wald:  This may feel like I'm ducking the question, but my first answer would be that I hope people take away the understanding that there are many, many valid ways to view what happened that night. To me, Dylan never wrote a more profound line than "You're right from your side and I'm right from mine." A lot of people seem to have trouble understanding that two opposing points of view can both be right, but the job of a historian is to understand how people thought and felt in the past, and the more I tried to understand what happened at Newport that night, the more convinced I became that a lot of nice, smart, decent people disagreed about what they were seeing and hearing, and about what it meant--and I can't honestly claim I know how I would have felt if I'd been there. So I guess what I'd like people to take away is a similar lack of certainty.

As for whether there are any "truths" to be revealed, sure: the basic facts of how long everybody played, and what they played, and that the crowd both cheered and booed. That leaves us with plenty to wonder about, but I at least tried to get those basics out there--and if anyone wants to check, the Library of Congress has the complete tapes and you can go there and hear them.

 

BDFC:  One possible reason why Bob chose to play the electric set at Newport is simply that it showcased his most recent songs. Do you think he could have just been doing what most artists do, and playing songs from his current album, and not really trying to make any point or statement at all?

 

EW:  Yes, I think that's a very real possibility. He clearly was not prepared for the reaction, and clearly had not planned to play with a band until he got there, and the crowd on Saturday afternoon was yelling for "Like a Rolling Stone," which was just hitting that week. So it seems very likely that he just decided to take advantage of the Butterfield Band and Kooper being there, wanted to test his new style live, and had no idea that it would be regarded as sacrilege. After all, nobody had complained about the Chambers Brothers or the Butterfield Band playing electric. (That's one thing rock historians almost always get wrong: Alan Lomax, the most purist of the purists, had nothing against electric bands--he loved the Chambers Brothers' set, and slighted the Butterfield Band because he hated white middle class kids appropriating ethnic and working class styles, not because they were electric.)

 

BDFC:  What do you hope Dylan Goes Electric! achieves that is different from other writings on this subject?

 

EW:  I would hope it leads people to think of Dylan more in the context of the scene(s) and music that influenced him, and to recognize how important music and musicians were to him. It is perfectly legitimate to think of his lyrics as the most important thing about him, but he was a musician before he became a songwriter and I would argue that for the last 20 years he has again been more of a musician than a songwriter--and, once again, he keeps going back to roots music styles rather than following pop trends. That was why I made Seeger a central figure in my story: to remind people that Dylan was formed by and remained part of Seeger's world, rather than just thinking of him as a rebel against it.

 

BDFC:  As you know, we held a contest for our Fan Club members to win a copy of your book. One of the questions that proved surprisingly difficult for people to answer correctly and completely was simply to name all the songs Bob played at Newport in 1965.  Bob’s July 24 afternoon workshop set is even listed on his official website as only consisting of 3 songs, leaving out Tombstone Blues and If You Gotta Go, Go Now.

In researching your book, what types of records and documents did you use to help make sure you were getting things right? Did you gain special access to any writings, recordings, or anything else that no one had seen or heard before?

 

EW:  As far as Dylan's 1965 Newport appearances go, the first and most important sources were the tapes and film--and yes, I got access to the tape of his Saturday afternoon set, which has never been bootlegged and, to the best of my knowledge, has never been available even to the most assiduous collectors. Honestly, it is not an exceptional performance, but interesting for the early working version of "Tombstone Blues." Beyond that, I dug up some newspaper reports no one else seems to have found -- in particular, the one describing Dylan playing electric at 4am at Nethercliff, which I think cements the memory that the rehearsal was there (at least one writer had placed it in a hotel). Another useful source was Robert Shelton's notebook, which settled the question of whether people were booing before the end of Dylan's set, since Shelton was taking notes steadily through the set and wrote "some booing" as a note to "Maggie's Farm."

For future reference, the full setlist for the July 24 Saturday afternoon workshop was:

1. Tombstone Blues

2. Love Minus Zero, No Limit

3. If You Gotta Go, Go Now

4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

5. All I Really Want To Do

 

BDFC:  Bob seems to have always reached back for inspiration and forward to forge his own path simultaneously. Of course in many ways what he was doing with the songs on Bringing It All Back Home and subsequent albums was deeply influenced by traditional blues and other genres. What are your thoughts on Bob as this type of 'folk' artist — one who is both deeply affected by his roots and yet creating something completely new, throughout his career? Can you comment on this aspect in some of his more recent work?

 

EW:  Dylan has never been a folk artist in the pure Lomax sense of a non-professional making music within a particular community--and Dylan himself has tended to stick with that definition, mostly using the term "folk" for older, anonymous songs rather than what he or other people write in the present to play at concerts. But if we use the newer terms "roots" or "Americana," his work pretty much defines those categories. Especially after reading Chronicles, I get the sense that he does not care about "creating something completely new" anymore--he is writing in older forms, with older instrumentation, and seems to be enjoying the craft and not worrying about breaking any new ground. Which said, simply by going out every night and playing the music he wants to play rather than recycling old "hits," he is doing something very unusual for a rock (or folk) star of his generation.

 

BDFC:  After 1965, Bob next played the Newport Folk Festival in 2002. He performed the entirety of that show wearing a wig and a fake beard (and did this nowhere else on that tour). If you had to surmise, why do you think he did that?

 

EW:  If I had to guess, I would say he was enacting a scene from a Western in which the locals had run him out of town and he was sneaking back in disguise. But that's just a guess.

 

BDFC:  What were some of your favorite conversations you had with people while conducting your research? Who shed light on something totally new for you? (And is Maria Muldaur as totally cool as she seems?!)

 

EW:  Maria Muldaur is, of course, cool. For me, though, the single most illuminating interview was with Peter Stampfel, who gave me a completely different sense of Dylan's early Greenwich Village style by describing it as a fusion of hillbilly and R&B, and also a much better sense of what it was like to be a Bohemian teen in the Midwest in the late 1950s. Honestly, I love doing this kind of research and a lot of the interviews were a huge pleasure, whether I ended up using much from them or not. For instance, I learned a lot by talking with Bill Hanley, who designed the Newport sound system, though very little of it is in the book, and it was great to meet George Wein, and fun to talk with Geoff Muldaur and Jim Kweskin, and of course Spider John Koerner, and Jon Pankake.... I could go on.

 

BDFC:  What's one of your favorite Bob Dylan songs?

 

EW:  Right now, I'm completely entranced by "Floater (Too Much to Ask)" -- I love the lyric, the jokes, the tune, the band, the arrangement... and it's new to me. I had always been an "early Dylan" guy, and would have unquestionably picked something from "Highway 61" or earlier, but one of the pleasures of this project was that it forced me to go over the breadth of his work, and--maybe because I had decided to concentrate on his musicianship--I fell in love with "Love and Theft" and "Modern Times," which I had not properly appreciated when they came out.

 

 

NEW CONTEST: Win a copy of Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,

 

It is with great excitement that we announce a contest for our members to win a copy of the new book by Elijah WaldDylan Goes Electric! This book commemorates, investigates and celebrates the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, and Bob’s set there in particular.

 

Bob’s ‘going electric’ at Newport has been held up as an iconic moment in rock history ever since it occurred, and, 50 years later, remains surrounded by myth and controversy. In Dylan Goes Electric! you’ll go behind the scenes at the all-night jam session that took place the night before Bob’s historic set; find out who really was the coolest chick on the scene (spoiler alert: it’s Maria Muldaur); and learn once and for all if Pete Seeger really had an axe to cut the cables.   

 

OK, maybe you still won’t know that for sure. And that’s part of what makes this book so good. Elijah Wald doesn’t try to present the ‘true story’ of that night, much less of everything that led up to it, but instead paints a fascinating, colorful and at times humorous picture that gives voice to the recollections and opinions of many different people who were there, while also providing plenty of historical and musical context. It’s a fun, informative and fascinating read.

 

Dey Street Books has been so kind to provide The Bob Dylan Fan Club with copies of Dylan Goes Electric! to give away to some lucky members. Sticking with the theme, we’ve come up with a 1965 Bob Dylan quiz!

 

You can read more about the book here (as well as order your copy if you don’t win!)

 

Enter to win your copy of Dylan Goes Electric! Simply email your answers to the following 5 questions to info@thebobdylanfanclub.com.

 

You must answer all 5 questions to be entered to win, and send in your answers by Wednesday, July 15.

 

1. What songs did Bob play at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival?

2. Name two people who played with Bob Dylan at Newport on July 25, 1965.

3. What kind of guitar did Bob play during his three song electric set at Newport Folk Festival in 1965, and how much did it sell for in 2013?

4. What was the date and location of Bob’s next show after Newport in 1965?

5. What’s your favorite Bob Dylan song from 1965?

 

Good luck and thanks for playing!

 

Caroline & Kait

Co-Directors

The Bob Dylan Fan Club

Spring U.S. Tour Contest: What'll I Do?

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,
 
We hope you are doing well and getting excited for Bob's first tour of 2015, which starts in just a few days. We know we are, and look forward to seeing some of you in the fine states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio!
 
Even if you can't make it out to a show this time 'round, you can get in on the action by participating in our Spring Tour Contest!
 
To enter, simply pick a song you think Bob will play on this upcoming US tour that he did not play last year. One of the best places to refresh your memory on recent set lists is at Boblinks (http://boblinks.com/guide.html).   
 
Maybe it'll be a gambling song played at one of the casino shows. Or perhaps he'll bring back Like a Rolling Stone or some other classic. Will he play one of the still-not-played songs off Tempest, like 'Narrow Way', or maybe even the title track, on the 14th day of April, in Savannah, GA?! Will he play 'Isis' on the 5th day of May in Houston? Or perhaps that's where we'll get 'If You Ever Go To Houston.'
 
Or maybe it will be a song off Shadows in the Night. To paraphrase from a song off that new recording: What'll he do?
 
Since there are so many choices and we want to hear all your best guesses, we're allowing up to three songs for each entry. Only one of your answers needs to be right to win - picking more than one just ups your odds.
Prizes will include: 
- a copy of Shadows in the Night on CD
- a copy of AARP Magazine Feb/March issue with Bob on the cover and interview inside
 
To enter, simply email your choice(s) to us at info@thebobdylanfanclub.com. The contest will close at show time on Friday, April 10, with the start of the Atlantic City show. Do submit an entry even if you own both of the above items, since we have other cool prizes that we could send you instead. Everyone who chooses accurately will win something! Woo hoo!
 
We look forward to all your answers and can't wait to have Bob trekking across the country once again! Have a good time out there and, as always,
 
If you see us, say hello!
 
Caroline & Kait
Co-Directors

2014 End of Year Contest Extravaganza

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,

No matter what you celebrate, we hope the season brings you some wonderful holiday time with family and friends.

One thing that we all celebrate is Bob and his music – and there’s been a lot to celebrate this year! Between shows from Japan to Australia to Europe to the U.S.; to Bob starring in a Super Bowl commercial; to the release of The Complete Basement Tapes; to the announcement of a new album of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra early next year – it's been a good year to be a Bob fan!

To wrap up the year in Bob, we have a Fan Club contest with multiple cool prizes. Here’s the challenge: What Bob song would you pick as ‘your’ song for 2014? It can be a new song or old; it can be a song that aptly describes your year, or maybe one that you just reconnected with in a new way. The reasoning behind your choice is up to you. Just reply to this email and tell us which song and why, for a chance to win one of the following prizes:

 

- December 2014 issue of Uncut Magazine

 

- Nov 20, 2014 issue of Rolling Stone

 

- March 24, 2014 issue of New York Magazine ‘A Century of Pop Music in New York’ (Bob Dylan cover edition)

 

- And finally, a new novel set in Hibbing and generously donated to the Fan Club by the author, Rick Novak, The Doctor & Mr. Dylan is a great read! With tons of Bob references and a plot to keep you turning the pages, this book is highly recommended. We are lucky to have two copies to give away!

 

Reply to this email with your answer by January 1st, 2015. We’ll pick and notify five winners within a few days!

Thanks to you all for your participation this year, both here and on our Facebook page. We look forward to another exciting year in Bob for 2015! Happy Holidays, Merry Everything, and a very happy New Year to you all.

Keep on keepin’ on, Caroline & Kait Co-Directors

Spring 2014: For the Love of the Music

Greetings Fan Club Members & Friends,

It’s that time of year again! After a long, cold winter (in some parts of the world, anyway), Bob will soon be heatin’ it up on the road. His first tour of the year will take him to Japan, followed by a couple Hawaii dates.  

Just like little squirrels, hoarding their seeds and nuts to make it through the winter, we've at fan club headquarters been stockpiling some fantastic prizes here at Fan Club central. Now it’s time to emerge from hibernation and greet the pending spring, and Bob’s new tour, with a contest!

The prize for this contest is very exciting! The gracious folks behind the film, For the Love of the Music: The Club 47 Folk Revival, have donated a copy of the recently released DVD of the movie for one lucky winner.  This documentary explores the rich history of Club 47, the iconic Cambridge, Massachusetts folk music mecca, from 1958-1968. Plenty of wonderful artists are featured in the film, including Joan Baez, Tom Rush, Carolyn Hester, Jim Kweskin, Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Taj Mahal, Judy Collins, Ellis Paul, and Peter Rowan.

Of particular interest to readers of this email will be the Bob content in the film, which appears throughout and includes audio of two previously unreleased performances recorded at the club. In his Examiner article, Harold Lepidus provides a thorough detailing of these and other Bob bits in the film, which you can read here:   http://www.examiner.com/article/bob-dylan-content-new-club-47-folk-documentary-spoiler-alert

This movie looks back on an exciting musical time.  For this contest, however, we are looking ahead to Bob’s spring tour, which launches on March 31. To enter, simply respond to this email and let us know one song you think Bob will play at the Japan/Hawaii shows that he did NOT play on his last tour.
Check set lists at boblinks.com or bobdylan.com if you need a refresher (and don’t forget to look at the two Rome shows before you make your pick!)

Contest entries will be accepted up until 7 PM Japan Time on March 31, and a winner will be chosen after the show in Honolulu on April 29th. In the event that there is more than one correct answer, the winner will be randomly selected from all correct submissions. If there are no correct answers, we’ll pick randomly from all entries. Either way, someone's getting a free DVD with some cool Bob stuff on it! We look forward to reading all your answers! Thanks for playing and, as always,

If you see us, say hello!

Everybody's Wearing A Disguise: Fall 2013 Contest WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Greetings Fan Club Members and Happy New Year!

We are pleased to announce the winners of our most recent contest: Everybody’s Wearing a Disguise. Thank you all for your patience this time ‘round – with international Bob travel, busy day jobs, and the holidays, it took us a bit longer than usual to pick and announce these winners. We thank you all for sending in some great entries! To recap, we wanted you to tell us a character from a Bob Dylan song that you would like to dress up as, or that you have dressed up as in the past.

 

We picked the answers below from the many creative and entertaining replies:

Becky D. once dressed up as "Einstein disguised as Robin Hood." We really liked the idea of this one – a costume within a costume!

Bob W. would like to dress as The Watchman from Tempest. This one intrigued us, as it leaves so much to the imagination and seems open to lots of interpretation… plus it would be appropriate to sleep and dream through the party if you got tired or bored, very convenient!

And finally, Serah D. picked the ragman, whose up and down the block circle-drawing opens Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again… just don’t expect her to tell you what’s the matter, because you know that she don’t talk! Thanks again to everyone for playing and stay tuned for another contest very soon!

 

Sincerely, Caroline & Kait, Co-Directors

Everybody's Wearing A Disguise: Fall 2013 Contest!

Greetings Fan Club members and friends,

Bob’s fall Europe tour is off to a smashing start! So far, the shows have featured up to 19 songs, a mid-show intermission, and a heavy dose of Tempest including the live debut of Long and Wasted Years. You never know what Bob will do next, so stay tuned. In other news, you might have noticed that we recently passed the 1,000 member mark on our Facebook fan club page, so thank you for your support and participation over there. Our new website forums have begun to fill up with some interesting stuff, too, including posts of our members’ own Bob-inspired creative endeavors in the ‘Inside the Museums’ forum . Please check it out and add your own contributions.

These exciting times call for a new contest! Aside from, as always, wishing that we could go to every show on every tour, we couldn’t help but notice one upcoming night that promises to be especially fun: Halloween in Amsterdam! To get us all in the spirit of the season, we want you to tell us a character from a Bob Dylan song that YOU would like to dress up as, or that you have dressed up as in the past. From Mr. Tambourine Man to Davey the Brothel-Keeper, Bob’s songs are filled with folks who make for fabulous Halloween dress-up, and we can’t wait to hear your ideas. But we also want to SEE your creations, so anyone who accompanies or follows up their contest answer with a photo of themselves in costume will be entered to win twice!

Up for grabs are the following cool prizes: a copy of the September 2013 issue of Uncut Magazine with Bob on the cover; the LP single Duquesne Whistle/Meet Me in the Morning; Bob Dylan Fan Club t-shirts, stickers and buttons; and more! To enter, just email your costume idea and pictures to info@thebobdylanfanclub.com – we’ll accept submissions all month long! We are hoping for lots of replies, lots of winners, and some really fun photos to add to the photo gallery

All the best and, as always, if you see us say hello (if you can recognize us, that is)! Caroline and Kait

Co-Directors

The Bob Dylan Fan Club

IN THE SUMMERTIME - Summer Tour 2013 Contest!

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,

In case you haven’t noticed… it’s SUMMER! Our favorite season, filled with warmth and fun, travel and music. Woo-hoo!

As Bob embarks on another U.S. tour, we can’t resist posing a question for you all to ponder: What Bob song reminds you of summer, and why? Could be the words, could be the music, could be a summer memory that you just associate with a particular song – whatever it is we want to know!

Send in your answer by Monday, July 1, by emailing info@thebobdylanfanclub.com with IN THE SUMMERTIME in the subject. You'll need to join as a member to qualify, too, but it's easy and fun to do so. Just go here and follow the instructions: http://thebobdylanfanclub.com/content/join-fan-club

We’ll pick a winner and send a copy of the Record Store Day single, Duquesne Whistle/Meet Me in the Morning: http://www.bobdylan.com/ca/news/bob-dylan-single-record-store-day. Another winner will receive a Bob Dylan Fan Club T-shirt – perfect summer tour attire!

We hope you all have plenty of good times this summer, and that those good times include a show or two on the AmericanaramA tour.

As always, if you see us, say hello!

Kait and Caroline, Co-Directors
The Bob Dylan Fan Club

Spring tour contest and NEW WEBSITE announcement April 2013

Greetings fan club members & friends, and happy spring!

It is a particularly happy spring here at fan club central, with Bob’s U.S. Tour getting underway this week and the much-anticipated launch of The Bob Dylan Fan Club’s new website. Create your user account and profile, navigate around, and participate in the brand new discussion forums. We will continue to add information and put finishing touches on the site for a while, but we hope you like what’s there so far!

To kick off the new site and tour, we’re running a contest for some cool prizes! Reply to this email with your answers to the following questions to be entered to win a copy of the Record Store Day single, Duquesne Whistle/Meet Me In The Morning or the recent Rolling Stone Magazine Collector’s Edition on Bob.

Question 1 – What song will Bob and the band play on this tour that new band member, Duke Robillard, played on in the studio?

Question 2 – What song from Tempest will Bob debut on this tour?

Reply to this email with your answers by show time on Friday, April 5 and we’ll pick some winners in a month! We look forward to seeing you soon, on the road and on the new site and, as always, if you see us, say hello!

Caroline and Kait, Co-Directors
The Bob Dylan Fan Club 

August 2012 - Bob Dylan: Forever Young - 50 Years of Song

Dear Fan Club Members and Friends,

 

We hope you are enjoying your summer! We are ever so happy to welcome Bob back to North America and we hope you will be getting out to enjoy some shows (or have enjoyed some recently in Europe)!

 

We have a contest giveaway to celebrate the 2nd leg of Bob's summer tour. The winner will receive a copy of the Life Magazine special edition that came out earlier this year "Bob Dylan: Forever young - 50 Years of Song." It's a nice collector's piece with rare photos and more! (We thank Mr. Jinx for donating this prize!)

 

To win, we want you to guess a song that Bob will play only ONCE this tour. In the event that there is more than one correct answer, the winner will be randomly selected from all correct submissions.  If there are no

correct answers (that is, Bob doesn't play any song just once) we will either pick the closest answer if there is one (for example, the person who picks a song that Bob plays just twice), pick randomly from the

closest answers if there are more than one, OR revert to a random drawing from all submissions (if no one is close).

 

Only one song per answer and only one answer per person, please, and email us your entry here by showtime on Saturday Aug 11... yes, we are getting this email out late so you all get to see one set list before answering, if you want. But we don't really think that will be very helpful, so you may as well just respond right now before you forget!! We will select and announce the winner within a few days of the tour's end.

 

Good luck & have fun out there! We hope LOTS of you will be getting to see

 

Bob soon and, as always, if you see us, say hello!

 

Caroline & Kait

Fall 2012 / Tempest - 4 prizes & 4 winners

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,

 

Happy autumn and happy looming new Bob tour! We hope you are all doing well and that lots of you have plans to check out an upcoming show or two (or three, or four, or…).

 

We’ve recently been given a few new books and e-books to promote, so another contest is called for. And, with the North American Fall Tour around the corner and a new album’s worth of songs ready for live debut, what perfect timing! We know you are all pondering which of Bob’s new songs will be performed live, so here’s your chance to share your predictions and win great prizes at the same time!

 

The Contest

 

By show time on Friday, October 5, reply to this email with your answers to the following questions:

 

1. What will be the first song on Tempest for Bob to debut live?

2. What song on Tempest will Bob play most frequently on the tour?

Extra Credit: What song on Tempest are you most looking forward to hearing Bob play live, and why?*

 

* If you answer this question along with the first two, we’ll send you a Bob Dylan Fan Club sticker, regardless of whether you win the contest. We may also include some answers on a section of our new site, currently under construction.

 

The Prizes

We will have 4 winners for this contest.  Here are the prizes up for grabs:

1. Forget About Today: Bob Dylan’s Genius for (Re)Invention, Shunning the Naysayers, and Creating a Personal Revolution – by Jon Friedman  

Bob Dylan as self-help guru? Why, yes! This book takes a unique look at Bob’s artistry and career, examining his success by looking at character traits and tendencies that we can all learn from and emulate in our own lives.

 

2. Series of Dreams: The Vision Songs of Bob Dylan – by John Burns

 In this e-book, the author examines some of Bob Dylan’s greatest songs, what he calls “vision songs… because they open our eyes and help us to see.”  He offers in-depth analysis of songs from Chimes of Freedom to Ain’t Talkin’, concentrating on spiritual and philosophical themes.

 

3. Words and Music: Excursions in the Art of Rock Fandom– by Michael Anthony 

This is a fun and interesting e-book documenting one fan’s experience with the music we all love. It includes a chapter dedicated to discovering Bob.

 

4. Back by popular demand, the Life Magazine Special Edition, Bob Dylan: Forever Young – 50 Years of Song.

 

Thanks to Mr. Jinx for the magazine donation and to all who reached out in sharing these varied offerings with our Fan Club members.  We couldn’t be more excited to read all of your responses – and to see who is right – as the new tour unfolds in less than a week!

Spring 2012 - Tight Connections contest winner!

We’re excited to announce the winner of our Tight Connections contest for a copy of the book, Bob Dylan: New York.  Jim Fox provided the following answers:   1. The Rolling Stones: Ron Wood - Shot of Love, Empire Burlesque, Knocked Out Loaded, Down in the Groove, Hearts of Fire soundtrack, 30th Anniversary Mick Taylor - Infidels, Real Live, Empire Burlesque 2. Buffalo Springfield:    Neil Young - 30th Anniversary     3. Journey:    Randy Jackson - Down in the Groove, Under a Red Sky  Bob Glaub - Empire Burlesque      4. Jerry Garcia Band:    David Kemper - Love and Theft, Time Out of Mind,  Jerry Garcia - Down in the Groove, Dylan and The Dead                        5. New Riders of the Purple Sage: Buddy Cage - Blood on the Tracks  Jerry Garcia - Down in the Groove, Dylan & The Dead Phil Lesh - Dylan & The Dead  Mickey Hart - Dylan & The Dead   Thanks to all who played; this was one of our tougher contests and we appreciate the many responses we received!  There were a number of “right” answers, but Jim really went the extra mile and revealed some connections that we hadn’t even thought of!   And now, we’re really happy to announce that Roaring Forties Press has made a generous exclusive offer for The Bob Dylan Fan Club, and made Bob Dylan: New York available for a special low price of just $10! Just visit Roaring Forties Press before June 24, 2012 for more details about the book and to order at this great rate – shipping is even included in the U.S.!  It’s a good, info-packed book – totally worth it!  

Spring 2012 - Bob Dylan: New York

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends,   Bob Dylan: New York is a new book that explores the connection between Bob and New York City,examining the role the city played in the creation and evolution of Bob’s music and chronicling the places where Bob lived, worked and played.   To celebrate Bob’s upcoming birthday, we are giving away a copy of Bob Dylan: New York to one lucky fan club member.  This time around our contest is a quiz with the theme of “connections”.  One winner will be chosen on May 24th from among the correct responses.   All of the bands below contained people who play on one or more of Bob’s records.  Give us the name of one or more members who played in these bands and also on one of Bob’s records and be entered to win.   Good luck and remember to salute him when his birthday comes!   The bands are: 1.       The Rolling Stones 2.       Buffalo Springfield 3.       Journey 4.       Jerry Garcia Band 5.       New Riders of the Purple Sage   Caroline and Kait Co-Directors The Bob Dylan Fan Club

Spring 2012 - Legends of Folk: The Village Scene

Greetings Fan Club Members and Friends, and happy spring!

 

The weather’s warming up, Bob’s heading for another joint, and we’ve got live music on our minds!  We also happen to have a new DVD full of performances and more – Legends of Folk: The Village Scene – to offer up for one lucky winner.

 

Hosted by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary, LEGENDS OF FOLK: THE VILLAGE SCENE celebrates the folk era in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. The epicenter of the folk, folk rock and singer songwriter movements, the Village, with its cafes and coffee houses, shaped one of the most important periods in American music.

 

This documentary contains a wealth of archival footage including quite a few full songs. Highlights are many, but some of our personal favorites are the clips of Mississippi John Hurt, Richie Havens, The New Lost City Ramblers, and a really young and adorable (well, everyone’s pretty young and adorable in this!) Maria Muldaur, grooving with Jim Kweskin Jug Band.  Maria also provides lots of personal insights and stories through in-depth interviews, as do John Cohen, Peter Yarrow, an especially entertaining and endearing John Sebastian, and others.  There are references to Bob by the various musicians interviewed throughout, most often in the context of him as the guy who changed it all, who went from soaking up all these influences to writing mind-blowing original songs and taking it all in a direction that no one had taken it before.

 

So, here we go, contest time! To enter and have a chance to win this DVD, answer the following question:  If you had the opportunity to request one song from the Greenwich Village days that Bob would perform live at a show you were attending, what song would that be?

 

Feel free to elaborate and tell us why you’d pick that song, and send in your answer by the end of the day Monday, April 30 to qualify.  We’ll pick a winner on May 1st. Thanks for playing and good luck!

Summer 2011 - The Bob Dylan Electric Omnibus

Greetings Fan Club members and friends!

 

We'd like to say "Happy Summer!" with a cool freebie for everyone and a chance to win more.  Attached here for your pleasure is a sampler of The Bob Dylan Electric Omnibus, a collection of some of the best Dylan-related journalism from the music press from 1965 to to the present day. Edited by former MOJO editor, Mat Snow, the Bob Dylan Electric Omnibus has been published by Rock's Backpages for Kindle and is available in two volumes here at Amazon.

 

The attached Sampler is a nice introduction to the Omnibus and is readable on most devices. Just grab the attachment, download the appropriate reader, and enjoy!

 

We've also been asked to spread the word on a brand new DVD, "Bob Dylan Revealed", so you know what that means... CONTEST TIME! We've posted some info and reviews on our website here at News and Updates. Sounds good, right? The DVD is available for purchase at Weiner World, but you can also play here to win a free copy.

 

Here's the deal:

 

Since one theme of this film is the varied nature of Bob's tours and live performances, AND we have a new U.S. tour looming (yay!) we want you to guess a song that Bob will play only ONCE this tour. In the event that there is more than one correct answer, the winner will be randomly selected from all correct submissions. If there are no correct answers (for example, Bob doesn't play any song just once) we will either pick theclosest answer if there is one (for example, the person who picks a song that Bob plays just twice), pick randomly from the closest answers if there are more than one, OR revert to a random drawing from all submissions (if no one is close). Either way, someone's getting a free DVD, so it is a great idea for you to send in an answer! Only one song per answer and only one answer per person, please, and email us your entry here by 7:30 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, July 14. We will select and announce the winner within a few days of the tour's end.

 

Good luck & have fun out there! We hope LOTS of you will be getting to see Bob soon and, as always, if you see us, say hello!

 

Caroline and Kait

November 2009 - Cornflakes with John Lennon

Robert Hilburn was the pop music critic and editor at the L.A. Times from 1970 to 2005.  He describes his new book, Corn Flakes with John Lennon as “a highly opinioned and deeply personal memoir which focuses on my relationships with and thoughts on many of the most important and inspiring artists in rock -- artists who not only helped build rock as an art form but whose craft and commentary helped shape the social values of our times: Elvis Presley and John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and U2, Phil Spector and Michael Jackson, Public Enemy and N.W.A and Kurt Cobain and Jack White. ”  We had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Hilburn about his experiences interviewing and writing about Bob Dylan and others over the years. We ran a contest to win a copy of the book, asking fan club members to submit questions they would like Mr. Hilburn to answer.  Enjoy the interview, visit Robert Hilburn's website (www.roberthilburnonline.com) and purchase your copy of Corn Flakes with Lennon here: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594869211 ,

here: http://www.amazon.com/Cornflakes-John-Lennon-Other-Tales/dp/1594869219

or at your local independent bookstore!

BDFC:

Our website focuses on elements of Bob's music and artistry that he talked about as important when we met him. One of these things is his live performance, and in f act in the book you quote him about the importance of live performance saying, “…you're either a player or you're not a player . . . if you just go out every three years or so, like I was doing for a while, you lose touch.” As a historian of his music, can you comment on how you view Bob's live performance as part of his legacy? What do you think will be the most remembered aspects of Bob's legacy as a live performer?

RH:

First, let me say I don't in any way want to give the impression I am speaking for Bob Dylan or representing any private feelings he shared with me. I respect him too much to want to ever imply I am speaking for him. These are solely my thoughts.

To me, Bob Dylan sees himself as part of a troubadour tradition that stretches back beyond such major influences as Woody Guthrie, Charlie Patton and Hank Williams. I get the sense that he thinks his “job” is to write songs and then perform them for people night after night—spreading the gospel, if you will, to all those who stop by, hoping either to simply enjoy the music or, in the best of all worlds, be inspired by it.

Regarding the second part of the question, I think Bob Dylan the performer will be remembered as someone with a unique sense of passion and as someone who was the premier songwriter of his era.

BDFC:

What do you think of Bob's last couple of records? Do you have a favorite from the last few years and why?

RH:

I think it is clear that Bob Dylan recaptured his artistry and vision in the series of albums that started with “Time Out of Mind.” I love that album because it gives me the feeling of someone nearing the end of his journey looking back over his life—a bookend, if you will, to his early work, which represented someone just starting his journey. But I also love the sound—the sheer joy of making music—that radiates through the post-“Time Out of Mind” albums. “Love and Theft,” for instance, is joyful enough to make you smile.

BDFC:

When we a nnounced this interview to our Fan C lub members and asked them what they would like to ask you, many of them posed questions regarding Bob's perception of his fans. From what you have observed, how would you describe Bob's relationship to his audience?

RH:

My sense of watching him on stage in recent years is that he (a) is clearly grateful for the loyalty of his fans and (b) that he can best serve his audience by maintaining his independence as a performer rather than simply trying to please that part of the audience that only wants to hear the hits with all the original arrangements. By rethinking the music, he keeps it fresh and meaningful.

BDFC:

If you could choose one anecdote from the time you've spent with Bob that best encapsulates something about his personality or what it's like to be around him, what would it be?

RH:

I have found Bob Dylan to be as fascinating and as complex a person in life as the one you sense in his songs, but he also has very warm, generous side. He has a good sense of humor and a surprising humility.

In the book, I tell about the time I went with Bob Dylan on his first mini-tour of Israel.

Nearly 40,000 fans turned out to see him in a sprawling park of Tel Aviv, many of them holding candles in salute. It was probably the most anticipated concert in the city's history.

Rather than tailoring the material to an audience that had waited decades to hear his early anthems, Bob stuck mostly to newer, lesser-known songs like “Joey” and “Senor.” The fans were disappointed and there was considerable grumbling in the reviews the next morning in Tel Aviv's four largest newspapers.

I had breakfast the next morning with Bob and he asked, “How was the crowd?”

I told him that the audience was glad to see him, but was disappointed that he hadn't done more of his familiar songs. He scoffed. He said he never wanted to let the audience dictate what he should do on stage. I told him I would normally agree, but that this was a special case. This audience strongly identified not only with his socially conscious music, but also with his Jewish roots.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then asked, “What songs do you think I should do?”

I tore a sheet of paper from my notebook and wrote down song titles, starting with “The Times They Are a-Changin'.”

The next night—before 9,000 fans in the scenic Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem—Bob Dylan stepped to the microphone and started singing, “The Times They Are a-Changin'.” He followed with several more songs from my list, including “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Ballad of a Thin Man.” The crowd was ecstatic.

Fifteen years later in Los Angeles, I brought my wife, Kathi, backstage to meet Bob before a concert at Staples Center. I must have seen him a half-dozen times since Israel, but he had never mentioned the piece of paper I gave him I Tel Aviv. When I introduced Kathi, though, Bob smiled and said, “Does your husband have a set list for me tonight?”

BDFC:

When we met Bob he said that reviewers of his shows often, if not always, “get it wrong,” and talked about how they look at the surface and not at substance, missing what's important. As a concert reviewer, what did you do differently in terms of approach and style to win the trust of Bob and others and assure a substantive review?

RH:

I think of my interviews with Bob Dylan as more revealing than my reviews of his live shows and/or albums and my goal in those interviews and profiles is to capture him honestly. When I first started writing for the Los Angeles Times in the early 1970s, I would often read as many interviews with an artist as I could before I met them—and I frequently found I didn't recognize in person the artist I read about in print. That's because writers often injected themselves into the story so much that they became co-stars of the article. In addition, I found many writers tended to dramatize the subject in ways that distorted the artist's personality and/or views.

So my goal was to present the artists—including Bob Dylan—as accurately and as honestly as I could. I wasn't the co-star of the piece. I was just the messenger—between the artist and my readers. And I think the reason I was able to build a good relationship with many of the most respected artists of our times—from Bob Dylan and John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen and Bono—is that they felt they could trust me. In addition, I was interested in these people as artists (their creative processes, their influences, their visions) rather than their celebrity.

BDFC:

What is your personal favorite era of Bob's music?

RH:

I treasure Bob's socially conscious songs and attempts to try to capture the currents of the times, but I think my personal favorites are the love songs, regardless of era---starting with from “Love Minus Zero (No Limit)” and “To Ramona” and going through his catalogue, including such tunes as “Just Like a Woman” and  “If You See Her, Say Hello” and “I Believe in You” and so on. There's a brilliant mix between longing and regret that fuses most of the songs with a tension and realism.

BDFC:

How, if at all, do you think the “entertainment media” has changed since you first started ?  Have you noticed a shift in interviews and articles wanting more and more of the person's private life, rather than a discussion of their art, or has that element always been just as prevalent?

RH:

The most disappointing change is that so many writers and publications go way, way too far in treating today's celebrity pop artists (from Paris Hilton at one end to the American Idol crowd at the other) as creditable artists rather than mediocre (or worse) record makers. I realize that publications have to write about celebrities in order to draw hits on the website and satisfy the curiosity of newspaper readers in a time when papers are fighting for their survival. But they need to go much further in drawing a distinction between the American Idol crowd and the truly great artists out there.

BDFC:

If you could interview one character from one of Bob's song, who would you choose? What would you ask him or her?

RH:

Someone who intrigues me is the narrator in the song, “Not Dark Yet,” a song on “Time Out of Mind”—someone who is looking back at his life and trying to come to grips with what he sees before the darkness does fall. You feel the chill of last rites in every line of the song, starting with:

Shadows are fallin' and I've been here all day 
It's too hot to sleep and time is runnin' away 
Feel like my soul has turned into steel 
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal 
There's not even room enough to be anywhere 
It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there.

I'd ask him to give me some of his thoughts on the things in life that he found rewarding and what things were essentially a waste a time—and what he might have done different.

July 2009, Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends of the Rainbow (DVD)

You may like to gamble…and what better thing to gamble on than winning a new Bob DVD?! We are happy to announce that The Bob Dylan Fan Club has been given a promotional copy of the soon to be released DVD, Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends of the Rainbow, to be given away to one lucky fan club member. This Special Edition 2 disc set contains the documentary, Both Ends of the Rainbow, which follows Bob's work from the late ‘70's through the ‘80's, and features “much rare archive footage of Dylan in concert and performing some of his best tracks from this era.” The package also contains a second disc of “over an hour of incredible audio interviews with Dylan, during which he speaks candidly and openly about his conversion to Christianity, his feelings about the criticism he received and the enlightenment this change of faith brought to him.” Sound interesting? It could be yours! To enter, simply submit a paragraph or two on a favorite song of Bob's from this time period. Nothing fancy, just pick a song and let us know briefly what you find powerful, inspiring, or just plain good about it. Since we have a particular affinity for live Bob, feel free to include thoughts on in-concert performances of your chosen song. Send your entry to info@thebobdylanfanclub.com by the end of the day on Tuesday, July 14th, the official release day for the DVD. Please put “ Contest ” as the subject line, and don't forget to include your name and mailing address! We'll pick and announce a winner by the end of the week. So, crank up your favorite Bob from this era for some fiery Sunday listening, or perhaps kill a little time at work over the next couple days, and send in your entry! Thanks for your participation, and good luck to everyone!

Fall 2006, Rollin' and Tumblin'

Enter to win a copy of the Best Buy Rollin' and Tumblin' exclusive release by purchasing Fan Club merchandise. For each sticker or button you buy your name will be entered to win (for example: buy 5 stickers and you'll be entered 5 times). Thanks to Andy Carroll for the generous donation!

Summer 2006, Maria Muldaur, Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Win Maria Muldaur’s new CD!
CDs will be sent to
Leila, Joanna, Carol, Greg and Marty!
Congratulations! 1. Buckets of Rain 2. Lay Baby Lay (Lay Lady Lay) 3. To Be Alone with You 4. Heart of Mine 5. Make You Feel My Love 6. Moonlight 7. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go 8. Golden Loom 9. On a Night Like This 10. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 11. Wedding Song 12. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere We have given the album a listen and it contains some nice gems that work really well with Maria Muldaur's style.
Heart of Mine: The Love Songs of Bob Dylan features We particularly liked her renditions of Buckets of Rain, Golden Loom and Wedding Song.
Maria Muldaur captures Dylan's softer side – Heart of Mine showcases the love songs of Bob Dylan
Vocalist Maria Muldaur is a child of American folk and roots music. Raised in the fertile Greenwich Village scene of the 1960's, she earned her musical stripes alongside some of the most revered folksingers of the period. Among her contemporaries was one Bob Dylan, the balladeer who single-handedly redefined the pop music landscape with a brand of insightful music that transcended its folk roots and left an indelible mark that is evident to this day. In the early days of the Village folk scene, Muldaur and Dylan often played side by side in the coffeehouse circuit. Muldaur remembers well the “deep, fervent, compassionate and amazingly perceptive” voice that Dylan brought to the many social issues of the early and mid ‘60s during the Village heyday. But she insists that there was – and continues to be – more to Dylan's music than commentary, protest and change. “It occurred to me,” she says, “that while Dylan is mostly known for his scathing, perceptive, brutally honest and insightful songs of social consciousness, he has in fact, over the years, written many passionate and poignant love songs.” Like love itself, Heart of Mine encompasses a wide range of emotions: joy, sorrow, yearning, contentment and a host of other feelings that defy description. “The songs I found were in turn poignant, passionate, seductive, playful, mystical, often bittersweet, but always heartfelt,” says Muldaur. “It was a great pleasure, and at times, quite a challenge for me to wrap myself around these soulful songs and make them my own…Some were written long ago, some quite recently, these love songs convey great emotional honesty and depth and are timeless – as is true love itself.” Muldaur showcases this lesser known side of the Dylan legacy on her new Telarc release Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan. The album is set for release on August 22.
Visit Maria's Site: http://www.mariamuldaur.com/

October 2009 Contest

He did it in Las Vegas
..or at least he will be soon, and you could be there!

Win tickets to see Bob Dylan in Las Vegas!

This Sunday, October 18, Bob Dylan returns to The Joint at Hard Rock Cafe. Relativity Media, in conjunction with www.iamrouge.com , are giving away a pair of tickets to the Bob Dylan Show at the Rogue Joint (Hard Rock Hotel). The winner will also receive one night's stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The contest site can be found here: http://iamrogue.com/dylan/

Users of AOL, Google, Facebook, Yahoo or OpenID can use their existing accounts to register at the www.iamrouge.com website. Word on the street is that these shows shouldn't be missed, so register now for your chance to win!