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News and Updates

The main purpose of this page is to post news and updates about The Bob Dylan Fan Club and fan club related activities.
For the latest links to Bob content in the news, please check out Expecting Rain!

The Latest:

November 14, 2011
Greetings Fan Club members and friends,

We are getting in touch with a couple of recent requests for interviews
and other fan participation that have been sent to the Bob Dylan Fan Club,
in case there are folks here who would like to participate. These are
opportunities specific to France and New York based Bob fans. Obviously,
participation in either opportunity is completely voluntary, and our
communication does not constitute an endorsement of either project; we’re
just passing along the requests and contact info.

First, Francios Gorin, a writer for Telerama (http://www.telerama.fr/), a
weekly magazine about culture, music and tv, writes:

“We are now working on a very special Bob Dylan issue, to be published
next February (100 pages and around 100,000 copies)… we'd like to have a
portfolio about Dylan fans and their universe: a series of portraits
showing each fan surrounded by his own Dylan records, books and other
memorabilia.”

M. Gorin asks to be connected to any French fans who may be interested in
participating. He can be reached at gorin.f@telerama.fr, if you would
like to find out more or express interest in participating in this
project.

Second, Monique Headley is a graduate student at Nyack College in New
York. She is working on her thesis involving fan clubs and artist
communications and is looking for approximately 50 Bob Dylan fans located
in New York to participate in a confidential survey as part of her
research. Monique can be reached at FanclubThesis@yahoo.com for more
information and to discuss.

Feel free to forward this info to other Bob fans that may not be a part of
this update list. That’s it for now, hope you are all well!

Caroline and Kait

Caroline Schwarz and Kait Runevitch
Co-Directors The Bob Dylan Fan Club

July 10, 2011
The Bob Dylan Electric Omnibus
Edited by former MOJO editor Mat Snow, this is a collection of some of
the best Dylan-related journalism from the music press from 1965 to
the present day. Split over two volumes and totaling over 200,000
words, it includes interviews, reviews and features by some of the
world's leading music journalists.
Further information here.

New DVD, BOB DYLAN REVEALED: A Fan Club Review
Available at www.wienerworld.com

"Bob Dylan Revealed"is a new film celebrating Bob's 70th birthday through exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage and photographs spanning Bob's career. While the title, “Bob Dylan Revealed” is the kind of title that I dislike and was a bit of a turnoff to me, it is in fact a film with a good amount of insightful commentary from people who were a part of Bob’s various bands as well as behind the scenes in other ways. There is a heavy focus on what it’s like to play, record and tour with Bob, which is always a plus in my mind. I much prefer documentaries that get info and relay stories from folks who recorded or toured with Bob vs. professorial types who are attempting to analyze his lyrics and such. This movie definitely fits the former description, with lengthy ramblings by Mickey Jones, often in the form of narration of his own home movies of the 1966 tour; Scarlet Rivera’s own telling of how she came to join and what it was like to be a part of the Desire recording sessions and the Rolling Thunder Revue; first-hand accounts of those same recording sessions, RTR, and the 1978 “Rundown” rehearsals and ensuing tour presented by bassist Rob Stoner, often with deadpan humor; and, perhaps my favorite part, very down-to-earth and engaging anecdotes from Winston Watson of some of the later touring years and his brushes with Bob as a part of that ensemble of players. All of the interviews are presented in a raw format with little editing, which is refreshing in a film climate when documentaries can be overdone.

It is interesting to hear these varied remembrances and to note the common threads that run through them. There is a real affection for Bob and a deep respect for him as a creator in all of these first-hand accounts, as well as repeated testimony to the amazing spontaneity that rules both recording sessions and live performance with Bob. There are also some non-musician contributors with noteworthy additions to the story, among them producer Jerry Wexler, photographer Barry Feinstein and Rubin Carter, whose contributions include a unique perspective on the prison concert (Joni Mitchell fans may not love it). Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s most notable comments in the film also relate to this event. Rubin Carter is revealed to be a very lively character whose recollections shine new light on the grave occurrences on the night of which we are all familiar with through Bob's song.

The movie’s claim to “never-before-seen photos and footage” seems to be substantiated, with some Feinstein shots that I do not recall having seen before, as well as new (to me at least) clips from the famous 1966 interview sequences. This new interview footage, while brief, is itself worth watching the movie for, and evoked in me a combination of pity for Bob at having to endure the stupid, rude and thoughtless questions from reporters, and great admiration for him in his quick and hilarious replies. I got a laugh out of Mickey Jones' confirmation that Bob was knowingly messing with the reporters and having a good time at the same time.

I have one main negative critique of this movie, which is the confusing allegation of “Drug Rehab 1967,” which is the actual title of one of the chapters but is never substantiated in the least and, from what I can tell, added purely salaciously. The movie makes this serious claim and then dances around it, leaving it as an unfounded implication. At best it’s a bit of sensationalism and highly amateurish; at worst it is slander and, in my opinion, seriously lowers the integrity of the film. Happily though, the movie rises above this blunder in its totality, with contributors who really do have something new and interesting to say about what it was like to be a part of Bob’s journey at various points in time.

Overall a very enjoyable film.

May 15, 2011

Hello Fan Club Members and Friends!

As we anxiously await the announcement of more US Summer Tour dates,
here's a little live music fix we've been asked to pass along to you.
Digital Video Singles, a recently founded company dedicated to finding and
restoring classic and pivotal rock and roll performances captured on film
and video tape, has released a video single of Bob’s 1965 Newport Folk
Festival performance of Maggie’s Farm. You can purchase the video single
from itunes here.

or view the entire D.V.S. catalog at their website here.

Also, for those of you who will be able to catch some of the upcoming
Europe tour, Feis Festival promoters have asked us to share details on the
festival and ticket purchases and to encourage your attendance! Below are
details regarding Feis Festival, at which Bob will appear on June 18:

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June 2011 – Finsbury Park, London. NW4

WEB LINKS

For all line up details, tickets, announcements and news visit:
www.londonfeis.com

TICKET PRICES
Weekend Ticket - £120.00
Saturday Day Ticket - £70.00
Sunday Day Ticket - £60.00

Disabled Tickets:
£70.00 + carer goes free.

Child Tickets:
Free entry for children under 12

Tickets are on sale now from the following outlets:

November 2009

BDFC holds a giveaway contest for book (Cornflakes With John Lennon) and conducts and interview Robert Hilburn, rock critic for the LA Times.
See the interview here.

Sunday July 13, 2009

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!

Saturday June 27, 2009

Watch The Ballad of AJ Weberman June 26-30

Wednesday October 15, 2008

There is a new website of interesting Dylan themed art found here:
http://webhost.btinet.net/~sharoncol/desolationrow.htm
Please check it out!

Tuesday October 14, 2008

Jamsbio is doing a Bob Dylan promotion that you might be interested in. They are working with Columbia Records to support the release of Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs". Starting, October 15th, fans may visit:
http://jamsbio.com/contest/bob-dylan to share memories, reviews or create lists about America's most illustrated music man. Drawings will be held throughout the promotion to award rare Dylan memorabilia, one deluxe 3-CD Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8 box set, and three 2-CD Tell Tale Signs sets.

Monday, September 28, 2008

This was sent to us by NPR. Please enjoy!

NPR MUSIC EXCLUSIVE:

NPR MUSIC TO STREAM ENTIRE BOB DYLAN ALBUM,

"TELL TALE SIGNS," WEEK AHEAD OF RELEASE

FULL ALBUM AVAILABLE AT NPR MUSIC BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 30

September 26, 2008; Washington, D.C. - NPR Music - www.NPR.org/music -
will exclusively stream Tell Tale Signs, the highly-anticipated
forthcoming album from Bob Dylan, beginning Tuesday, September 30 at
midnight, one week ahead of the album's release on October 7. The entire
2-CD, 27-song set will be available to hear on-demand at NPR Music for the
week leading up to its release.

Tell Tale Signs is the 8th installment in Dylan's "Bootleg Series," and
features previously unreleased recordings, live performances and alternate
versions of songs recorded during sessions for some of his most acclaimed
albums, Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind among them. Also included on the
album are Dylan's recordings for the soundtracks of the films Lucky You,
Gods & Generals and North Country, and "32-20 Blues," his first ever
release of a Robert Johnson song.

The complete track listing for Tell Tale Signs and additional information
about the album will be available at NPR Music starting tonight, where
there is also an extensive archive of past interviews with, and music by,
the legend: www.NPR.org/music

NPR Music is a premier destination for music, concerts, reviews and news
about both established and upcoming artists, in all music genres. This
summer, the site added three more industry giants to its already extensive
"Live in Concert from All Songs Considered" roster, when the site
exclusively webcast concerts from Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Radiohead.
All concerts are archived at the site.

NPR Music, marking its first anniversary in November 2008, features
content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, as well as
original-to-NPR Music features such as live performances, studio sessions,
interviews, reviews and blogs. Specific sections of the site are dedicated
to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music. The site
culls from NPR's and the stations' extensive music archives to present
thousands of features; more than 240 new features are added to the site
every month.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Bob makes an Oscars appearance, wishing us all peace, tranquility, and good will.

February 10, 2008
A weekend of Skinny Singers!

Bob may be headed everywhere but here, but Bay Area local and Fan Club favorite Jackie Greene is providing us with more entertainment than we can remember enjoying in one winter ever before! Having recently wrapped up his latest outing with Phil Lesh and Friends (playing alongside long-time Fan Club fave Larry Campbell, of course), tonight ends a mini-tour with Tim Bluhm of Mother Hips and drummer (and sometimes bass player) Mike Curry, aka Skinny Singers. The show at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz blew the roof off the place, and included a searing rendition of Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You. Jackie’s a huge talent and a real sweetheart, head out to see him on his upcoming tour if you can! Check out his website for all the details.

September 29, 2007
Fan Club in the Phil Zone!

We had a great time at the Phil and Friends Show at Berkeley’s Greek Theater last Sunday, Sept. 23rd – well worth the next day’s fogginess at work. We drove down on Saturday night and had a gracious hostess in Pam, then met up with other friends from the city in line the next day. Phil kicked it out; it was awesome fun seeing Larry, whose playing blew us away as always; and they did a tremendous Hard Rain (circa mid-70’s version) with Jackie Greene at the helm. All in all a terrific show, we encourage everyone to check out this latest incarnation of Phil and Friends!
Check out these photos from the show at the Greek.

September 5, 2007
We would like to extend our congratulations to our friends and charter members Jim and Steph on the birth of their daughter, Lily Rosemarie last Friday. She's a beauty! Welcome!

August 30, 2007

Fan Club returns to local Free Form Radio Station KHUM to spin some of Bob's best!
Stay tuned for future all-Bob shows to come!

August 26, 2007
Fan Club Comments in UK Guardian and Observer newspapers on the
upcoming film about Bob's life, "I'm Not There." Read the article
here: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2156456,00.html

May 26, 2007

Thanks to KHUM for hosting a most excellent Bob’s birthday celebration yesterday! It was fun playing DJ and talking about Bob’s music. Thanks to those of you who listened and called in, and congrats to the winners – your “shwag” will be on the way shortly.
The show was recorded and a CD is on the way to us, and we hope to be able to post some or all of it on the site. Stay tuned!

May 17, 2007

We're excited to announce that we will be celebrating Bob's birthday
on the air! KHUM (104.3 FM), Humboldt County's homegrown freeform
radio station, has invited us into the studio from 12 to 1 next
Thursday to talk about The Bob Dylan Fan Club and play some songs.

If you're not local, you can listen online at
http://www.khum.com/fsetstream.html

February 2007

The Bob Dylan Fan Club gets an Upgrade!

We are excited to reveal the new website of The Bob Dylan Fan Club. Not only does it look cooler, we have added multiple new features that we think will make the site easier to navigate and the interactive features easier to use.

The past months have been interesting and full of surprises. As we’re sure you can imagine, it hasn’t exactly been obvious what we should do to honor Bob’s request to start a fan club, and we can say with confidence that neither of us had ever thought of doing something like this before! In creating this new space to learn about and share our experiences with Bob’s music, we’ve tried to avoid duplicating what is out there already. Most of all we’ve tried our best to build the Fan Club around the aspects of Bob’s music that he talked about as important when we met him.

It’s been great fun out on tour, meeting fans who have checked out the site, getting to talk about Bob and the Fan Club with new people as well as with friends that we’ve seen at shows for years. All feedback has been positive and everyone seems enthusiastic about the site so far and where it might go in the future. Thanks to everyone who has helped by sending in reviews, photos and other contributions! We’d love to hear from more of you – we know from reading the Admission Interviews that many of you have a lot to say, so don’t hesitate to send us an email with suggestions or contributions of any kind.

Caroline and Kait
Co-Directors

September 7, 2006

We would like to congratulate our friends Matt and Jennifer on their engagement!
After meeting at the Rochester, MN show in 2004, Matt popped the question before
the show at the same park this year!
Congrats again guys!

August 2006
Fan Club involved in promotion of new album

The Bob Dylan Fan Club is working with Telarc Records to spread the word on an upcoming album by
Maria Muldaur: "Heart Of Mine" - Maria Muldaur Sings Love Songs Of Bob Dylan.
Click here to win a free copy of this album upon its release on August 22nd.

July 21, 2006

The Bob Dylan Fan Club moves to its new, permanent home on the web! Concurrent with this move we have added several new and improved features, including a study section in which we explore what Bob means when he says his music “sounds different,” with excerpts from Chronicles, discussion of some of Bob's influences, and a forum in which you can post your ideas and help bring the music theory to life, and an updated “Don't You Dare Miss It!” section including a new and improved Ride Board. Check back often for more new features!

Early July

Focus on the fan club shifts mainly to working on the new, permanent website.

June 21, 2006

Fan Club wins drum on local radio station in a Bob-themed contest.

June 8, 2006

Beer gets spilled on one of the computers at Fan Club Headquarters, frying the hard drive. A setback that may slow things down just a bit for a few days.

June 7, 2006

Several responses have been submitted through the box at the bottom of the admissions interview that do not include email address. We can not contact you without this. If this is you, please resubmit. Thanks!

June 5, 2006
Bob Dylan Fan Club website opens.

June 1, 2006
Bob Dylan Fan Club open to the public.