Jakob Dylan - Interview

THE WALLFLOWERS' SIX MILLION FANS DON'T CARE WHAT HIS DAD DOES

If you choose to become a pop musician, you're acknowledging that attaining your goals will land you squarely in the spotlight. But having grown up in what he deems a "very large shadow," Jakob Dylan has always coveted a measure of anonymity. After all, when your father is Bob Dylan, you learn firsthand how unglamorous fame can be. At first, it seemed like Jakob would get his wish. Unlike many singer-songwriters, he chose to be part of a band, one whose very name-the Wallflowers-was appropriate to his reticence. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1992 to the general disinterest of the record-buying public, did no damage to his obscurity.

All that changed in 1996, of course, with the release of the band's second album, Bringing Down the Horse. Suddenly, Dylan's songs (like "One Headlight") were everywhere, and so-somewhat to his chagrin--was he. Everyone wanted to talk to him, but not always about his music. Frustrated that people would consider him a "shortcut" to someone else, he avoided questions about his musical pedigree, and, as a result, was often branded difficult and distant.

But four years later, with a family of his own and two Grammys on his shelf, he can afford to come to terms with the public's questions and preconceptions. The Wallflowers' new album is called Breach (Interscope), and although its accessible grooves are unmistakably the Wallflowers', it's clear that the band's thirty-year-old leader made the most of his extended hiatus. His songs still tell stories, but this time he seems unashamed to admit they're his own. Searching and candid, they're personal meditations on his experiences-as an artist, a partner, a father, and even a son.

ELIZABETH WEITZMAN: The songs on this album are a lot more intimate than the ones you've written before.

JAKOB DYLAN: I think I've written about things very specific to myself before, but maybe I've just tangled them up more, used more metaphors, so they wouldn't appear to be personal.

EW: What does the title Breach signify to you?

JD: It's about how at first you think, If I can sell all these records, that's all I'm ever going to need in my life. And that is a great position to be in, but it's naive to think your life is so simple that all you need is that type of success. There are good and bad sides to it. Obviously, I'm here again with a new album, so I've been treated very well by it. But the problem is that very often it's not completely about music. You get really involved in making the record, and then it's over and the marketing plan begins. You're shipped out to spend two years promoting. And that's if you're lucky. I made a record in '92 for which that wasn't the case-there wasn't a whole lot of interest, so it was all about the music-and I can't say that was much better.

EW: Your single, "Sleepwalker," seems to address the nonmusical side of your business pretty bluntly.

JD: "Sleepwalker" is about trying to decide how much of it you really have to do, and whether you even want to be the person you'll be if it works. The simple truth is-and I don't mean to sound like I have Moping Syndrome-but to a lot of people it seems like it's simply a glamorous and easy profession. But it's a hard job.

EW: What would you say if one of your kids wanted to be a musician?

JD: I'd probably warn him against it. What parent would tell their kid, "Why don't you take a completely nonsensical job that has a one in a billion chance of giving you success for thirty years?" Why wouldn't you say, "Why don't you go to college and line your life up correctly so you have some stability and real possibilities?"

EW: Did you go to college?

JD: I went to art school, Parsons [School of Design in New York City].

EW: Did you graduate?

JD: No. [laughs] You can't graduate after three weeks. I was eighteen. What's fun and what's unfortunate about being younger is that you think you know everything.

EW: Do you think of this album as a big change from the last?

JD: I did try to think of my singing as more of an instrument this time. Before, I just kind of went in and opened up my mouth and that's what we got. But I'm not a big believer in reinventing the wheel. This album is the next step in a natural evolution, rather than a big change.

EW: When you have a new project, you do have to remain visible to keep it on top. Since you're uneasy with the promotional aspects of the job, do you worry a lot about maintaining artistic integrity?

ID: You can only hope that at some point you're allowed to be more resistant to those things that keep the profile high. Certainly Neil Young doesn't show up at [trendy men's magazine] for a photo shoot. [pauses] You know what? Leave that magazine's name out of it. [laughs] I just did a photo shoot with them.

EW: You address your heritage on this album. Was that difficult for you?

JD: It was more difficult not to. It's everyone's right as an artist to draw from their own environment. Before, I didn't want to attract any more attention to the subject than necessary, so I avoided it any way I could. But when I got to this record, I didn't think it was fair to me to purposefully censor who I was.