~Jakob Dylan~

"I had to wait for things to line up in my life." "Most people don't go out when they are 21 with no record sales, nothing on the radio, no video being played . . . and still have people wanting to interview them. I was always aware that there was no story to talk about except my family, and that made me uncomfortable."-Jakob, on the anxiety of following in the senior Dylan's musical footsteps

I certainly have issues with the fame thing that I wrestle with, but I think that anybody who gets into this these days, who's making records for a major record company and making videos and then acts like it's such an awful thing, is lying. It's like John Lydon said: "The great thing about fame is you can stop any time you want."

"Having a job. I don't mean to make it sound like that's all that it is, but it's been a relief not to worry if 20 people are coming or not. Certainly we've done our time playing to the bartender and the roadies"-Jakob, on what the highlight of 1997 was.

"I do know that fame is not a good thing," "It doesn't benefit you in any way. Personally, I'll never feel that famous, because the kind of thing I've seen is so outstanding. But I've never been anonymous, either. People might not have known who I was, but in thought I always existed."

"That's what it felt like for three years trying to make this damned thing: It was like trying to pull down a horse."-Jakob, on the meaning of "Bringing Down the Horse."

"I think all my songs have been personal," " but I just made them a little more dense before, made 'em real thick so that I didn't feel exposed.  A lot of younger writers do that."

-"The truth is, I am very proud of my heritage,'' . `"The only thing I ask is to be taken at face value.''

"No, I never really thought about it. I did for maybe half a split second, but it was clear to me that if anything good happened to the group it would be obvious anyway and I'd be stuck with a pain-in-the-ass name. The truth is, I've never run from anything. I'm proud of all of it. Dylan was my original name, so I just left it exactly as it is."--on if he ever thought about changing his last name.

"I can't explain the insanity of me actually picking this as a job.  That doesn't make any sense-to do this and then plan on being a private person."

To the record company, an opportunity to push units is an opportunity, even if a lot of those opportunities just literally made my skin crawl...But I probably wasn't that polite.  I was 21, and my shyness probably got misconstrued as being rude."

"Whatever happens to our band or the other guys down the line,”  “I will always say that the coolest part was that one year when we were all hanging out in the Kibitz Room, making our record, just a bunch of pals playing ‘The Weight’ and ‘My Girl’ with a lot of heart and no industry bullshit. I think it’s always gonna be my favorite year.”

"Before, I haven't really wanted anybody buying my records looking for information about myself or my family," he allows.  "But at this point, the group has a lot of people buying the records who aren't interested in that, so it gives me more freedom."

-"Dealing with (the attention) was just one other thing to learn. Just as you learned to look both ways when you cross the street."

"I get asked all the time, 'What was your dad like as a parent?' And I say, 'I'm 27 years old; I'm not a crackhead; I don't go on afternoon talk shows and spill.' I mean, you can probably figure it out for yourself that he did a decent job."

"Nobody's house is heaven. That's what heaven's for."

"It's a thing were I look back and I'm like, "I don't even know what the hell's going on here. That doesn't make any sense. That doesn't even rhyme!" (laughs) I'm terrible at doing cover songs, too. I can hardly even remember my own words. I don't have a good enough memory. I'm kind of embarrassed about it, but it's true"-Jakob, on the first album and covers.

There's just not a lot of players like Rami anymore. They've either got a rack of synthesizers or else they play Grateful Dead an bop around with their heads everywhere. He's kind of like Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers. He loves Rami. He gives out Rami's number all the time if he can't do stuff.-Jakob, when asked "Do you feel you've got a secret weapon in Rami [Jaffee's] Hammond organ?"

"That's probably my favorite on the album. It's built around that Al Green kind of groove, with a lot of space to it as well. It doesn't just beta you over the head with guitars like the rest of the record."-commenting on" One Headlight"

"I just want to have a job. Anybody who's gotta make a liivng wants to make money doing what they like to do, and that's why I do it. I guess it's a funny type of person who aspires to be a big star. My world's pretty small."-Jakob, when asked about stardom.

“What was so interesting, was people had such a sense of panic. They suddenly realized a world without him. And my feeling was, `Shame on you. You think you get these kind of people your whole life? You should be proud of the fact that you're living during the time that this person is.'- Jakob on his father's death scare in 1997

“The stuff I've seen, the stuff I've been around – I'm not that impressed with myself.  You want to do something that lasts. You want to do something that strikes people in a way that matters. I don't want to entertain. I don't want to fill a spot. I don't want to be temporary."  “I think I have a chance.  I've earned the position. I can make something of it or I can blow it up."- RS 852

“I’ve had the same three friends since I was twelve,” “I’ve been to two Hollywood parties in my life, and I didn’t have any fun.”

"You fans have never been annoying, and any artist that you like that tells you that should be quickly forgotten." Jake's response when asked "at what point do fans become annoying?"  12.11.01 chat at the official site