Jakob Dylan is 'Seeing Things' on Solo Debut

Posted on Jun 24th 2008 3:00PM by Steve Baltin
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Bob Dylan shocked when he plugged in at the Newport Folk Festival back in 1965. His son, former Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan, is doing the opposite. "As these songs started to come in, I started to realize this is all I want to hear," he tells Spinner of his largely acoustic solo album, 'Seeing Things.' "My ears are kind of fried out with the big sound."

The younger Dylan contends this isn't a seismic shift. "This is very similar to what I've always done, which is my craft has always been songwriting," he says. "Going back to the [Wallflowers'] first record, I played acoustic songs. On each record there's an acoustic song or two."

So, why then did it take so long for him to embrace his troubadour side? "I've been in a band for more than 15 years and I've been waiting for the opportunity and the right time to take a break where I could do that," he says. "Being in a band, you do have parameters that you work within and sometimes you just gotta catch your breath and realize that train has gotta stop for just a minute."

The train will likely be at the station for more than a minute, as Dylan plans to continue touring behind his solo effort. But like most artists who step away from their band for a break, he beleves it will be the best thing for the group. "We've been doing that same thing for so long and the cycle just kind of repeats itself," he says. "There is a feeling of 'Groundhog Day' at some point. It's good to stop -- it's reinvigorating."