Musicians spanning across time — everyone from rockers like the Rolling Stones to more current folk artists like Ray LaMontagne — have cited influences by Bob Dylan. Here, some of Gainesville’s freshest talents sound off about the songwriting giant and his contribution to music.
“My dad has always been a huge Bob Dylan fan. There’s a line in ‘Positively 4th Street’ that my dad really likes and pointed out to me: ‘I wish that for just one day you could stand inside my shoes. You’d know what a drag it is to see you.’ ... I love that Dylan was the first person to be really blunt, yet poetic, in his lyrics. That’s what I try to do now in my music. Our music is quite different, but he’s influenced my writing style.”
— Janna Pelle (vocals/keys) of Janna Pelle & the Half Steps
“I can honestly say – and I’m not going to try and be the punk musician that tells you I’m completely enthralled with his music — but, I respect the guy ... I think he’s one of the coolest, most straight-forward dudes in spite of his success.”
— Nick Sessions (bass/vocals) of Assassinate the Scientist
“Definitely just listening to Bob Dylan really helped me transition into being more open-minded about music and to blues influences as well. He’s changed the way I feel about performing — the way I put my soul into it — because of his soul and his attitude.”
— Amy Lobasso (guitar/vocals) of The Boswellians
“The big lesson that can be taken from Dylan’s work is that a song doesn’t have to be complicated or recorded perfectly to hit a chord with the audience.”
— Collin Whitlock (keyboard/vocals) of Cassette
Alligator writer Alexander Klausner contributed to this article.
