Liberty Lunch
Wednesday, October 30 “The key is the people that are there, that they do like the material, and
they know the material that you’re playing.”
Who said this, a 1996 presidential candidate or the singer of a hard-working
band enjoying its first hit single? Given the packaged, focus-group-approved
rhetoric of this year’s campaign, it would be easy to guess the former. That
would be wrong, however. The actual utterer is someone who’s no stranger to the
itinerant lifestyle of the stump. It’s Wallflowers
vocalist-guitarist-songwriter Jakob Dylan, talking about his newfound fans.
The Wallflowers’ poignant “Sixth Avenue Heartache,” an unflinching portrait of
urban loneliness, recently hit the intellectual void of alt-rock radio and MTV
like a freak straight answer at a congressional press conference. Since then,
it’s been nothing but work for the band; instead of kicking back during a brief
break in touring, Dylan (yes, of those Dylans) says they’re already
shooting another video and preparing for a couple of TV appearances. “There’s
always more work to do during your time off,” he says from his Los Angeles
home.
He’s not complaining. The Wallflowers nearly dropped off rock & roll’s
radar after their self-titled 1992 debut raised about as many eyebrows as Ralph
Nader’s campaign. But in true Bill Clinton comeback kid style, ’96 has seen
them emerge with a new label (Interscope), three new members (Dylan and
keyboardist Rami Jaffee are the only original Wallflowers left), and
Bringing Down the Horse, a solid collection of songs that are definitely
catchy, but not sugar-coated or dumbed down. “Heartache” is but one of a
handful of songs (“One Headlight,” “Laughing Out Loud,” “God Don’t Make Lonely
Girls,” “The Difference,” “Bleeders”) that prove the Wallflowers are anything
but one-issue candidates.
And since we’re being political, what does Dylan think of this year’s dog and
pony show? “It’s entertaining, anyhow,” he says. “I’m not sure it matters too
much who wears the suit and stands at the podium right now, but it’s
interesting.” — Christopher Gray
This article appears in October 25 • 1996 and October 25 • 1996 (Cover).