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A Brief Profile of Jakob Dylan

© Wendy Starr

Jakob Dylan entered the world on December 9, 1969 in New York City. His parents, Sara Lowndes and music legend Bob Dylan, moved their family--Jakob and his four older siblings--to Southern California when Jakob was 3 years old. After his parents divorced in 1977, Jakob was raised primarily by his mother, but remained close to both parents.

Jakob was smitten by music since childhood. He accompanied his father on tours and received his first guitar at age 12. In fifth grade at El Rodeo Grade School, he met Tobi Miller; the two began playing guitar together in the eighth grade. Eventually, Jakob joined garage bands. In 1987, he debuted as a guitarist and co-writer on the 1987 record "Trash Matinee." The record was produced by Jakob's guitar teacher, Mark Nine, and also featured Tobi on guitar.

Despite a dismal academic background, Jakob entered the Parsons School of Design in New York City. According to Wall of Sound, while attending Parsons, he also played guitar in various local bands, one of which was called "Livestock." But Jakob quickly became disillusioned with art college and returned to Los Angeles.

In 1989, Jakob and Tobi formed the rock quartet "The Apples." But after recruiting keyboardist Rami Jaffee, the band became "The Wallflowers." As for the origin of the new name, Jakob quipped to The Stamford Advocate: "It's just a simple name for a rock'n'roll band. A lot of the good ones had already been taken--like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones." The Wallflowers honed their skills at the Kibitz Room at Canter's Delicatessen and the Coconut Teazer in Hollywood. To the disappointment of promoters, Jakob refused to exploit his family ties. He was determined to succeed or fail on his own.

The Wallflowers signed with Virgin Records, which surprised more than music critics. "My dad didn't know I signed a record contract," Jakob told The Boston Globe. "He thought I was away at art college, which I was in New York, but I was also trying to get signed."

In August 1992, the band released the album The Wallflowers to critical acclaim. Jakob wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album. As a lyricist, Jakob chose to create images and let the listener figure out the message. "If I'm listening to a song, and everything is spelled out all over the place, well, there just doesn't seem to be much finesse or grace to that," he told the Detroit Free Press. "So I write songs where everything isn't so obvious." Although the band toured extensively to promote The Wallflowers, it sold poorly. In the Spring of 1993, Greg Richling, whom Jakob met years earlier at the Windward school in Los Angeles, became The Wallflowers' bass player.