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There’s a story from Minnesota about Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers deciding not to take a gig playing for the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council on September 2nd in Minneapolis. The gig takes place while the Republican National Convention would be in town, and it is apparently looked on by some as an “afterparty” for the conventioneers. Not big news that a band declines a gig, you would think, but when the name “Dylan” is involved things are different — especially when you can add the name “Bob.”

The Pioneer Press reports this way:

Has singer Bob Dylan staged the first protest of the 2008 Republican National Convention by persuading his son Jakob Dylan not to perform here in September?

That’s the talk in the Twin Cities, although neither Dylan was available to comment Monday.

[...]

Representatives had agreed on a performance fee, although no contracts had been signed, said Daryn McBeth, executive director of the agribusiness trade group. Then, the deal fell through.

“The lead singer of the band, his dad is Bob Dylan, and I’m told he (Bob) weighed in and encouraged them not to do it because of the political nature of what’s going on in town that week,” McBeth said.

McBeth tried to relay the nonpartisan nature of AgNite, noting it was a celebration of America’s food industry. GOP conventioneers are definitely welcome, he said, but Democrats and independents are, too. No matter.

“The deal was dead at that point,” McBeth said. “I don’t know how Bob got wind of it, or if his son and the band communicated it to him. But (the gig died after) the concern about politics, and maybe Bob Dylan’s feeling about the state of Minnesota and his son’s band playing in his home area.”

So, Mr. McBeth says that he was told that Jakob’s father “weighed in and encouraged them not do do it,” but we don’t know who told him this, or, for that matter, who told the person who told him. It’s called hearsay in court. It’s called gossip in other places. When have we ever heard before that Bob Dylan tells his son and his band, the Wallflowers, what they should do or when and where they should play? That’s right: never. And what about this further insinuation, to the effect that maybe it’s related to “Bob Dylan’s feeling about the state of Minnesota and his son’s band playing in his home area.” What the heck does that mean? Dylan hates Minnesota and doesn’t want his son playing there? He’s played there himself many times and is understood to keep his own farm somewhere in the state!

What’s more believable is that Mr. McBeth is being taken for a ride by someone who claims to know a whole lot of things about Bob Dylan, and Jakob Dylan, that they just don’t know. It would hardly be the first time someone wanted to portray themselves as being “in the know.” And for the reporter, it makes a good story, so why shouldn’t he give it credence? Just look: it got a rise out of me.

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Update 3:36pm: Not so, surprise, surprise. Again from the Pioneer Press (thanks to Kim for the tip):

Publicists for singer Jakob Dylan said Tuesday there’s no truth in earlier reports, carried in Tuesday’s Pioneer Press, that singer Bob Dylan was in any way involved in a decision by the Wallflowers not to perform at an agriculture function during the Republican National Convention.

[...]

The initial Pioneer Press story quoted McBeth as saying, “The lead singer of the band, his dad is Bob Dylan, and I’m told he (Bob) weighed in and encouraged them not to do it because of the political nature of what’s going on in town that week.”

The Dylan camp called that version “fabricated.” They said the Wallflowers were approached to perform at the event, and turned it down. They said Bob Dylan had no involvement whatsoever.

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Update 5:00pm: From Fox News, who reported the earlier story and are following up on the correction to it:

The Dylan representative said she’s awaiting a retraction from the newspaper. The author of the article, Tom Webb, told FOXNews.com that a denial by Jakob Dylan’s publicists was added to the story but the reporting of the allegation was accurate.

The Pioneer Press later reported that McBeth acknowledged not having details of the deal-making process with Dylan’s representatives.

“I didn’t have first-hand knowledge of the various bands or the negotiations or pursuits to confirm various entertainers. …. We had some soft ‘asks’ out there, before we’d make a formal contractual offer. And for a while, while we were pursuing Wallflowers, I was optimistic that we’d get them booked. And later, I was told they wouldn’t work out. The details of why they didn’t work out are unknown on a first-hand basis to me,” McBeth was quoted telling the paper.

Other outlets, including Politico, picked up on the earlier false story that Bob Dylan was involved in this. I’m sure that it’ll never get corrected in every place where it has appeared, and in any case, many people who read the first story will never see the correction. It becomes one more myth regarding Bob Dylan’s political point-of-view that will be out there forever, one way or another.

Ugh. Have a nice day!

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