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| LIVE: This Saturday, Nov. 28! "Most fascinating music contest on earth,"
says Four-Time Wannabe Contestant Dennis Derryberry, Waitsfield, Vt. Bob says, "Be sure to buy your tickets in advance. Click here for ticket info/outlets." 
Great Green Mountain Bob Dylan Wannabe Contest 7 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 City Hall, Montpelier, Vermont About Our Judges Judge not, lest ye be judged! Judging this event is no mere walk in Hubbard Park. Our judges take their job seriously, or is it SIRIUS-ly? (This is a lame attempt at a lame joke that's remotely connected to Dylan's radio program on SIRIUS XM Radio. Only a die-hard Dylan fan would get the connection here. If you do, and laugh, you are far too mired in Dylan minutiae for your own good.) In additon to a three-hour assault on their tender ears, our judges are tasked with determining what makes a winning (or is that "whining?") Bob. Is it the look, feel, sound, attitude, Ray-Bans or that frightening pencil-thin mustache? They and only they know the answer. They are true Zimmerman scholars -- some hold Bachelor of Bob degrees, others Doctorates in Dylan. Over the years we've had judges from all walks of life. And this year's crop, which includes a returning judge, comprises a truly formidable bench.
 Judge not, lest ye be judged! 1) Returning Judge, The Honorable Sarah Strohmeyer Novelist Sarah Strohmeyer is the author of numerous novels including the bestselling Bubbles Yablonsky mystery series and "stand alone" women's fiction such as "The Penny Pinchers Club" and "The Cinderella Pact," slated to be a Lifetime Original Movie in February. She lives in Middlesex with her husband, Charlie Merriman, a Vermont Secretary of State candidate, her two children and their various animals including Fred, shown above. Contrary to rumors, she, too, has never slept with Bob Dylan though she has judged lookalikes before.
Judge not, lest ye be judged! 2) The Honorable Brent Hallenbeck Arts and Entertainment Writer, Burlington Free Press Brent Hallenbeck has covered arts and entertainment for The Burlington Free Press since 2004, concentrating on the lively music scene in northern Vermont. When not writing about music he can often be found listening to music, or thinking about writing about the music he is listening to. He recently enjoyed hearing Robert Zimmerman's impersonation of Bob Dylan at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.
 Judge not, lest ye be judged! 3) The Honorable Steve Zind Steve Zind is a well-known Vermont broadcaster who has been with Vermont Public Radio since 1994. Many VPR listeners recognize Steve for his special reports from Iran, providing a glimpse of the country that’s usually hidden from the rest of the world. A Bob Dylan aficionado and veteran of many Dylan concerts, Steve earlier was program director and morning man for WNCS for 17 years. He also worked as news director for WCVR in Randolph, as well as stations in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz. Steve was honored in 2007 with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards for his reporting on VPR.  Judge not, lest ye be judged! 4) The Honorable Tim Newcomb Illustrator/Editorial Cartoonist
Crowds started booing and hissing Tim Newcomb off the stage at an early age. Beginning with his high school rock & roll band, where he butchered Iron Butterfly and Doors riffs on keyboards, to days at Kenyon College painfully scratching out Incredible String Band tunes on the fiddle, ignoring professors begging him to take lessons, and friends ordering him to practice in nearby cow pastures, Newcomb has defied improvement and spurned taste. Even after years of studying classical viola, and playing with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, Newcomb was drawn back to the familiar world of thrown tomatoes and hurled epithets. Playing for years with Poteen, a local Irish band, he ruined relations with his band members, not to mention his family, by discovering the Swedish nyckelharpa, a bowed instrument that the church tried mightily to destroy, but which continues its legacy of aural terror to this day. To pay for the medical and legal expenses incurred by his music, Newcomb worked in advertising on Madison Avenue, was an art director at Forbes Magazine in New York City, and has run a graphic design business in Montpelier since 1985. His illustrations and editorial cartoons appear nationwide.
 Judge not, lest ye be judged! 5) The Honorable Jim Lowe Jim Lowe, a Montpelier native, has been music critic for The Times Argus and the Rutland Herald, for nearly as long as most of the contestants have been alive. A music major at Vermont's Marlboro College, he followed with a stint at Columbia Artists Management Inc. (formerly connected with Columbia Records) in New York City. (His roommate was the now rich and famous Frank Miller, comic book creator and film writer who graduated from U-32.) He has directed a music festival, assisted the conductor at the New England Bach Festival in Marlboro for its last decade, and acted as consultant to just about every music organization around. But, he still doesn't know what he's doing.
Judge not, lest ye be judged! 6) The Honorable Dot "Ultradot" Helling Montpelier Attorney Dot is a baby boomer, transplanted to the states from Germany when she was 7. High schooled on the Jersey Shore. Had a drummer boyfriend who jammed with Springsteen in Asbury Park on Friday nights. Worked in a hopping music store through high school. Lived through Woodstock, Kent State and college years in New Haven, Conn. Graduated with honors in psychology from Quinnipiac University. Served as a Vista volunteer doing paralegal work in northern Appalachia. Moved full time to Vermont in 1974 and worked for the State, then the Washington County Youth Service Bureau before entering Vermont Law School in 1978. Has clerked for the Vermont Trial Courts, worked as a trial lawyer for Theriault & Joslin in Montpelier for five years, and been in solo practice since 1984. Dot is an acting small-claims judge, nationally ranked ultrarunner, avid cyclist and skier. Dot has run around the world. She plays piano and flute and loves dancing rock and roll...wildly.
Judge not, lest ye be judged! 7) The Honorable Suzanne Eikenberry Executive Director While some judges hold “Doctorates in Dylan,” Suzanne’s claim is more modest -- maybe an associate degree. Born after the baby boom, Suzanne heard lots of Dylan growing up in Vermont and can represent the next generation of Dylan fans. Suzanne is currently the Executive Director of Montpelier Alive, formerly the Montpelier Downtown Community Association. She holds a M.A. in Geography from the University of Maryland. Prior to returning to Vermont in 2006, Suzanne was the Director of Finance and Administration for D.C. Central Kitchen, a community kitchen preparing over 3,000 meals a day. She also directed an AmeriCorps program focused on food security in Washington, D.C.
Suzanne is married to a true Dylan fan who promises to get her a Bachelor’s in Zimmermania by November 28.
 Photo/Jeb Wallace-Brodeur Judge not, lest ye be judged! Writer Marialisa Calta is a freelance writer, cookbook author and circus(Smirkus) impressario who lives in Calais, Vt. She once saw Bob Dylan in
concert and has a neighbor who grew up in Hibbing.
Judge not, lest ye be judged! 9) The Honorable Ed Dufresne Independent music producer, talent finder and music columnist for The Times Argus Ed DuFresne has been recruiting talent and producing music events in Montpelier and The Northeast Kingdom for over a decade. In that time he’s also cofounded and curated The Northeast Kingdom Music Festival, produced shows both large and small, and was the talent coordinator for The Langdon Street Café for three years, helping to put the small venue on the map regionally and nationally. Many credit him with raising the bar for the Montpelier music scene to its current vibrant and talent-rich status. A late-coming fan to the enigma that is Dylan, it took him some maturity to get past the “whining” Bob, but with age he has come to appreciate the down-home delivery of the man who is perhaps America’s greatest songwriter. A rebel at heart, he’s always been able to appreciate Dylan’s take on society and politics. He has seen Dylan live, opening for the Grateful Dead on more than one occasion. A proven keen judge of talent, he continues to forge ahead in the thankless and financially futile efforts of bringing top-notch talent to the central Vermont community.
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