Brent's Notebook: Brent Hallenbeck, the arts & entertainment reporter for The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, comments on music.

I couldn't help but think of the Mike Doughty song "27 Jennifers" Saturday night when I was in Montpelier and saw 28 Bob Dylans. I was lucky enough to be one of the nine judges for the fifth Great Green Mountain Bob Dylan Wannabe Contest at Montpelier City Hall. That's right, nine judges, just like the Supreme Court, and we even got to wear snazzy blue robes, which should give you some idea of the tongue-in-cheekiness of this event.

It's clearly meant to be fun, but what surprised me about the night was that of the 28 participants (who were all introduced not by their real names but as "Bob Dylan," including the lone female contestant, the sweet-voiced Anna Beerworth of Burlington), almost all of them were actually quite good. The winner we selected, in a very narrow vote, was one of the few non-Vermonters who took part, Peter Landecker, who lives just across the border in the beautiful little town of North Hatley, Quebec. Unlike many of the wannabes he made no effort to look like Dylan, but his voice was unbelivably uncanny, and even moreso he had that Dylan way about him where you didn't entirely know what direction he was going to go in with his voice but it always turned out to be the right direction. Some of those who made an effort to look like Dylan were impressive, too, such as Gabe Halberg of Plainfield, a past winner who came in second Saturday night, and Dom Laporte of Waterbury, who my memory (fuzzy two days after seeing 28 Dylans) recalls finished fourth.

There were only a couple of cringe-worthy performers - one guy stumbled through "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" and actually drew hisses from the crowd, while another guy made an interesting but ultimately unsuccessful choice by opting for an a cappella version of "Blowin' in the Wind." Despite that one instance of hissing, the crowd of several hundred was extremely supportive of the performers and gave the night much of its carefree energy. They also helped raise money for a couple of charities, Home Share of Central Vermont and WGDR, the radio station at Goddard College, so it was more than just a night of fun music.

By this time you might be wondering what song Landecker sang to win the contest. My co-worker Sally Pollak (a lifelong Dylan fan) asked me that this morning, and I (more a Dylan appreciator than a Dylan fan) realized I couldn't tell her. Like I said, my memory is fuzzy after hearing 28 Dylans and being busier keeping score than remembering who played what. It was a typically verbose Dylan tune, I remember that. But I like the line that the event's organizer, the witty Patrick Timothy Mullikin, used in this writeup by the Times Argus - "Does it really matter? When it comes to Dylan songs they all sound alike."

 

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Tangled up in Dylan

By David Delcore

TIMES ARGUS STAFF

November 30, 2009

MONTPELIER – Call it a simple twist of fate – which you might recall is a Bob Dylan line.

Plainfield's Gabe Halberg lost the opportunity to become the first repeat winner of the off-beat and oddly popular Fifth Annual Great Green Mountain Bob Dylan Wannabe Contest, thanks to a competitor's chance discovery of the contest on the Internet.

As a result, Halberg, 36 – the reigning champion – wasn't crowned "King of the Bobs" for the second straight time. But, he was so close.

Instead, the winner was a Los Angeles native, who now lives 20 mile north of the border in North Hatley, Que., and learned about the homegrown contest while cruising the Internet.

The verdict from a panel of esteemed judges, assembled for what has become a surprisingly successful fundraiser, gave the nod to 48-year-old Peter Landecker's interpretation of Dylan's "It's Alright Ma," and his own rendition of "Tangled up in Blue."

Halberg had to settle for second place. Life, as the iconic 68-year-old singer-songwriter for whom the contest is a tongue-in-cheek tribute, might say, is hard.

Unless of course you're Landecker, who waltzed into the heart of central Vermont and upset a lineup that included three former winners – Halberg, Derrick Semler of Washington, who won the inaugural contest in 2004, and Barre's Jeff Shannon, who was "King of the Bobs" in 2005 – as well as a last-minute entry from Paris.

That's Paris as in France, according to Patrick Mullikin, the man who launched the contest to promote the Montpelier record store he used to own, and helped revive the contest this year.

"We had a Parisian Dylan," crowed Mullikin. "He was good. Very French, but very good."

Apparently not good enough.

Manu Bibes, who is visiting a friend in Middlesex and asked if he could step in to fill one of the slots that opened up due to an unexpected cancellation, didn't finish in the top three of a contest that featured a record 28 participants playing to a jam-packed crowd at Montpelier's City Hall Auditorium.

"I think it was sold out based on the fact that there were no empty chairs," joked Mullikin, who pegged the crowd at over 500 people.

In terms of a contest that started very small in 2004 (and took a hiatus last year), that's by far the largest audience and the most participants. According to preliminary estimates the event raised roughly $6,000 – money that will be split evenly between Home Share of Central Vermont and Goddard College-based WGDR Radio.

"I guess you could say the contest was bigger and better than ever," said Mullikin, who credited the sound system supplied by East Montpelier singer-songwriter Colin McCaffrey, for allowing more than a few of this year's Dylan wannabes to really showcase their talent.

"Overall this was the best in when it comes to the quality of the performances," Mullikin said. "The people were just better and the sound was much better."

However, Mullikin conceded while the professional sound system accentuated the talents of some it amplified the shortcomings of others, including one unfortunate man who opted for a children's song that has been recorded by Dylan and a long list of others including Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and The Wiggles.

"He was hissed," Mullikin said without naming names. "There was hissing through his performance."

According to Mullikin, roughly two-thirds of the competitors were repeat participants and the audience was treated to a diverse collection of Dylan songs.

"Half of the people played traditional songs that everybody knows and they played them well and the rest play songs that were pretty obscure and only Dylan people would know," he said putting "Blind Willie McTell" in the latter category.

"Does it really matter?" he asked. "When it comes to Dylan songs they all sound alike."

Mullikin said the three top performers, Landecker, Halberg and Dennis Derryberry all impressed judges and an appreciative crowd with familiar Dylan songs.

A four-time participant in what he describes as "… the most fascinating music contest on earth," Derryberry, 39, of Waitsfield placed third with his rendition of "Simple Twist of Fate."

"It was a thrill," said Derryberry, who has never finished better than fourth in his three previous attempts.

Maybe the sound system had something to do with it, or maybe it was his choice of songs. In 2005 Derryberry sang "If You See Her, Say Hello," the following year he chose "Isis" and in 2007 it was "You're a Big Girl Now."

Derryberry said he's just warming up.

"This is once a year; I could go on for 10 more years before I exhaust my Dylan repertoire," he said.

As for Halberg?

The man who has "been into Dylan for about 15 years" and "enjoys playing with accents," said the contest is tailor-made for him. He won in 2007 with a Dylan-esque rendition of "Visions of Johanna" and finished runner-up in 2006 performing "All I Really Want to Do."

"I've done pretty well," he said. "I love the event. It's fantastic … It's a unique Montpelier phenomenon."

Mullikin, who handled emcee duties, vowed the contest would be back next year – if only because the folks at WGDR and Home Share of Central Vermont did all the heavy-lifting.

"All I had to do was show up," he joked. "How hard is that?"

david.delcore@timesargus.com

Talkin' turkey with Dylan

The Times Argus Talk of the Town

Nov. 12, 2009

 MONTPELIER — Tickets for Nov. 28 Fifth Annual Great Green Mountain Bob Dylan Wannabe Contest at Montpelier's City Hall are selling quickly, and event organizers remind Dylan fans that if they want a seat at this year's event, stop by Bear Pond Books or Riverwalk Records in Montpelier or LACE or Exile on Main Street in Barre to purchase tickets.

What better way to spend the Saturday after Thanksgiving than to listen to the hopeful and hopeless caterwaul their way through the back pages of the Dylan catalog? Your out-of-town relatives and guests will never be the same.

There will be no shortage of laughs as these Zimmermen and Zimmerwomen take the stage in an effort to upstage their fellow Bobs. Plus, this year's event will benefit Goddard radio station WGDR and Home Share of Central Vermont; all proceeds from the sales of tickets will be split evenly between the two organizations.

With 20 Dylan wannabes already signed up to perform, this year's event looks like it will break all records. The contest is still open, but wannabes should sign up as soon as possible. There is no registration fee, but there is a limit of 30 contestants. (That's a lot of Dylan! Some will argue that even a little Dylan is a lot of Dylan.)

The deadline for registration is Nov. 20. To sign up online, visit patricktimothymullikin.com/ RegistrationInformation.aspx. For more information, e-mail bobdylanwannabe09@patricktimothymullikin.com.

Calling all Dylantantes:

Wannabe Contest is coming back to Montpelier 

By SUSAN ALLEN TIMES ARGUS STAFF

August 31, 2009

MONTPELIER – Montpelier will once again be tangled up in blues when Patrick Mullikin returns to the capital city this fall to reprise the popular Dylan Wannabe Contest, this time to benefit WGDR radio station and Home Share of Central Vermont.

"My role, from what I understand, other than being the originator of this thing, is as master of ceremonies," said Mullikin by telephone from Malibu, Calif., where he is temporarily living.

The contest for "Dylantantes" will be held on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Mullikin, a former Montpelier resident, created the Dylan contest in 2004 as part of a promotion for his Riverwalk Records store on State Street in Montpelier. The first contest was held in an empty space next door to the store, with 18 Dylan-wannabes coming from around the state to try to win the coveted title of "King of the Bobs."

Musicians of all ages, male and female, dressed like Dylan, sang like Dylan, even slouched like Dylan in an attempt to win the competition. Most often they rasped out Dylan classics like "Lay Lady, Lay" or "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." Some of the more creative contestants wrote their own Dylan-like songs and did their best to impersonate the Minnesota-born singer formerly named Robert Allen Zimmerman.

After selling Riverwalk Records, Mullikin continued to host the event at different venues because of the contest's popularity with musicians, performers and the public at large.

The last Dylan Wannabe Contest – its fourth — was held in 2007 at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier's City Hall and drew at least 24 performers. Admission was $10 a ticket, with 300 seats filled and a standing room crowd.

Mullikin, who worked part time as a writer for various publications and as an editor at The Times Argus after selling Riverwalk Records, said proceeds from that Wannabe event went to now-stalled efforts to start a YMCA in central Vermont, the first time the event was used for fundraising purposes.

East Montpelier resident Michele Leno, one of the YMCA backers, helped coordinate that "Bob" contest and has taken on this year's fifth Dylan Wannabe event, as well.

"They both approached me," she said of WGDR and Home Share officials. "I kind of said OK, I'm game. It's just such a very fun event and wonderful working with Patrick. It's a win-win endeavor."

She said people who knew she was involved in the contest approached her last year, hoping the event would continue. But at that time, Mullikin had taken a journalism job out of Vermont, taking the inspiration and impetus for the event with him — and local folks missed it.

"I think it was very much in the Vermont spirit," she said. "It's quirky, it's independent, it's certainly multigenerational. I just love the way it appeals to people from all different walks of life. Basically anyone who loves music has in some capacity an appreciation for Dylan."

"I just love the excitement and good energy that it generates," she added.

Mullikin was known locally for his creation of, and connection to, the Dylan Wannabe Contest.

"The funny part is, sitting here in Malibu, Dylan has a home here. He's a Malibu-ite," Mullikin noted with some humor. "So here I am, 2,500 miles away from Montpelier, and I end up in the same hometown with Dylan.

"If I see him in the grocery store, I'll say Bob — because I call him Bob, you know — I could ask him to be a judge," Mullikin continued. "I think I could ask him to be participant. But he doesn't sound like Bob Dylan and he doesn't look like Bob Dylan."

He said the popularity of the event has him stumped.

"It's always been a big turnout, and at least half are the same people who come back every year," Mullikin said. "Why do these people do it? Beats me."

Questions?  E-mail us at BobDylanWannabe09@patricktimothymullikin.com