Ok, so it is perhaps a prideful thing at times, but I don't mean it to be. And not pride as in, I am the master of the universe, or anything like that, but a pride in accomplishment. If you have a child, it is like pride in first steps or doing well on a hard task. That is the kind of pride I'm talking about.

When I started collecting Dylan bootlegs I didn't intend for it to be really a "collection" at all. I didn't even really realize that there was enough that could spur a collection of bootlegs...I was soon gladly surprised. What prompted my first inquiry into the bootlegs started back in the early 90's. I read about an unreleased live album of one of Bob's "Gospel" concerts from 1980 in Heylin's book. The album mentioned was Rock Solid...I was intrigued, but I soon abandoned my musings of what it must have sounded like...

In the early Summer of 2001 a friend of mine, Robb, mentioned how he had accumulated a collection of nearly 50 U2 bootlegs! He told me of connecting with people online and doing these trades. My interests were ignited, and I began to ponder...hmmm, if there are traders online for U2, perhaps there are traders for Bob Dylan...and if so, perhaps there there is some way to obtain that Rock Solid album? I quickly got online and ran across www.bobsboots.com and was amazed! After following some links I found dylantree and the awesome dylanpool site.

I sent a couple of emails to some traders listed on bobsboots and in a day or two I had hooked up to obtain a copy of The Born Again Music boot, which was a double CD of the night after the show that was used for the Rock Solid album. I was so excited. I was hooked.

After doing some research, learning more about Dylan, I was still very much a novice in Dylan lore, I began to create a want list and searching out those willing to B+P. I am happy to say that I met a lot of willing traders who helped me out. My good friend, Robb, also helped me out by using his burner to supplement my collection. (yes, I knew soon off that I was destined to be a Dylan bootleg collector!) Actually, we worked together to help find the ones we desired to obtain, both as individuals and collectively.

A few months after beginning my collection I saw Dylan for the first time in Columbus, Ohio on 11/10/01. It was an awesome experience, and if I wasn't hooked on bootlegs before, within a month I was able to obtain a copy of that show! About that time my collection was really beginning to gain momentum.

And now, well, I have a moderately sized collection. I have always been interested in history, and Dylan, well, Dylan is the quintessenal artist for an historian. Pick a period, any decade or part thereof since 1960 and you can find a great niche to explore. One great thing that I did during the winter break of 2001/2002 was to listen through all the official albums in order as I read about them in Heylin's "Behind the Shades" book, and pepper it with some bootlegs. It put Dylan's music into an historical perspective and was very enlightening.

So, why do I collect? Well, I think that part of the answer is that I really like the music and lyrics. However, it goes much deeper than that. It has too. Why else would I be going strong over a year and a half later without showing any signs of boredom? (And there are many that have been collecting for a lot longer than I can even imagine!) I think that it is the history that draws me to all this bootleg collecting, and to the enigma of Dylan himself.

And now...will I ever be able to listen to all I have? Probably not. I'll try though. But isn't that a waste? I mean, why get all those discs if I'm not going to listen to them! Well, here is my rational on this matter. I look at the bootlegs as a sort of historical document, as reference material (albiet, highly enjoyable!). In my study of Dylan I like to have these historical documents handy to be able to refer to in order to enhance my research. They are like a set of encyclopedias. (hard copy or CD-Rom!) I will refer to them, but don't think that I'll sit up every night reading them word for word!

So, that is where I am at. That is my philosophy of sorts in concern with collecting Dylan boots. I have some other artists too, but obtain them for more trivial reasons really. But Dylan, well, he does hold a special place...

~ David Staley