Hello all and welcome to issue two of
Judas! magazine. First of all I’d like to thank everyone who responded
to issue one. It seems you think that it succeeded in our stated aim
of ‘being durable and authoritative, more like a book than a fanzine’.
So now it is our challenge to keep doing so.
Our intention was to include writers from within and without the ‘Dylan
community’ and to promote new writers. We fulfilled that also,
though which particular set of writers is most featured in any given
issue may be down to chance, interconnectedness of topic and quality
of contributions.
In issue one there was an emphasis on professional rock (in its widest
sense) writers, while in this issue the dominance comes from known Dylan
authors. At the same time we are delighted to be showcasing new (or
new-ish) writers, something we think is essential, and we already have
more lined up for future issues. However, we are actively seeking to
find more – I know you are out there, and will continue to nag
for you to come forward!
Before I return to nagging, it is my very sad duty to comment on the
death of ‘Never Ending Tour’ guitarist César Diaz on
April 26th. César had been gravely ill since liver problems were
diagnosed nearly a decade ago. As those who went to the last Manchester
convention can confirm, you’d never have guessed it from meeting
him. He was the life and soul of that weekend, spending as much of his
time as possible with the fans, staying up as late as anyone, and he
was the first up chatting to all and sundry the next day.
Generosity was his middle name and he plied me with champagne while
showing me one of Dylan’s guitars. His talk to the convention audience
that afternoon was riveting and a huge success.
He was also an astute observer of Dylan’s performing art. The interviews
with Clinton Heylin and Derek Barker provide us with ample evidence
of that. Indeed the following quote that Clinton obtained is one of
the most perceptive things I have heard on Dylan the performer:
‘To me each song is a play, a script and he’ll be that
guy from the song for that moment but [then] he’ll change back
to Bob… It took me a while to realize that. But he actually convinces
you that yes, it is me who is talking to you, and I’m being sincere
about it.’
Please keep an eye on our website at www.judasmagazine.com
where, amongst its various pleasures, you can also send feedback to
this issue, as you can via e-mail to editor@judasmagazine.com or via
the contact information on the inside front cover. Back to nagging –
you can send contributions the same way!
Best wishes, and I hope you find this stimulating and enjoyable.
