Itâ??s been 35 years since the first time Ben Sidran didnâ??t meet Bob Dylan.
….When Sidran was an artist-in-residence at the UW-Madison in 2003, he taught a course about Jewish-American musicians entitled â??Jews, Music and the American Dream: From Irving Berlin to the Beastie Boys.â? Heâ??s now in the middle of writing a book on the subject.
â??I love it and itâ??s the hardest thing you can do,â? he said. â??Iâ??m totally captured by the ideas. I love the freedom to spend my time with ideas. It feels as good as playing piano in a club.â?
Of course, Dylan himself will play a major role in the book. And, if Sidranâ??s personal brushes with the man wonâ??t make it into the book, perhaps the insight he gained from living inside his songs for a while will have an influence.