The Denver Bootleg: Jeffrey Dallet Band

Jeffrey Dallet: “Around 2012, I became a regular at a songwriter showcase held at a bar that no longer exists. It came to my attention that there was always one surly-looking fellow in the back just staring ahead at the stage. When I finished playing, his sunken eyes would follow me to my seat. He’d then take his alcohol and stumble off somewhere.

“One night as the bar was closing, the bartender, the door guy and I were jawing, and suddenly I heard this guttural sound: ‘JEFF! JEFF!’ I turned to see a drunken fellow jabbing his finger in my direction. ‘Listen to me, you punk. You’re the best I’ve ever seen, but if you continue to sound like fuckin’ Bob Dylan, I’m gonna beat your ass!’ he slurred. I thought he was kidding, but then he advanced toward me. ‘You get me? You sound like Bob Dylan, and I’m gonna fuckin’ kick your ass!’ He kept getting closer until the bartender intervened and led him away. I asked the door guy who it was. ‘Oh, that’s the owner of the club,’ he replied. The next night, I went home and wrote the most Bob Dylan-sounding song I could, then played it the next time I was at the club.”

The Jeffrey Dallet Band plays Herman’s Hideaway on February 26.

Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the stories of local bands by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work.