I have found the it-forum sometime in 2000 or 2001. I had seen Genesis on their 1998 tour in Westfalenhalle Dortmund, Germany, and was very impressed with Ray Wilson and his voice when he delivered songs like No Son Of Mine, Lover’s Leap and Carpet Crawlers. A friend had passed on a peculiar piece of news, namely that Genesis were planning a new CD on which some old songs would be recorded in a new version with Ray Wilson as the singer. That prompted me to scour the internet for mo-re information, and so I finally ended up in the it-forum! I wanted to know whether Genesis were still active and what else might follow up on Calling All Stations. At first I only read several threads and used the forum as a source of information about Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Ray Wilson and the others.
After a while I decided I wanted to actively participate and talk with like-minded people, and I realized that much of what I like in music is reflected in the it-forum. Not just because Peter Gabriel has become my absolute idol at the latest after the two Secret World-shows in Dortmund in 1993, but be-cause many threads in the forum talk about Pink Floyd, King Crimson and David Bowie. I actually come to the forum almost every day. Real life obligations do not permit me to write as much there as I used to in the first years, but I still read new and older threads. I see the forum as a real asset. Information about releases, concerts, interviews and more are as interesting as a simple chat in the forum or the various polls. Some special highlights made possible by the it-forum were the ticket offers for Peter Gabriel’s New Blood shows and the recent Mike & The Mechanics tour. It is stunning how much time and hard work is spent in order to give us these opportunities!
As the public relations and booking person for the Hot Jazz Club Münster, Germany, I got to know several musicians from the Genesis camp. Tony Levin, David Rhodes, Rachel Z and Ray Wilson have played at our venue, and Roachford is going to play here with his band in November. We also have plans for Paul Carrack and hope we can have him here next year. Christian has invited me to write a report for the website that combines the views of fan and promoter. I am still thinking about how to do it, but I feel I really need to do it – simply because it is quite interesting for me to consider how Genesis and the others have accompanied my life in different ways throughout the last twenty years. I am sure that all this would have been less intense for me without the it-forum and that there are some opportunities I would not have had at all without it. And that is why I put up with the occasional moronic statements where people fuss about whether Phil Collins is a better front man than Peter Gabriel, or whether Ray Wilson should be allowed to sing Genesis songs at all. A times that can be good fun, too! ;-)
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