Having received the first few replies to our readers' poll, we have been struck by the many positive responses from those of you who have taken the time to fill one out. What stands out the most though, is a comment from one person who said, "I can't compete with you guys" (and several of you who claimed shyness) in response to our question asking why we haven't been receiving more letters and stories. What seems to slip away from us, is that ANYONE who would take the time to seek out a webpage on a band has had some sort of special experience with that band's music. Whether it was sitting in the car in traffic at rush hour and suddenly hearing something in a song you never noticed before, or whether it was sitting across a table from a bandmember as he signed your CD's and shook your hand, each and every one of us has had a personal moment with James.
What we do not often admit to ourselves, however, is that very often the purest, most clear vision of the impact of James' music on all our lives comes not from those people who have dealt with the band on a one to one basis and had their perspectives tainted by personalities and interpersonal relationships, but rather from those fans whose only link to the band is through the music, and through witnessing the occasional live performance. And in the end, it is these stories which are the most heartfelt and captivating because they have developed the strongest bond with the songs themselves.
When we started this page it was on the tail end of a wild spring when our relationship to the band changed from that of a couple of people who loved to sit and listen to the records, and who had seen a couple of mindblowing live performances, to that of having spent some time with the band. We found our views on James' music changing and taking on a rather precious element, and we felt that we had started to lose some of the pure love for the music in exchange for a protective attitude towards a group of musicians we had suddenly discovered as people. While it was a fantastic transformation in some ways, it also began to take away from what we got from the music. So we decided that in order to return some amount of perspective to our own love of James, we wanted to hear about the ways in which James had affected other people's lives. And we figured that if we wanted to hear your stories, then surely other people would as well.
We have received some amazing feedback for the page so far, but only a small percentage of the people hitting this page have actually submitted anything for public consumption. So we ask again, those of you who haven't submitted anything yet, and even those of you who have, please write us, explain to us why you love James and why they mean so much to you. For the shy ones out there, we can make your submissions as anonymous as you'd like. We just really want to know how you feel and we are eager to hear your stories. And to the girl with the Lolla pictures, send them along!! Hell, send us any photos you want us to use (as long as they have something James-related in them). AND if you don't have any, go take some!
We are looking forward to the tour this April and we hope to see as many of you as possible out there to support the band!
JustHipper and friends 1/10/98