20 years of 'it': Ernie

It must have been sometime in the mid-90s when I first heard or read about a "Genesis fan club." As so often, I was once again on the hunt for rarities and live recordings and stumbled across Helmut Janisch's fanzine and his other activities. After making brief contact, I had ample opportunity to broaden my "Genesis horizons" by reading the lovingly designed magazines, which were packed with genuine expertise. I was deeply impressed by the attention to detail and the quality of the information I was suddenly confronted with.

First of all, I would like to express my respect and gratitude to Helmut for his commitment, because without him, this community and these great reference works would not have existed!

But after my first fan meeting in Welkers, it was already clear to me that all this work could not be accomplished without one or two helpful "Gyro Gearloose" types, because it far exceeds the scope of a small group that meets once a year to talk shop over sausages and beer.

Therefore, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Peter Schütz, Bernd Zindler, and everyone else who has gone above and beyond in their commitment and continues to do so behind the scenes without making a big fuss!

Why haven't I mentioned Christian Gerhardts yet? Quite simply because – without detracting from the achievements of the others – his role in the fan club has, in my opinion, become particularly important. It is certainly mainly thanks to him that the club is now internet-enabled, and I think rightly so, with incredible success!

He won't like reading this, but I'm sure that without his unwavering patience and diligence, there would be no Genesis fan club anymore! From the technical work in the background and his humorous moderation at fan meetings to his management tasks in the fan forum, the list is endless and deserves the utmost recognition! So thank you to him for all of that!

My personal highlight over the years was initially getting to know like-minded people who share my love of music. Some contacts have turned into friendships, even if everyday life often pushes the pleasant things in life to the background and some contacts have fallen by the wayside. But maybe we'll meet again at a concert or fan meeting. That would be nice!

In addition, I would definitely like to mention the musical and personal events that allowed me to meet and experience other very interesting people whose names you would otherwise only find in the small print on record covers and occasionally in capital letters right at the front! 😉

Some of these encounters touched and moved me deeply, and some experiences were also very revealing in terms of the human component. Overall, these were very special experiences for me and would not have been possible without the commitment of the people already mentioned.

Surely my personal musical hero, Peter Gabriel, will not miss anything in his life, but he certainly doesn't know what he's really missing at our fan meetings! :-)))

Which brings us to another topic that unfortunately needs to be mentioned: the tension between the Gabriel and Collins factions. In my opinion, this is a completely unnecessary rivalry that occasionally makes our fan community in the forum (and thus in public) look like a herd of quarrelsome sheep. I admit that when I first joined the club, I also made some comments about Phil Collins that rightly upset some people, but the condescending chatter of some "musicologists" or "professional cynics" does not enrich the forum; rather, it alienates fans who simply want to share their joy about their musical passions. For me, this has nothing to do with the ability to criticize. If I don't like something as much as someone else does, I can simply…

I also deeply dislike the habit of some forum members who have appointed themselves as advocates of justice when some people offer things for sale on eBay or in the forum that may not be entirely legal.

I am definitely not referring to "professional fences" here! Of course, the forum rules are clear and must be followed, but some actions/posts are very lacking in style and, in my opinion, border on personal witch hunts. When it comes to reporting someone to the prosecutor or similar actions, it makes me personally sick! Since this topic is also a recurring source of controversy in the forum, I would like to mention it despite the festive occasion. No one needs that!

That's all I have to say about the downsides of our "little Internet community" from my point of view. I am aware that some people in the "management" may see things differently, but I had to get that off my chest, and ultimately everyone is entitled to their own opinion!

So, what's next for our fan club? I think we'll definitely have a proper celebration, right? Two virtually sold-out fan club events next year, as well as several other highlights to look forward to, such as the upcoming TMB tour, have me feeling incredibly excited!

I'm also curious to see what else the old guys have in store for us musically! Certainly not a reunion or anything like that, I don't think, but first of all, I hope for him and his family that Phil gets his health back under control, and who knows what else might happen? There's certainly enough potential and artistic maturity there! 🙂

So, with that in mind, stay loyal to the fan club and, above all, enjoy your favorite music, no matter who's making it!

Best regards!

Your Ernie on October 30, 2011