JWFan turns 25!

[Ricard 2,490]

JWFan was born 25 years ago today! 

 

Hard to imagine back then that the site would still be up and running two and a half decades later, let alone that the Maestro would still be active after having composed nearly thirty more film scores and a similar number of concert works, as well as conducting over 200 concerts including Vienna, Berlin, Milan and Japan!

 

Dozens of his film scores have received perfect releases during all this time, providing fans with the confidence that many more will come in the future, while maintaining and further enhancing the collective appreciation and admiration for the music we all love and which will remain with us for the rest of our lives.

 

The analysis and discussion of his work has reached such level of comprehensiveness and detail, that our forums have become an essential reference for fans and scholars, while fomenting the creation of fascinating projects that expand and deepen the study of the Maestro’s oeuvre and contribute to increasing its appreciation by future generations who, without doubt, will continue to ensure that his name is in the place it deserves in the history of music and cinema.

 

Thank you, Mr. Williams, and thanks to all those who have contributed during this time to make the site such a wonderful place. Here’s to 25 more!

 

PS. The following quoted post, written for this thread 10 years ago, provides a short summary of the origins of the site:

 

Quote

On the night of February 5, 1999, I uploaded to the internet the first page of which later became JWFAN... It was a very modest, single-page website focusing on compiling all known information about the then-upcoming John Williams' score for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (the first Star Wars score in 16 years!).

 

Those were the days of Windows '98, dial-up modems, and lower-than-128Kbps MP3s. The default search engines were Yahoo! or Altavista, Netscape was the cool alternative to Explorer, we had 15GB hard drives in our PCs, and floppy disks were still popular. Nearly everyone purchased their music on CD, and bought or rented their movies on DVD (or even VHS!). There were no blu-rays, flat TVs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, tablets, or even portable music players... And we were as happy (or perhaps more!) as we are today.

 

So in that "prehistoric" context, that little website, called Star Wars Episode I - The Music was born, grew up and became popular much faster than I could ever imagine. Being the main source of information on the TPM score was paired with the fact that a lot of music heard in the film was not included in the album, and the website not only provided information on how to obtain that music… it also offered the music itself! Which, of course, was the reason for the site being at 4 or 5 different free hosts in less than a year...

 

At that time, a couple of dozen fans (maybe less) gathered on a regular basis to discuss the works of the Maestro at Tim Perrine's "The Groovy Yak's John Williams Forum" or the Yahoo! John Williams Fan Club (where I had met a young Thor Joachim Haga the year before), while the main sources for JW info and articles were Scott Hanson's The Unofficial John Williams Home Page, Jeff Eldridge's The John Williams Web Pages, Ayaz Asif's John Williams website and Frank Lehman's JW review page.

 

In the fall of '99, when Tim closed the forum following a weird incident involving some trolls, I re-opened it as The John Williams Message Board (the very first genesis of this one!), and as an extension of the Star Wars Music site, which by November of that 1999 was already the most popular source for Williams news... but still wasn't a general JW site.

 

That situation changed shortly after, since I was somehow frustrated by the lack of frequent updates on the two main general John Williams sites, as compared to my own SW music updates. So in a matter of weeks, the SW music site evolved into a JW news site (some may remember it as "John Williams Central" or its subtitle "Your Daily Dose of John Williams"), fast becoming the number one place for John Williams news and discussion, and one of the most visited film music sites.

 

The year 2001 brought the site's final url and name: JWFAN, as well as its first "independent" hosting by our savior Andreas Westphal. The rest is history (and it can be found in the site and forums archives).

 

 

 

[Jay 45,152]

Wow cool!

[Manakin Skywalker 5,847]

[Damien F 1,995]

Over the last two decades, JWFan has made me a better JW fan!

[Sandor 908]

This is already the post of the year for me.

 

Thank you Ricard and all those involved.

[Brando 2,725]

I thought this site was created in 2002, since the oldest members dates on their profile are may 2002. I was only a couple days old 

[GlastoEls 579]

Massive congrats on what is genuinely a fabulous resource and such a well natured place. 

I myself have made real life friends from the site and met up with Williams nerds in Milan, Vienna, Berlin, and closer to home in London. 

 

Here’s to the next 25!

[Jay 45,152]

14 hours ago, Brando said:

I thought this site was created in 2002, since the oldest members dates on their profile are may 2002. I was only a couple days old 

 

The forum software changed a few times until the IPBoard version launched in May 2002.  The old posts and accounts couldn't be imported into it, so everyone started anew that day.

[Thor 9,334]

Congrats on 25! What a ride it has been.

[Jeff 10]

I just saw the "25 years" story posted on JWFan's Twitter and thought I would drop in to say hi. I used to be active on the forum about 12 years ago. I just checked my profile and my last post was just a few days before my first child was born.   Needless to say I was busy for a little while and never made it back here, other than to do research once or twice.

 

Anyway, congrats on 25 years and maybe I'll dip my toe back into the forum a bit ...

[Datameister 2,561]

Wild. Happy birthday to this wonderful little community!

[The Five Tones 305]

Congratulations, Ricard! You all deserve to celebrate. I've been coming here since 2000 (not as much as I'd like in recent years, though) and it's impressive how the site has developed as the hub for a vast, interconnected community but also as the definitive resource for all things John Towner Williams. As the nearly 92 year old maestro might say, long may you reign!

[Tom 6,395]

Thank you, as well, Ricard.  While I did not join the forums till much later, I have been an avid visitor since The Phantom Menace days.  Good times all around.  

[Loert 3,089]

Beautiful

Here's to many more years of the JWFAN community!

[dvincent 2]

I was there and I am so proud to say that after all of these years, I made my dreams come true, like to attend a John Williams concert.
I am not active anymore on the forum, but I am still there.

Congrats Ricard for all your achievements!

[Luke Skywalker 2,321]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

 

The forum software changed a few times until the IPBoard version launched in May 2002.  The old posts and accounts couldn't be imported into it so everyone started anew that day.

 

Whose idea was doing that at the time of attack of the clones release? 😅

 

I think I remember watching the film and not able to talk about it immediately.

 

i have been visiting the forums far longer than the age i was when i joined…

[Davis 3,957]

I contacted Ricard in the early 2000s and he was very welcoming, asked me to write a review of a JW concert I attended, or something like that, which I gladly did. Over the years - decades - this site remained my number one source of John Williams news, including his upcoming concerts. I’m safe to say that it’s the essential, definitive, quasi-official John Williams website. I feel honored to be a part of this community where I’ve met many interesting, lovely people whom I’ve never met in person. Here’s to 25 more years, and may the Maestro be “with us” all the way.

[Edmilson 11,610]

Congratulations! I've only joined a few years ago, but I've been using the site and the forum as the master resource on all things John Williams and about other composers too!

 

Here's for the next 25 years 

[Badzeee 155]

Thank you for this site, for creating it, for being here, and for sharing the love. 

[Not Mr. Big 4,937]

Old enough to rent a car

[Hristo 15]

Congratulations!

[Bespin Copilot 10,517]

More promotion to squeeze more money out of us this year.

[Tallguy 6,920]

Happy birthday! Glad to be here.

[Edmilson 11,610]

1 hour ago, Bespin said:

More promotion to squeeze more money out of us this year.

LLL and Intrada should create exclusive discounts for JWFan users 

[Andy 7,139]

What a trip down Memory Lane !  I’m sure I did a lot of lurking in those early years. I regret not being more active then.   I’m proud to be a part of this community, having been around long enough to see members come and go. But the love we all share for the maestro remains constant if not steadily growing.   This place makes me laugh with its special brand of Crazy. This is our Church. 

[Guillaume 13]

Happy birthday JWFAN !

Thanks to you I met some other fans during JW concerts (Washington, NYC, tanglewood, etc...), so good to share the same passion.

I wish you 25 more years.

Thank you.

[Manakin Skywalker 5,847]

To celebrate the occasion, I'm going back to my original profile picture.

[Falstaft 2,227]

Here's to you, @Ricard! The importance of this site and this forum, to me and so many others, is hard to overstate. 

[KittBash 360]

WOW! Time really has flown.

 

I remember finding the Episode 1 The music when I was in High school in 1999 on my Pentium 133 with a 56k modem and having to set the machine up overnight to download the mp3 pieces that the site was offering as we slowly pieced together the score! It was magic as the site got its own forums and I remember always being a little bummed as I couldn't go to the live chats due to the time difference. 

Fast forward and now my daughter is only 2 years younger then I was back then and I'm still visiting the site just about everyday! 

 

Thanks to @Ricard @Jay @Andreas and everyone else who have made this site what it is over the years!
Honestly If it takes 30-60 days builds to build a habit then visiting this site is engrained in my being at this point. 

 

On a side note I wondering how many of us with the old "may 2002" accounts are still around these days?

[aj_vader 721]

Happy Birthday JWFAN! 

 

I joined back in May 2002. I remember talking about Wlliams' Scores (Mainly Star Wars Music) with people from school and everyone thought I was insane. I came onto JWFAN where people understood and we're more accepting... a place where we could all be insane together! 

 

Thank you everyone 🙏

[enderdrag64 1,777]

1 hour ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

To celebrate the occasion, I'm going back to my original profile picture.

finally, your username makes sense

[karelm 3,259]

You know what's even crazier?  That I've been a member of this forum for 17 years!  WTF??!?!

[BB-8 5,947]

Social media can be many things but one thing JWFan is certainly not: a network you can say 'no' to.

 

It was the excitement in anticipation of "The Force Awakens" that made me transform from a long-term forum lurker (since 2002) to an active forum member (since 2015). Amazing what has happened over these years (Boston, Vienna, Berlin, Milano).

 

Happy 25th Anniversary and thank you to all who make this platform possible, informative and rewarding for fans world-wide!

[tomsmoviemadness 4,646]

Woow, I had not idea! That quite something.

 

Feel very privileged to be a part of it. Thanks to everyone.

[Thor 9,334]

I just realized JWFAN is the same age as my own site Celluloid Tunes (mine went online January 1st, 2000). And that was after both Ricard and I tumbled around in the same Yahoo Clubs in the late 90s. Of course, JWFAN went on to much greater fame and glory than my little dog-and-pony show, but a nice little parallell I hadn't really thought about until now.

[Dr. Rick 1,339]

Congrats JWFAN!!!!  Next week will be my 18th anniversary on this fabulous site so I'll finally become legal  

 

I will forever be eternally grateful for the for the wealth of knowledge that has been shared by everyone, past and present!  

[RomanticStrings 43]

Congratulations!

 

I look back at my posts from 20 years ago, and I am embarrassed at my teen attempts at prose, humor, and commentary.

 

Still, this site was critical for my musical thought, and I even went to college for music with fellow JWFans!

 

Then I fell off, but in the past few years had reason to revisit, and it is a testament to this site's value that it remains alive and well!

 

Thank you, all, for sharing your companionship, intellect, and love of music.

[Jay 45,152]

Where's your avatar?

[Tallguy 6,920]

I just looked up my first posts. Apparently I came here to talk about the Superman Blue Box. Why here, I wonder? Good choice, Me in My Thirties!

 

I also was in a thread where people were talking about how Paramount would never expand the Star Trek scores. One year later... KABAM!

 

And my opinions on Star Wars vs. The Empire Strikes Back seem very consistent. Calcified, almost.

[Mr. Hooper 7,975]

Well, I'm a new member but have been checking in from time to time for many years. A great resource for the latest info on the Maestro. My thanks to Ricard for launching it and giving fans a place to congregate and hang out.

[Mr. Breathmask 623]

Hooray! We're all old now!

[RomanticStrings 43]

6 hours ago, Jay said:

Where's your avatar?

I'm not sure I ever had one... Avatars have always been a bit mystifying to me, for no discernible reason.

[Thor 9,334]

3 hours ago, Mr. Breathmask said:

Hooray! We're all old now!

 

I've been old for years now.

[GerateWohl 6,396]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

I've been old for years now.

This is not a competition. 

[Tallguy 6,920]

13 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

This is not a competition. 

 

But Williams is winning.

[RomanticStrings 43]

58 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

But Williams is winning.

I think I know the answer, but is there anyone here older than John Williams?

[Miszka 51]

A belated Happy Birthday and congratulations JWFan!

 

I am so glad to have stumbled upon this website and forum. I've been following for only two years and have become and active member just now, but the site has proved an invaluable source of information.

 

Keep it up!

[Jurassic Shark 16,060]

20 hours ago, RomanticStrings said:

I think I know the answer, but is there anyone here older than John Williams?

 

It's not the age...

[Tallguy 6,920]

17 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

It's not the age...

 

It's the Oscars.

[SingeMoisi 11]

Did not expect JWFAN to be almost as old as me. Happy Birthday, it's always fun to read what people think about JW music here.