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Meet Elizabeth, your Net Waite hostess
I've been a big music fan since I was 10 years old, but
I was never much into computers and never thought I would be. I pretty much just
looked at them as a glorified typewriter or a really expensive way to play Solitaire.
<g> But that all changed one August night in 1994. I had gone to
bed and my husband had stayed up to use the computer. (Unlike me, Ray has been into
computers since high school.) Well, Ray wakes me up a half an hour later to tell me,
"I just found a new Usenet discussion group for Def Leppard. There's a new book
coming out on the Leps and Joe's going to be in a movie. I'll tell you more about it
in the morning." OHMYGOSH!!!! New Def Leppard info???!!!
Computers could be used to get me info on my favorite rock bands????!!! Well, this
couldn't wait until morning; there was no going back to sleep after hearing that. I
got right out of bed and demanded that Ray show me this "Usenet" stuff.
Wow, here before me in my own home was a way to talk to other Def Leppard fanatics, a way
to get info on the band that I loved so much??? Amazing! And thus an Internet
addict was born. I've been online ever since.
Ah, but while I was thrilled to find info on the net
about Def Leppard, what I really wanted was info on John Waite. John's been my #1
fave artist since I was 15. So, here I am online
in 1994 and I'm looking for something, *anything* on John Waite. But there was no
Usenet group for John Waite fans. There was no website about John, no established
AOL folder. I went a long time online just having to be content talking Def Leppard,
because I wasn't meeting any John Waite fans. And then one day in 1995, I hit
paydirt. On doing an Internet search for "John Waite," I found Jim
Gilbert's John Waite
Homepage. Wow, here was someone who liked John enough to put up a webpage about
him??? I was so thrilled to discover that I wasn't the only John Waite fan in
cyberspace. But waite, there was more!!!! Jim's webpage had a guestbook, a
guestbook signed by at least 20 other online John Waite fans!!! Needless to say, I
got to e-mailing a few of these folks who shared my love for John Waite music and some new
friendships were born.
But I wanted more John
Waite discussion than I could just have one-on-one with someone in private
e-mail. And as I
became more and more comfortable and knowledgeable about the Internet, I knew the thing to
do would be to start up a John Waite listserv and invite all the folks from Jim's
guestbook to come join to talk about John Waite. |
And thus, Ignition, the very first John Waite
listserv on the 'Net, was born. I named my listserv after the album that
contains my all-time favorite John Waite song, "Change." Ignition
was started in February 1996 and ran until October 1998. So, when you see mentions
of "Ignition" here on Net Waite, now you know what that's all about. And,
hey, this also explains my e-mail address, Elizion@aol.com.
Elizion (pronounced "EE-lih-zhun"; rhymes with "revision"), is a
combination of the words "Elizabeth" and "Ignition."
While administering Ignition, I thought it
would be a good idea to have a place on the web where folks could access Ignition's
posting rules. I was just going to make a little webpage about Ignition. But
then things just snowballed and I wound up making an entire John Waite website, which
debuted on the web on July 4, 1997. And that site has evolved into the Net Waite you
see here today.
OK, so, enough of my online history. Let
me tell you more about my John Waite fandom. When I was in high school, I saw
the video for "Change" and I was hooked. I had never heard of John Waite
before that and I was just bowled over. Ohmygosh, what an incredible song, an
incredible voice, and John was pretty easy on the eyes, too! What 15 year old girl
could resist that, right? <g> So, I became a fan. And I never outgrew my
John Waite fandom. After checking out the Ignition album, I got into The Babys'
stuff, and then was with John through his solo career, to Bad English, and now back to
solo. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite JW era--I like them all! Oh, but maybe the
Bad English time would be my favorite. (Wow--two of my favorite bands, Journey and The
Babys, combined! What a concept!) The Bad English era was the first time I saw John
perform live (at The Vic in Chicago). John sure was having some really good hair days back then, wasn't he?
If your interested in finding out which John
Waite songs I like best, I have compiled a list of my personal
all-time John Waite faves. I can tell you now that "Change" is by far
my #1, but be sure to check out the other John Waite songs I like.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm "stuck in the
80s" musically. Alternative and other 90s music just doesn't really appeal to
me. Give me good ole melodic rock and "hair bands" and techno-pop any day!
Before going online, I never thought to try to meet any
of my favorite rock stars. I always thought I was too shy to try, plus I didn't know
the first thing about how to go about it. Well, then I got online and talked to
people who had these incredible "I met so and so" stories and, heck, I wanted
some stories of my own to tell! So, with the Internet to help me, I decided to try
to meet my favorite rock stars. I've now met Sammy Hagar/Van Halen, Def Leppard,
Night Ranger, and Journey. Click here to see the pics from "Elizabeth's
Close Encounters of the Rock Star Kind."
Here's John, me, and
one of my beloved scrapbooks in Akron,
Ohio on July 1, 2000. |
As for meeting John, I had to
wait 15 years, but I finally met him for the first time in September of 1997. I had
been invited to attend the release party for his When You Were Mine CD and what a
thrill that was! Click here to read my story and see the
pics. I was so nervous to meet John. Uh, not only because he was THE JOHN WAITE, but
because I had been such a big fan for so long that the big potential for disappointment
was there. What if I met John and he was a jerk? Well, I needn't have
worried. A nicer, more gracious, more down-to-earth rock star you couldn't hope to
meet. John is an absolute delight in person. I had the pleasure of seeing him
perform live and meeting him three other times in 1997. Be sure to check out my
pictures and stories from Chattanooga, TN; Danbury,
CT, Providence, RI, and Las Vegas,
NV. |
| Hmmm. Let's see...What else can I tell ya?
Well, I'm married to a wonderful man named Ray and we have two beautiful
sons, CJ and Jack. Here's Ray and CJ meeting John in Akron, Ohio on July 1, 2000: 
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| The boys and I live in Illinois, USA with
our two cats, Toonces and Pepsi Cola. We adopted Pepsi and Toonces from my favorite
charity, Fried's Cat Shelter in Michigan
City, Indiana. (And now I'm going to get on my
soapbox here...did you know that more than SIX MILLION innocent cats and dogs are
destroyed each year because there just aren't enough homes for them? If you are a
pet owner, please help reduce this overpopulation problem by having your pet spayed or
neutered. Call 1-800-248-7729 to locate an affordable spay-neuter program in your
area.) Also, speaking of feline welfare, click here to find out an easy way you can help John's cousin Dave Waite help his local Cats Protection
League. |
Toonces & Pepsi
|
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Benedictine
University (Lisle, IL). There, I majored in Business/Economics and minored in
Literature/Communications. After college, I worked in marketing research for five
years. Currently, I'm a stay-at-home mom plus I own my own business: I'm a
Unit Leader with a leading direct sales company.
My online hobbies (besides this!) include eBay. I sometimes have an auction running, so please come check out my
e-bay auctions. My non-online hobbies include making scrapbooks and cheering on the Chicago
Cubs. TV shows I watch include Whose Line is it Anyway?, Everybody Loves Raymond,
Survivor, and Antiques Roadshow.
Well, that's about it for my bio. Thanks so
much for stopping by and thanks to the many, many people who have given me contrubtions
for Net Waite. Got a question or a comment about anything on this site? E-mail me! Elizion@aol.com