10 Years Ago…

10 years is a long time and alot has gone on when you really think about it. We’ve weathered storms and we’ve smiled in the sun around here at Galleywinter. I’ve seen people leave and I’ve seen people show up and join us for the ride. I’ve learned about great new music from the people here and I’ve even shared great new music with others and I know many of you have done the same. I’ve seen divorce… I’ve seen marriage… I’ve seen children born… and I’m sad to say that I’ve even seen death. I’ve seen people move to Texas to be closer to the music and the people here at GW… and I’ve seen people have to move away from Texas and use GW as a life line to stay stave off insanity.

When you get right down to it, true friendship is not something that you can just make with a website. You can’t just throw some forums together and have it be “community”. Friendships are the product of all the good times and hardships I listed above. Friendships are the RESULT of miles traveled, shows seen, hugs given, beds offered to sleep on, meals shared, tears shed, loss incurred & laughter spread.

When I look back 10 years I don’t think Galleywinter is a successful website. I think it is a successful community… a successful family. I love seeing people still posting, still involved on the site and I would love to see more of it as we launch a new version soon. But we don’t need it. I see people at shows and at dinners and at weddings. I talk to thousands of people that tell me “Love your website, but I just don’t post”. I know they are all “Still Here”.

Galleywinter is everything that JP and I dreamt of it being when we were sitting on his couch all those years ago in the middle of the night. And it’s not because of us… but it’s because of all of you. All of you that have given us 75+ million page views and 1.7+ millionforum topics. All of you that have given us the good times and the bad…. I’ll take them both in a heartbeat. You have given us a real community.

If you look at Galleywinter as just a place to promote music, you’re missing it. You’re missing 10 years of friendships and people that will stop at nothing to show love to people and music that they love. And that is why we’re still alive and kicking and will be for a long time to come.

Much Love, Tanker