..Year Three...

1998 was certainly a fast paced year! Maybe on the Heepside, it was the releases of "Sonic Origami", and Ken Hensley's "URIAH HEEP AN ANTHOLOGY" released within a day of each other ! When's the last time 2 albums were released for Heep in 2 days, much less in the same year !

The response was good...people love Sonic, and the Anthology provided yet another compilation for any self respecting Heepster to get their hands on !

Sonic Origami is a great release...a new direction of sorts for the band, but holding onto the musical trademarks that make them Heep ! Personally I love it.

The Heepsters logo was printed on the CD, and the URL for the official page, and of course, that was very nice of the band to do. We are actually in contact with Mick quite a bit, and when he asked for the info, well...it was just too cool !

I think if there was a hi-lite of the year for me, it is hard to pin down just one. Of course the Heepvention held in Cleveland was special for me, as I got to house the Heepsters for the weekend, and that was just great ! "River of Dreams" which I co-wrote with Rich Wagner, Graham Hulme and Michael Keuter was sung by no less then John Lawton for a birthday present !That was un-real...thanks guys , again ! There was also the recognition of the Heepsters On The Web by the band, and of course the official site's current situation...and THAT is I think the coolest part.

Louis Rentrop and Rodrigo Werneck's additions to Heep.com have certailny made thier mark. They are both simply fantastic to work with, and seem to truly enjoy the "work" as I do...but it's more than that...we're of a like mind, and very rarely actually disagree on anything..it's been a great ride with them, and I KNOW that had they not put in 110% all the time, it wouldn’t be where it is today.

Tireless? Sure...Devoted to Heep? Of course..but that's just on the outside. They are both really nice people, and I enjoy working with them more than you can imagine!

Becoming net-pals with "Stay On Top", and "UHAS" required a ton of work on our parts, but Rod and Louis took this task by the horns, and produced websites and promote the two organizations as if they were their own. It's all one big family now, and that's the way it should be.

So a Big Big thanks to the two of them !

1998 also was the time I put the least amount of effort into "Will you Welcome please, Englands Own Uriah Heep"...or "England's Own" as Rod calls it.

Working with Heep.com, and trying to promote it was the main thrust of the year, as well as some other things that will be apparent as the year goes on, but suffice it to say that it certainly took a "back seat" in terms of my own priorities. That's cool...there are 66 Heepsites at the moment, and one has to be blind on the net NOT to be able to find out ANYTHING about Heep these days in a matter of minutes..and THAT was our goal.

As Alan Keetly says..."Spread the Word", as David Byron said to him long ago...so we do, and we will continue to as long as there are people who look for Heep on the Net.

Personally, it was a great year for Heepsters Recordings, and we certainly had a ball doing that, and will continue.

1998 seemed to go by in a flash, and I'm sure 1999 will as well, but it sure was fun ! Lots of things changed, and new things were started, and more will start very very soon...Mick told me today that they will for sure "Kick some ARSE" in '99, and I have NO doubt about it.

As usual, I have to thank you for your support of the band and the various sites and things, and the letters and guest books sure tell us that we are reaching people that want to read and see all the things up here, and that's what it's all about.

Any resolutions for '99? Yeah...MORE HEEP, Please ! It would be cool to see ANOTHER release now that they are with Eagle Rock, and there is a possibility I suppose if they get to the states, and Sonic takes off, and maybe, just maybe we'll all get to see them.

That's it for now...just wanted to say thanks, and pass on some feelings.

Grab a mug, get some coffee, and surf for an hour or two..I'm SURE there's something you haven't seen yet in these 66 Heepsites !

Oh yeah...we have a new logo too!

Have a great '99..and maybe we can catch up at a show !

Dave