A thank you to fans
If you are reading this,
I’m going to assume you are already a fan of mine. I doubt skeptics would fork over hard earned dough on an entire collection of greatest hits, that in all honesty they could have created on iTunes instead, should they so choose.
Which got me to thinking. Wow. If you bought this, you are a REAL fan. ‘Fan ‘ Funny word. Has over 10 different explanations in the dictionary- mostly pertaining to nouns- like an apparatus with blades, or a person who has strong interest in, or admiration for a particular sport, art form or famous person. That last one is you, right? Well, not exactly. I found the verb forms to be much more accurate. “To disperse or radiate from a central point to cover a wider area.” Or “To cause a belief or emotion to become stronger or more widespread.”
This is the best definition of what my fans have done, and are. Yours is not a passive idolatry.
I have always been struck by the word “idol,” and now it seems to have an inextricable connection to the word “Idle.” To worship is usually a passive pastime. While there is much passion involved, I long suspected it separated the worshipper from the worshipped irrevocably. As if a mere mortal gazing upon a god, who knew a god they would never be. As a younger artist, I feared fame would be little more than cage or pedestal that was built by the hands of an idle/Idol worship.
But my fans have proven to be unusually active. You have been a driving force, insisting my music spread across the country, and it is because of this contagious enthusiasm that I was able to break onto the radio, and beyond. And more than this, you have always been vocal about how my quest to find happiness in my life/song, has touched you, but you have also been busy about wanting to find happiness in your own lives. I have been moved by countless stories of your own heroism and good deeds and deepest desires as you have struggled through life with me these last 20 years.
I have been honored to live my life on paper, and in song. You are the ones, the fans that have taken some of these small ideas and feeling, and caused them to become stronger, and more widespread than an Alaskan fold/pop/country singer could ever have dreamed. I thank you.
Jewel