Let's all meet up in the year 2000

Actually, for me, this journey started in 1994. That's when I first heard Pulp's amazing His n' Hers and was introduced to the singer I would become intrigued with, well sometimes bordering on obsessed with for the last seventeen years. I was in high school in 94, and while most of my fellow high schoolers were enjoying the cheerful sounds of Seattle, my little group of friends were devouring all things British.

Long before I had a computer, I had a Smith-Corona typewriter, and I decided that with this piece of technology and some glue sticks, I could start my very own fanzine. That became Synthetic Fluff, my teenage diary of ditching school to see all of our favorites play. And there were some amazing shows, starting with, of course, Pulp opening for Blur in 1994. That was the show that started it all for me. I happily pogo-ed to my favorites off of His n Hers while watching the band weave their magic.  While Blur was playing, we ran into Jarvis and Mark Webber at the bar. We didn't know who Mark was since he wasn't officially in the band at that time, but he started off as a fanzine writer, too. I think I made some lame compliments about his silver nailpolish. We even met the bassist, Steve Mackey, standing outside of the tourbus. I took this and all my other collected musical experiences and created the first issue of Synthetic Fluff.

Since this was long before facebook and only a few kids were on AOL, I didn't have the ability to instantly distribute my fanzine. Instead, I did what all the other kids did--I passed out fliers at shows. I also networked with other zine writers and asked them to put my info in the back of their zines. Slowly, but surely, the orders came in and I built up a small mailing list. I often wonder what it would have been like if this were all done in the time of Facebook, but obviously the experience would not have been the same.

And now I guess that's what brings me here today. I wrote a 2nd issue of Synthetic Fluff, this time with a co-writer. Pulp came and did a tour of the US in 1996, and we'd planned on releasing a 3rd issue about it, but due to creative differences, a lack of time and the fact that Pulp broke up, issue 3 never came to be. Just like Jarvis singing "Let's all meet up in the year 2000," we missed our date and never had that rendezvous.

Until 2012.

Sure, we had our little trysts in the meantime with Jarvis' solo work. I even saw him perform at Coachella in 2007 and in Seattle that same year. But a full fledged Pulp show with Pulp songs? Sadly, no.

So here we are, and Pulp reunited to play festivals all over Europe. For months, there was no sign of a US tour, but I put Coachella tickets on layaway hoping that either the reunited Pulp, Suede or even Blur would play. My heart skipped a beat when the lineup was announced. There it was: My chance to see Pulp again. Okay, so now I'm 33 instead of 16, I've been married and divorced, just like Jarvis, I guess, and I've also got kids ("you can even bring your baby....oooh"), but I'm looking forward to this rendezvous nonetheless. I'm dusting off some old memories and will bring them here to this blog to share. And I'll be creating some new memories, too.

Maybe you can share yours too. I'll see you in the crowd.