Introductions??

Hejsan kära Krissie och everyone!
I also love that photo of John from Astoria :) Very cool!!
It is so true what Krissie said about John being the reason we met over a year ago. Like she said, I was looking for that Swedish magazine and she helped me to get it. We have been in contact ever since that day and we are now such really great friends :) I am so thankful! It now holds a special place as it is the thing that brought two great friends together and it is autographed by John!! Tack så mycket, min vän!! I also can't wait until summer for Sweden :) It is going to be such a blast!!
I was sooo nervous too Francesca when I met him. I was even shaking!! And he saw how nervous I was and he rubbed my back to make me feel better :) I also didn't say a whole lot to him either. We did talk a minute or so about Jake :) There is so much I would love to say to him if/when I hope to meet him again. It is so true about his emotions in his playing. He just puts soo much of himself in every single note he plays and with such feeling and emotion. That is one of many things that did it for me with him and why he will always have my heart!

Till Krissie: Vi SKA prata senare!! Ta hand om dej!!
Kram,
Valerie

Hejsan,
Sure, Jem, I will email it to you, and a few others from that night if you like. It was so cool. This was taken after the show was finished and they came to take their bows and stuff. With plenty of waving and jumping up and down like a madwoman , I caught John's attention and got that photo, and after that he did the "thumbs up" sign to me complete with a charmign wink. I thought I was going to pass out with excitement, which was somewhat amusing, cos my husband was standing next to me..
It really made my evenign after the great show, and I was on cloud 9 for a long time afterwards.

To kära Val - tack, och vi SKA prata senare! For the rest of you, and, if John should ever read this forum himself, I met Val because of him. Valerie was after a certain Swedish guitar magazine, which is (was) not available online. I helped her get that, and this was now over a year ago. I did not expect that we would stay in touch - I asked her to drop me an email once she got it, and well, we have been in touch ever since. We have become very close friends and nowdays we talk every Sunday with the google phone. We are going to meet next summer in Sweden, and I am looking forward to that so much!

kram,
K

Welcome Krissie - glad you are here, as the person who took the BEST photo of John at the Astoria gig, I am honoured by your presence ... as a matter of courtesy, do you mind if I can get that image in full size??? It's fabulous and YES you will meet Jonta I am sure, he is an ACE guy!!

Hej!! Välkommen Kära Krissie!! (I hope I said that right ;)
I am so glad you made it, finally!!
I loved your intro too. It is very sweet :)
I am also a huge Purple, Rainbow and Lizzy fan and have been for a long time too! (Well, maybe not a long time fan with some bands but I have been a rocker girl for about 20 years now!!) But John and Europe are my faves!!
It is so very true what you said about John and his playing. There is NO ONE in this world who is like him. He puts so much feeling and emotion into his playing and it shows in all his solo albums and the Europe ones too. That is what does it for me too and I just find his playing so amazing and wonderful :) His playing just touches my heart and soul and there are not may guitar players who can do that with the emotions and feeling he brings. One of the many reasons why he IS my hero!

I too believe that your time is coming that you will meet him :) I just know it!!

Jag är jätteglad du är här!!!
Ta hand om dej, min vän!!
Vi ska prata senare!!

Modificato da Valerie1130 17/01/2006 2.07

So, I finally made it after a lot of technical pondering!
So - I am Krissie, and I am from Finland, but have lived in London, England, for 9 years now. I go to Finland quite a lot though with my little family

I am a free lance translator, more specificly, a subtitler for DVD films, tv-shows and occasionally theatre movies as well. I work from home and I love my job to bits!! Absolutely the best job in the world, although I am very busy with it.
I am married and have a little boy, Jan, who is 2 and a bit. He is a right little character, and growing into a little Norum fan very fast! He watches the clips and strums his little guitar, complete with headbanging and pulling mad faces....

As for myself, I have always been a rock chick, ever since I heard my older cousins playing the likes of Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin. I was only around 9 or 10, but I just got this sudden urge to headbang, and was totally blown away by that music, and I just knew that that was my thing. And so it has been, ever since!
As for John, I have been a massive fan since 1985, when I first heard Europe's WOT album. The same thing: when I heard that, was just owerwhelmed and thought: Now, this is DEFINITELY my thing!!Have just followed his career ever since, and have seen him play three times. In Helsinki, Finland, Oct, 04, Hammersmith Nov 04 (so far, I have not seen too clearly if I can be seen on the DVD - I was interviewed, but it did not get on the DVD) and Astoria May 05. i have never met John in person though.

It is impossible for me to say a particular favourite of mine from his work. I cannot play the guitar to save my life, therefore I cannot comment anything about technical side. But as far as guitar players go, I really go for the feeling and emotion they put into their playing. That is why I find John's playing so overwhelming and blindingly amazing. In every show I have seen it, and on all of his albums I have heard it. There are very few guitar players who play with such emotion and passion, and that really does it for me. I have never seen or heard anything like that. I absolutely love the harder guitars he has brought again to Europe, and cannot wait to hear the next album.

As I said, I have never met him in person, but I have heard of course from many people, who have (for example my dear friend Valerie who is also here, hi dear, if you read this!) what a wonderful, genuine, humouristic, caring and warm person he is too. It really comes across from the DVD as well. Not only that, he is also a great dad to little Jake, which warms my heart even more, as a parent myself. I really hope I meet him one day, and I think my time will come

Finally, Francesca, you are really doing such great work with this site, it is a hell of a thing to take on and complete, and I admire you for that.

ciao then for now,
K

ok cool!
I'm Sara, maybe some of you will remember me for threads like "how to destruct a myth in few words " or "how to spend all the money you saved for years in just one travel "...
I've been a Johnny's fan since I was soooo young! I was about one year old the first time I heard TFC, and my first memories are full of Europe
After seeing a video of Rock The Night I memorized the image of THIS guitar man , and for years I thought that he was Kee SHAME ON ME!
Now I've discovered a wonderful Artist and I ADORE him , for both his playing and his being
Well I think it's good for me start apologizing for my troblesome presence , so that then you won't say that I hadn't warned you
(maybe the smilies that Francesca dedicated to me are indicative )
So here you are, eat lots of Mandròle, drink tons of Beck's and behave
LeT'S RoCK!

It's my turn....
My name is Mirna, I'm 21, I live in Italy and I work as a secretary for a buildingfirm.
I'm an Europe and John Norum fan only since 6 month but my love for them is GIGANTIC JOHN IS MY GUITAR HERO!!! NO ONE LIKE HIM!!!
All John's songs are FANTASTIC but my favourite are:
SHIMMERING HIGHS
JILLANNA
IN YOUR EYES
WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN
NAILED TO THE CROSS
LET ME LOVE YOU
ETERNAL FLAME
CHANGE WILL COME

I love dogs, chocolate ( ), hard rock music and one of my dreams (like Francesca ) is start playing electric guitar (now I'm trying to play the classic one )
Nice to meet you all!!!
Bye
Mirna

Ok, Let's see. My turn now
I am Valerie. I live in Orlando, Florida in the US. I am 33.
I work as an assistant Database Administrator for a major hospital here in Orlando. Very interesting work ;)
I have been a HUGE John fan since 1987 when I first got a hold of Total Control! Needless to say, I wore it out!! I have also been a huge Europe fan since 1986 too!
I did see John once when he toured with Don Dokken back in 1990 for the Up From the Ashes album. He was so amazing in that show!!
And I FINALLY after 19 years saw him with Europe in April last year and had the ultimate pleasure of meeting him!! He is THE most wonderful and sweet guy in the world!!! And THE most amazing guitarist!! He IS the guitar god!!

Oh man, favorites. I have SOO many!
Aphasia, Boyazont, Shimmering Highs, Chase Down the Moon, Catalina Sunset, Change will Come, Endica, any of the Thin Lizzy tributes, Stormbringer from the Deep Purple tribute, Back on the Streets, Too Many Hearts, Face the Truth, Milano...Let's put it this way, there is NOTHING that he has played that I don't love!!

It is so nice to meet you all too!! And I look forward to talking with you all about our Guitar God!!

All the best,
Valerie

Welcome!

Hi my name is Jemini and I am a Norumaniac also, it's cool to find another site dedicated to the world's greatest living guitar hero ...

I thought perhaps we could all introduce ourselves here to each other:

I am 31, live in the UK, am a full time mother and a writer. Been into Europe and John since 86 (like so many of us) ...

my Jonta faves are:

Shimmering Highs (six minutes of heaven)
Chase Down the Moon
In Chase of the Wind
Catalina Sunset
Any of the Thin Lizzy tributes
Too Many Hearts
Nailed to the Cross (seriously heavy riff in this one)
Endica
Strange Days
Spirit World
Sunshine of your Love (how heavy is that ending?? WOOH)
C Y R (reminds me of Hendrix - a very good thing)
Change Will Come

I've seen John with Europe three times 2004, 2005 (no money and a baby to look after, otherwise, it would have been every damn
date they played) and he rocks.

Well, nice to meet youall, I look forward to hearing all about you guys, Jem x

Ps Cesca, am loving your smileys ... stammi bene!!!