My name is Steve, I'm 29 years old, live in La Mesa, California, and I am a Boxoholic.
I first heard of Anything Box during the summer of 1990. I always had diverse musical tastes which branched off into several genres. I was definitely an "80's" kid.
I never really considered myself a huge fan of electronic music. I always enjoyed synths when they were mixed in with more traditional instruments. I was listening to practically everything, rock, metal, rap, country, classics, and whatever. Most of my tastes were spawned from bands like Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, Wang Chung, Human League, Men Without Hats,
New Order, and Depeche Mode. There was also a lot of rap music that I favored, especially, RUN DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and a lot of the Sugar Hill Records stuff. But, nothing ever struck me as hard as when I first heard Anything Box.
Living In Oblivion was receiving good play on a local alternative radio station, and it really grabbed my attention. I immediately went out and purchased the cassette single, which was something very rare for me because I've always preferred buying LPs. I don't think there's ever been another song for me which resulted in such an action. I really put that tape to good use.
With Peace not released yet, I came across the Jubilation cassette single and was again blown away. I now had three songs (Soul on Fire included on Jubilation), and was eager to see how a complete album would sound. Peace finally made it to the shelves and I immediately loved the album. It became my staple for a summer which I consider one of the most difficult in my life. It helped ease a lot of the hurt that was going on.
When I discovered a new album, Worth, was coming out, I immediately placed a preorder at Tower Records. Months passed, but no Worth. I used to call the store regularly to get an update on it, but they never saw it, so I was left to listen to Peace.
The doldrums hit again, but in 1993 while checking out an old Music Plus store I came across Hope. I was so happy to know that mt initial thoughts of the band disbanding were completely wrong. The Hope CD found its place along with Peace, as my favorite albums. Still, I always wondered what had happened to Worth. Ignorantly, I never wrote to Orangewerks and missed a lot of the stuff which was to follow over the next few years.
I was still a fan of the band, but by 1997 I hadn't heard much about them, and I wasn't exactly using my best resources to keep up with them. Then one day, I was buying some concert tickets at a Tower Records when a couple in front of me made a purchase for Anything Box tickets. I nearly fell to the floor. I asked them if they actually said Anything Box, and not something else. We broke off into a conversation about what the band had been doing lately, and once again I was hooked.
I attended that concert at The Galaxy in Santa Ana, and have made it to as many shows as I possibly could. It was at my second show that I first had the opportunity to meet the band. They've always been great in allowing me to snap some photos and chat with them after the shows.
I finally did get my hands on Worth and all the other stuff I missed, and I'm always excited to see what they have planned next. To express my gratitude and respect, I developed The Boxoholic Page as a tribute to the band I enjoy so much--think of it as a way to make up for all that lost time between Hope and Elektrodelica.
--Steve B--