But it also made me think a lot all day, so bear with me as I get a little philosophical here.You see, to me this honor is like getting an award for breathing. The Commodore-64 and SID music has been a "natural" part of my life for almost as long as I remember. It felt "natural" to me to play C64 games with my friends during my teenage years, to listen to and to (attempt to) make SID music with my friends. Later it felt "natural" for me to get involved in helping a few fellow SID music nerds out with their collection - which ultimately became HVSC, the de facto SID music archive. Then it felt "natural" for me to become a cheerleader of SID remixes, to help out - even if just a little bit - to make remix albums a reality. Then I was "naturally" there at the first few BIT Live events where I even got to meet several of my childhood musical heroes. If felt "natural" to me to become more involved in the RKO and Remix64.com community, to try to help make remixes better by criticizing them or praising them. Even though, as I now look back I realize that sometimes I was more harsh than I should've been...
Bottom line is, being involved in the SID and SID remix communities was always more than just a hobby for me - it has been the main thread of my life. It's thanks to the C64 that I have a "professional career" that I love - because it was the C64 that introduced me to programming. It's thanks to the SID remix community that today I have so many wonderful friends all around the world. It's thanks to SID music that I got introduced to the music of Jarre and Vangelis, and that later I even had the privilege of seeing them in concert in person all around the world. And on and on and on...
I know that I'm not alone with this life-story. I know that the C64 and the Amiga touched many-many lives. But ultimately, those were just machines made of silicon and plastic. What really made them unique is the people around it: the early pioneers - the programmers, the graphic artists, the musicians, the crackers, the hackers, all the young enthusiasts; the demo sceners; then later the remixers, the listeners; the entire community.
It's a cliche to state that we are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants, but it's certainly true of me. Regardless of my enthusiasm for SID music, I would not be here today if it weren't for the people of the entire C64, Amiga, SID and remix communities. This award is not just mine - it's yours, too! Every one of you! It's thanks to you that I, that we are where we are today - even though almost 40 years have passed since that little computer was introduced to the world...
So, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and of course: keep da scene alive!
ROC=K ON!
PS: I wish I could say all this on air, but I was really taken by surprise and I'm not very good at thinking on my feet.
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