Before I get to the credits, I have a small request to make.  Please don’t use ad blockers on this site.  I’m not obnoxious with the advertising I use on this site.  The sidebar and footer ones are generated by Google, but the ones at the top are hand picked by me to be relevant to this site.   It really would help me if you don’t block the ads, and click on them once in awhile, eh?   Tkx.

This site was started by me, Joe Siegler back in the wild west days of the Web.  It opened in July 1995, and it’s original incarnation was as a mere subdirectory off of my former company’s webserver back in the old “every page was grey” phase of the Web.   I’ve had a ton of help over the years with keeping things in line, and as I get older, it’s impossible to remember to thank everyone, so I’ll thank some names that pop into my head.   First are ones who most directly helped out in the new January 2012 site revamp:

Thanks to These Guys:

  • God.
  • Thijs “RedSplat” Leenders – This is my “art guy”.  While the new Jan 2012 theme is a purchased WordPress theme, Splat customized it to make it look like what it looks like now.  To give you an example, click here to see the theme in it’s default state, and then compare it to the final version here.  A lot of that is due to Splat’s pixel pushing.  He’s quite generous with his time and work to help me out.  Site wouldn’t be what it is without him.
  • Damian – This guy has kept the forums from blowing apart on numerous occasions.  In fact, I’m not so sure the forums wouldn’t continue to exist without him keeping an eye on ’em.  He’s been helping out for many a year, and I owe him probably more than I can ever repay.
  • Bryan Turner & Mike Preslar of Pegasus Web Hosting.  These are the server guys who know way WAY more than me about Linux, and pretty much don’t like it when I chat them up going “Hey, can I ask you a question”?   :)  Seriously though, Pegasus is where this site is housed, on a dedicated server that they keep from exploding.
  • Tapio Keihanen – One of my oldest Sabbath related friends, met before this site existed.  Don’t know of a bigger Dio fan on the net.  Runs http://www.dio.net
  • Tom Swoboda – Have known since the CompuServe days.  Helps out on the forums, as well.  If I remember right, he was one of the people who liked the original incarnation of my timeline page when it was a tiny text file for download on CompuServe.
  • Liese Rugo – Liese is Bill Ward’s assistant (well, one of them), and the person I deal with most directly from Bill’s camp.
  • Heather Losik – Heather works for Gloria Butler, and is quite the supermodel type.  May be the hottest woman I know.  I mean, I thought the sun was hot, but not THIS hot!  ;)  Runs her own business – “The Body Bartender“.
  • Gloria & Geezer Butler – Outside of their musical connection to this site, they’ve both been very kind to my family, so that’s quite cool.
  • Pedro Howse – Despite his serious fascination with beer and Joe Bonamossa, is a great chap.  Just keep him away from Super Bowl events!  :)
  • Rob Gill of Eagle Records.  Rob has been MOST generous with giveaway materials.  Have known him for some time.  I envy him being so close to Katz’ Deli in New York City though – the bugger.  :)
  • Liz Erman & Mason Williams of Rhino.  Well, Liz Erman isn’t with them anymore, but she was for awhile.  Both have helped out with promotions on this site a lot.
  • Steve Hammonds & Jon Richards of Universal Music.  Well, Jon isn’t actually with Universal, but Steve is.  Both of them have been quite kind to me in my “zeal” to make sure certain tracks aren’t left off of certain Deluxe Edition releases.  Not to mention the constant barrage of questions by me regarding things that haven’t been released yet.  :)
  • Hugh Gilmour – Thanks for the stories about the art in the past.  Great source of info, given how long he’s been connected with cover art and all that.
  • John Swanner – John tackled a function for the Jan 2012 relaunch that I pushed off for many a year.  He did all the nitty gritty data entry from the news area of the ancient revisions of the website.  That old news was never in the old system, and I wanted it here, but the data entry to get it in was an epic pain in the ass.  John got down there and did all the data entry, so thank him when you look at really old news stories in the archives (going back to 1997).
  • Geezer Butler – Thanks for the chocolates and the cucumber!  Not to mention the Doctor Who bits.  Oh, and piss off for taunting me from Game 6 of the World Series!
  • Neil Murray – Neil’s been very kind to me and helpful to this site for many a year now.  Probably the individual band member I’ve had the most contact with.
  • Cozy Powell – Cozy was one of the first people ever to hire me to do a website – he did that in the summer of 1997, and we started working on his site, and then he died.  Shame – still have a copy of the check he sent me back in the day.  :)
  • Bill Ward – For fulfilling a dream of mine and getting my name on a Black Sabbath record.  He did that for me for the 1998 “Reunion” album.  It’s happened a few times since, but Bill was the first to do that.
  • Tony Iommi & Ralph Baker.  Not the least of which is these guys, who have very graciously allowed me to continue to run this site.  Yeah, it’s a fan site, but the domain name I have could have been “requested” by them, and they allow me to continue.  So for that reason alone (not to mention others), thanks to these guys.
  • Numerous other band members – I’ve had some sort of contact (either email or otherwise) with a ton of band members, who have said something to me over the years.  Their contributions have made it into the site in some way either in some fact on a page, or an email verification or something.   That list is: Don Airey, Vinny Appice, Gordon Copley, Laurence Cottle, Bob Daisley, Ronnie James Dio, Ron Keel, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Bobby Rondinelli, Eric Singer, Dave Spitz, Adam Wakeman, Bill Ward, & Jezz Woodruffe.
  • The site visitors.  This site wouldn’t still be here if people didn’t visit it and continue to give it a reason to exist!
  • My wife – if it weren’t for her graciousness for letting me work on this as much as I do, I doubt it would exist either!!

I’m sure there’s others I can’t think of right now as I sit here writing this page.  Given the site has been running now for almost 17 years as I write this page on Jan 4, 2012 – there’s bound to be some I leave off.  If you are one of them, please understand that it’s my middle age mind not being able to remember as well anymore, and not any intentional slight.

God Bless You All..
Joe Siegler