In the seven years since Afterglow...

[Quincy]

Firstly, Ben, I hope that you'll come through all this a stronger person than you went into this. It's not easy when any child loses a father, but when a man loses his father it's harder in some way. I've yet to suffer that experience but I know that when I lose my Dad it'll be doubly hard, and the thing is I'll be expecting it, but it won't curb the pain that I know it will cause. I know that what I've written doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's the expectation of the worst that's hard for me. It's making me take stock of my own mortality and frailties. Enough of this. What's changes for me....Well...the hairs receded and the waistline's expanded....Aren't elasticated waistbands in trousers brilliant!!! Oh , and I'm losing my er....my err...what was I saying now!!
Time for my medication

[Karine]

In the seven years since Afterglow...

Claudia Gamon opened a wonderful website called Blackened-Sky.Net and she helped to create a fun community of fans. We all come from this community.

She posted a message two days ago to say that her website is definitely closed and that she is unable to keep it online anymore. She received "inquiring comments and mails, many of them unfriendly, demanding and rude".

I invite you to write a comment on her website (I did it yesterday) if you want to say thank you for her great work through the years...

http://www.blackened-sky.net/

[Crazylitstudent]

When I try to get onto blackened-sky I get a message saying that the site is infected with a virus!!

[Miguel]

My connection cuts off when I visit blackened-sky..

[biancadantas]

I could visit blackened sky, but my antivirus detecst a trojan horse and removes it, then I was able to thank Claudia.

[Karine]

Oh, I didn't have this problem when I looked at the website.

[Ellie]

I have the same: my antivirus program has been blocking the site ever since it found a virus. I think The Squirrel mentioned it too, but I have no clue how "bad" the virus is

[Magellan]

Good topic, given the eons between albums...

Afterglow was released quite a long time ago when you think about it - about 400million BC...IIRC (Before Christmas...If I Recall Correctly).
Back then the Earth was still cooling following it's actual formation from Lava, and single cell organisms living in the ocean were still using Gen 1 iPods (with those black and white screens and terrible battery life, not to mention inability to work underwater). Primitive times indeed.

As for me, in 2003 I was single and both my parents were alive. But everything was about to change. First I met a great girl in late 2003, and we fell in love. Then I lost my job, which sucked. But then I got a much better job only days later, which rocked. Thinking about these ups and downs reminds me of the UNKLE song "Back And Forth"...

"Life, your whole life, is changes"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RraRrDvXuq8

But then my Dad was suddenly diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and passed away in 2005 After that harrowing period, my mum had to sell the family home (where I'd grown up) after having it for 20 years. But then I got engaged, then married, and we traveled to something like 20 countries (previously had never been overseas).
Now we've just bought a house. And I find myself 32 yrs old. Which I guess is not too old given all that's happened.

Last but not least, I saw Sarah play twice during that time (the Afterglow tour to Australia, which I think happened twice for some reason).
So yeah, 2003-2010 has been the biggest period of change in my life by far when I look back.

Rob.

[RiverOfLove]

When Afterglow came out, I was 20 or 21 years old, working at my first job and fresh out of high school (I graduated at age 19.) I remember being so excited over the album, and wanting to go see Sarah live then (I was definitely crazy about her then.)

To be honest, for a while I stopped listening to Sarah and started listening to other artists. Occasionally turning on a Sarah album, but not being the crazed fan I was. I bought Wintersong in 2009, 2 years after it was released.

After I heard she was coming out with a brand new album of new material, I sort of went back to my fan phase. I watched all the promo for Laws, and bought the album when it came out (and streamed it from Sarah's Facebook page until then.) And when I saw she was coming right near me on her tour, I bought tickets instantly.

After seeing her live, I think I've become the huge fan I once was again. I can't stop listening to her music, and I'm rediscovering old favorites.

But as for where I am now, I'm 28, still in college (but in a different degree, Audio and Video Production), not working at the moment, living on my own, and pretty much taking in the city life. When Afterglow came out, I was still living at home.