One year ago, on Juanuary 30th 3009, the patience of Aaron -which seemed completely impossible to exhaust- eventually ended, and he decided to close down Housequake.com. The site had started in 1997 (unfortunately I was not member at the time), and along the following years it flourished, attracting a large community of fans of purple music. When I discovered Housequake.com, back in 2004, it was plain stunning, with plenty of interesting resources, a team of excellent moderators, and a vibrant feeling in the forums; lots of people were interacting, posting funny, interesting, controversial, and entertaining content.
Since I joined Housequake, I was the witness of the highs and lows in the relationship with the musician which was the center of the site. We all knew he was uncommon also in that respect, but obviously we were not prepared for the kind of behaviour he displayed, particularly in the last two years. And still today, I wonder how Aaron managed to keep on working in Housequake.com, for 12 years, in spite of all the issues he had to endure. I gave my word, back in my time as moderator of the site, that I would not disclose a number of things, but I can say that Aaron patience, and commitment, and work, were truly admirable. I guess no other fan would have been enabled to keep such attitude for such a longtime, receiving often, in "compensation", threatens and harassment, instead of gratitude and respect.
Some people said that the mentioned musician was saddened by the closing of the site: who knows, maybe it's true, and maybe at this time he realized of the many mistakes he did regarding the premier purple forum ever: Housequake.com.
But that was then, and this is now. My only point today was to remember what was, once upon a time, the Reference forum on purple music; a place to enjoy interacting with other fans, also nuts about purple music; a place where plenty of talented people contributed their best in order to make a community without peers in princeland. And speaking from a personal point of view, a place where I made friends, actual friends.
I will cherish the memories of many unforgettable nights hanging around at Housequake.com, and I will always remember the site, and its founder and owner, Aaron, with gratitude, admiration, and well deserved respect.
A final word: if somebody reads this without knowing how Housequake.com looked like, you can browse a bit of it in web.archive.org.
Has it already been a year? So much (imo) has been lost with the closing of that site. I remember first coming across it in 2005, and my initial reaction was 'wow - these guys really know what they're talking about'. It took me a couple of months to actually sign up, but ever since then i found a 'cool' place to go to, hanging around people who actually knew what they were talking about and not concerned with mindless gossip. They talked about the MUSIC, and the stories behind them. I learned so much from that site (even inspite of being a fan of his music since 1987!), so that in itself says alot. The real loss for me is the (mostly) friendly discussions on the bootleg releases. I hope Aaron is doing well and doesn't regret his decision to close the site. It would be really nice to have him interviewed somewhere around the remaining sites. I'd like to know where he personally stands now in regards to Prince and his music. Does he still follow him, or has he been pushed around so much that he's now turned his back on him and moved on?
ReplyDeleteboscho
Still missing hq as well - no other fan website can put up with that knowlegde,interesting discussions and the friendly community felling.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame it had to end that way ..
abc (on hq)
http://www.aaronsikkink.com/
ReplyDeleteYESSS, WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME HOUSEQUAKE WAS. Always be the Best website ever....and youknow who proves that the BEST????
ReplyDeleteLOTUSFLOW3R.com does. Don't hold nothing on Housequake. not a damn thang. Aaron. Bless you brother, i miss your labor of love.
-Mingus