I'm honored to be named Fan of the Month and thank everyone who nominated me! What makes me such a huge Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes fan? Besides the obvious reasons (their music, live shows and Johnny's voice), I've made wonderful life-long friends and enjoyed great music from Jukes-related bands. I consider myself very lucky to live in NJ where I see the Jukes in one form or another all of the time! 

I discovered the Jukes around 1980 in high school. I remember hearing "On the Beach" and absolutely loving it. To this day it's still my favorite Jukes song! The first time I saw the band was in 1982 at the Meadowlands Arena. They looked like little specks from my upper tier seat but the show was awesome! Since I was too young to get into bars, I didn't see them again until 1985 at the Garden State Arts Center. By then I was so fascinated by Johnny and wanted to meet him so my friend and I got there early. When Johnny arrived for sound check, we drove our car after his to the backstage parking area. I jumped out of the car and asked for an autograph and photo. Suddenly a security guard appeared and threatened to throw us out but Johnny told him "They're not bothering me. They're fine; leave them alone!" I thought to myself, "What a cool guy!" He posed for the photo, signed my "In the Heat" album and spent a few minutes chatting with us. Later that night, I experienced an amazing show that changed me forever. After that, I had to see every show possible, and boy did I make up for lost time! I've probably seen the Jukes around 150 times and have unforgettable memories from many shows. I've had some really incredible moments over the years…

· Being editor and publisher of Jukebox, a little Jukes fanzine that existed long before the Internet. It was my contribution to uniting Jukes fans everywhere as best I could using a word processor, a Xerox machine and the U.S. Mail. My biggest thrill during the Jukebox years was interviewing Johnny when "Slow Dance" was released!
· The year of 1988: my partner-in-crime Carol Gerber and I traveled all along the East Coast to see the Jukes for 33 out of the 36 shows they did for the year!
· Seeing the Jukes in Florida in '89. It was my first airplane trip (again with Carol, who helped me actually get on the plane 'cause I was scared to death!). Johnny singing  "Happy Birthday" into a tape recorder to Carol's grandma who was turning 85 and graciously put us up for the weekend!
· The "Better Days" video shoot at the Stone Pony in '91. Having missed all the good stuff in the 70's, it was the ultimate for me to see Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce perform together! 
· Seeing the Jukes in Cleveland in '92 and having a BBQ dinner with the band before the show. Being saved by Timmy the roadie who pulled us from the crowd when fans started storming the stage!
· All the times I was onstage during "Havin' A Party" and all the conversations I ever had with Johnny who always treated me like an old friend.

I could go on and on talking about the Jukes (and my friends will vouch for that)! It's a wonderful feeling reminiscing about the good times we've had and still have. I'll always hold a special place in my heart for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. When I hear their music and see them perform, it takes me back to my carefree younger days (wait, I'm not that old yet!) when my biggest concern was "When's the next show and how do we get there?" I continue to be amazed at their talent and what genuinely nice guys they are. Thanks for the memories and thanks again for naming me Fan of the Month!

Linda (Tartaglione) Thebold