Hi there,

Since you encouraged me to write my Jukes story - here it is! So here I was, driving 700km (one way) from my drowsy little Polish hometown to Osnabruck in Germany to see the Jukes for the first time in my life. You think 9 hours on a minibus is discouraging....most of those I know said I was crazy, but after seeing the show I figure it was more than just worth it.

My Jukes story starts with ... well ... Bon Jovi. Being a Jovi fan for years, buying CD's, bootlegs, reading interviews etc. you suddenly discover that there's THIS GUY in Jersey... you don't really know what he's all about but you often see him share the stage with Jon, who talks about him in the interviews. So you start digging into the thing and you discover Jukes's Better Days and you get hungry for more. And you dig further and get to the first 3 albums and all of a sudden you don't know what hit you. "Oops" you think to yourself... Bon Jovi is a decent guy... but his influences beat the hell out of him (sorry Jon;-) . The rest is history - you get all Jukes records; you cry about the fact that In The Heat just went for $190 on Ebay; you go depressed for weeks because you can't get your hands on At Least We Got Shoes and Ruff Stuff; you're all grumpy cause Jukes play the Stone Pony one freaking day after you have to go back home from your US trip (and you don't wanna go home:-); but then after all that torment there's the Osnabruck gig!

So Osnabruck was a real treat - hell of a gig! Energy was palpable! The Jukes turned out to be the nicest people on the planet and the bond they have with their fans is what I would wish to artist to have! I could go about it for ages but all you Jukes fans know the story. Let me just say that rock'n'roll is alive and kicking and it lives in Asbury Park! Nothing more to say... well ... perhaps one more thing ... for God's sake play your gigs closer to Poland! Please:-)))

With all my heart a Jukes fan
Bart Wol
Poland

PS. As for digging... if you like to dig further, it is definitely worth it. Going deeper gets you to not only Bobby's solo stuff but also Lance Larsen, Norman Seldin, Joe Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul and a whole bunch of other excellent Jersey musicians. Seems like the Asbury mine is unexhausted. Thank God it is:-)