hey Joe, I`m not sure you`ll ever read this message,with you bein`busy and all,but I figured "what the hell"... I`d like to express my deepest gratitude for all you have given this world through your music.. I cannot even begin to tell you how much it means to me ,personally.. I`ve been a true listener and a fan since the first time I heard your music;wich is now about 18 years ago. Songs like "Cryin` " and "always with me,always with you" have carried me through some really tough times in my life.

There are many, very gifted musicians in this world.. but none of them inspire me as much as you do.. Many musicians talk the talk...but none of them walks the walk the way you do.. It`s truly amazing to witness you remaining this genuinely humble..and down -to- earth. That, to itself, is a sign of true greatness. So many ,many thanks to you.. Keep doin`what you do so unbelievably well!!

A Sincerely thankfull Fan...

Am I the only one,or does anyone else think people should stop arguing about the infamous coldplay v.s. satch case? I figure it`s pointless for anyone but satch himself to draw conclusions. Don`t get me wrong; I say Coldplay sucks doggie-dick... to anyone gathering behind those lying bastards, using this oppurtunity to attack joe& and his music, I say; shame on you! Just because youre envious of joe`s magnificent talent,youre grasping at any chance to speak ill of him...It`s just a little too obvious..youre not fooling anyone here, except maybe yourself..a bit embarrasing, realy.

hey guys, it`s silly old me again... I check in every now and then and enjoy reading the stuff posted by the fans. Many of you guys have great sense of humour, wich is a great quality. Just recently though, I stumbled across some dude`s message to Joe claiming to having been a fan for many years but now, because of that Coldplay-mess, he can no longer be a fan...That is SO wrong,it`s not even funny. This dude`s arguements were something about being a musician too and having accidentaly played some notes once that were similar to a few seconds of petrucci`s work...

This now scares the poor guy to pick up his instrument..

Well, boohoo...how sad...We`ll all miss this selfrightious-not to mention world famous- musician so terribly, won`t we, my fellow TRUE satch-fans?! I guess this guy has no idea of what this is all about. It is a matter of property.. If someone were to steal your work, your property,you wouldn`t be too happy about it either, claiming otherwise is just silly. So here`s to you, dude; when someone does a live performance and it somehow evolves into an improvised stroke of genious, sounding just like Joe (or petrucci) then that`s ok.. Trust me, It has happend to many of us, not just YOU. It means you`ve been inspired by the greatest.. But when it comes to recording a song and then claiming it to be yours when it clearly is not, then that`s a whole different ball-game...that is THEFT,no matter how you look at it. If you can`t see that, I guess you must be blind. Saying you "can`t be a "fan" anymore or not being able to pick up your guitar because Joe might sue you" Is the single, most idiotic thing I have ever heard. No longer a fan? Well, good riddance. I`m sure Joe and the rest of us will do just fine without some dumb-ass who can`t get past himself.

Hey Joe. It's great to see you finally found the time to post last week. It sure has been a while. You are a busy guy,I know. So I don't blame you. I also understand you couldn't possibly read each and every thing posted here by all those people. I drop in from time to time, and sometimes leave a message. Mostly reactions to other fans though, as I realize the chance you getting to actually read them is very remote. I'm gonna give it a try anyway and hope this somehow reaches you..There's a lot I'd like to tell you, but I'll try hard not to bother you with things you must have heard a zillion times before. Let me start by saying this; Thank you. For everything..I owe you my life. Quite literally, believe me. I've been a fan for over 19 years now, since the very first time I heard of you..Since that day my perception of music in general changed completely. I had enjoyed music before,but this was different. For the first time in my life, I learned the truth. I finally understood then what music really means..I was simply blown away..still am. No other artist in the world has ever touched my soul on this level. To me, " cryin' " is the deepest possible magic.- the most beautifull thing I have ever heard. I remember first hearing it ,alone in my room. I burst into tears..I really did. I checked the back of the album cover for the title of the track and cried some more, this time with a smile on my face...unbelievable. That had never happend to me before. The sheer emotion conveyed through it is like a tidal wave. Unstopable and overwhelming. The positive energy that resides in youre music mends my tortured soul. As you may have figured out by now,I have not had an easy life. At age 15 developed a stress-related skindisorder which comes and goes as it pleases. It prevents me from leading what I would consider a normal and happy life. I deal with it though, and I don't complain about it to anyone. Dispite it all, I am not a bitter person. I have never blamed anyone else for my problem..how could I ? At 30 , on December 5, 2006 I had a massive heart-attack, also stress-related. I almost died twice that week. Doctors were clueless, ran test after test. Nothing showed up on X-rays that could cause a healthy 30year old man to suddenly have a heart attack. When I told them my girl,- whom I had shared my life with for over 11 years -had left me for some other guy she barely knew, they stopped looking for clues. Up untill then, I always thought It isn't actually possible to die from a broken heart.. I was wrong about that, so the doctors told me. I was so deeply hurt, my heart started to fail. That was quite an eye-opener for me. Being able to love someone so deeply that losing them could kill me, made me realize,maybe it was time to start loving myself. So ultimately, it has made me a stronger person. I'm doing okay by now. I"ve been playing the guitar for years, but only since early 2007 I started to come into my own. I even got the oppurtunity to record some tracks at a friends little home studio. It's all fairly simplistic electronic beats,and the quality soundwise is a little pain in the neck sometimes, but we make do with whatever tools we have. In what little spare time we have. It feels so good to play my guitar..it's a healing experience. You know what I mean,right? I never had any lessons,can't read tabs and my technique is far,far from perfected,-trust me, I know my place in the food-chain;-) but I it's all about expression, the feeling..isn't it? I'm starting to learn to speak my mind, without actually saying a word. This keeps me safe from bottled up emotions that could kill me. I Owe all that to you,my friend. I couldn't possibly thank you enough for the shining example that saved my life. Last week ,januari 28 I decided to put some of the tracks on myspace.com/mespooky09 check if you like, love & respect from stephan,Holland.