The Village Church Yard is an online community of individuals that masquerades as a Third Eye Blind fan site. The site started in 1999 in an effort between a group of friends, already obsessive in their following of the band in their Elektra fueled prime, to keep in contact with each other and other fans while sharing everything they could about their favorite band. Ten years later, the band has faded from their stadium touring peak, struggled through multiple heart-wrenching lineup changes, released two albums and toured through nearly every college town in the United States. But for the fans of the band, the constant touring and empty promises of another album full of the pop/rock hooks and melodies of Third Eye Blind are enough (for now).
I’ve asked forum members to describe how they feel about The Village Church Yard, why they’ve stayed around so long despite the disappointments with the band, and why they think TVCY is so awesome.
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It’s a rather unorthodox and cult-ish type of community. The members are pretty close for an internet message board. Not everything is solely about 3eb, we express our opinions in other areas such as sports, politics, etc.
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This place has more inside jokes than a freakin fraternity. It’s active but not too active, and it’s a tightly-knit community. If I have a problem, I can come here and talk about it, and people are supportive. Also, I love that the site is still around despite that 3EB has been so inactive in terms of releases. What’s also great is that we’re very intolerant of idiots and douchebags.
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It’s my only reliable source of support and friendship. I don’t get much of that in everyday life. I’m forever grateful for the advice and love I get from here, even on my worst of days. I’d be lost without all of you.
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I agree with the whole aspect that we’re active, but not too active. We’re tight-knit enough that we can know each other’s personality quirks. Most of the fun discussion has little to do with 3eb, and isn’t even why a lot of us frequent the churchyard.
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How ’bout the fact that I wouldn’t have anywhere near the knowledge or amount of bonus tracks/goodies/boots as I do now. The fact that I get to come to a place full of people who love this band as much as I do and remind myself that I’m not alone in how much I love this music. The fact that I’m exposed to new and interesting topics and opinions that are unrelated to 3eb. The fact that we scare the hell out of Doug with our opinions and actions and that he is supposedly desperate to please us.
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People who are funnier than me, I find it so refreshing.
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TVCY is my breath of fresh air in this oh so stale world.
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You can dump on someone for their opinion about a particular subject, movie, sports team, beer, etc (or be dumped on), but still support/respect them (or be supported/respected) when it comes to a more personal or serious issue. … that and everyone here knows something about everything or everything about something.
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TVCY is awesome because of the strange phenomenon that occurred across the last six years: WE KEPT COMING BACK!! while third eye blind has repeatedly let us down, we’ve stayed firmly planted right here. and because of how firmly planted we are here, the inane cheerleaders and the just-plain-dumbasses got weeded out fairly quickly by our collective scorn. so we’re a pretty unique and tight-knit community now. and i like it that way. most message boards annoy the shit out of me. i’ve always felt at home here…
of course, there was a negative phenomenon of sorts that occured across the last six years, as well…for me, anyway: i lost the vast majority of my interest in third eye blind. ursa major is actually rather far down on my “most anticipated of 2009″ list, to be honest. i just don’t care that much anymore. i remain very critical of the band, though, because i don’t really know of any other way to stay invested in them. i know the same rings true for many other posters here. there’s just so much great and interesting music being released right now, and all the true DIY bands out there never take more than a couple of years to release new records. and most of them tour constantly, in places other than the eastern united states. i’m probably not going to see 3eb on this tour unless they play somewhere near sacramento, and i probably won’t see them on their fall tour unless they play somewhere near sacramento, either. they just aren’t worth the effort anymore…
but tvcy is most definitely still worth the effort, and i have to say, i really do love the lot of you!!
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The fact that we all feel [screwed] by 3eb at one time or another (or all times) is what I think really gives this place a common ground and allows for a connected, human feeling that is lacking in the otherwise sterile domain of Internet forums. There’s an empathy afforded here that isn’t elsewhere. It’s a support group of sorts. “Hi. My name is David, and I like Third Eye Blind. It’s been 6 years since my last album” *clap clap clap*. We’re all together in the pain that is liking 3eb.
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Also, I’ve met sooo many great people from here. Meeting people in real life obviously makes it easier to actually see them as people which is again, something difficult to do otherwise. I traveled a third of the way across the country with Brian, played poker with Jason, saw Matt’s famous “boot hat”, shit, Kyle came to my wedding. I attended one of Sam’s now apparently famous parties. Met Gail, Joe, Chris, Yusuf, Natalie, Michelle, Stacy, Kristen, and several others (sorry if I didn’t mention you). Going to certain shows now iis like a class reunion of sorts. 3eb shows allow us to the opportunity to meet people “irl” which certainly adds to the comradery.
Still, there’s several people I’ve never met from here that I still feel like I know. I feel like I know Adam pretty well. I feel like I know Will’s a turd.
But back to my main point, I think it’s a cycle. 3eb attracts a certain type of people, as elitist as that may sound, and then it [screws] them over, and it is those two elements that I believe fuel this place in a sick way.
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The fact that I consider people I have never met, or met only once, as friends from communicating with them on a forum I found at comlete random is awesome. And that this place is such a tight community that even if the band would dismember tomorrow, this place is strong enough to last for years to come because TVCY is about more than just a band, its about community and friendship, with the occasional side of hatred and a whole lot of sarcasm.
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