Of course when I first entered this online world was when I was in College, I had an Information Technology 101 class back in the fall 1997. This was my first time really getting "online" and looking around, of course one of the first things I sought out was Pearl Jam websites.

I think the first one I found was five horizons, I instantly came to love and admire their content, commitment and their personal accounts of how they followed Pearl Jam news, tours etc..

From that day in September 1997 on I would log on to check five horizons almost daily, as the years went by the site also grew. However sometime after the 2000 tour I noticed the folks running the site were getting a little disenfranchised with some legal type threats they were getting about posting some music or something. It's a shame because today it seems much more wide open with regards to websites and their Pearl Jam content, there seemed to be a period of time there when folks (Sony?..) were cracking down a bit. Something that there does not seem to be a problem with today.

Then in 2002 the folks who ran the site (not sure what happened to Carlyn?) announced they were achiving the site and would only update the concert chronology which they did until 2004. In 2005 they announced that was it, no more anything. The content that they built up since it's inception in 1996 would stay, but they were done.

My question is does anyone know the background story, what happened? Where are they today?..

Not to knock any other Pearl Jam site or this site (which has the best forums around) but I really miss their small community minded updates, postings, mussings etc.. It was really personal, and I miss it.

It's almost like they were my connection to the beginning of my Pearl Jam fandom, even though I was a big time listener of their music going back to 1991 when I was a Freshman in High School. It was not until I was going through a rough stretch in my life after I Graduated High School in 1994 that I really became the fan I am today. My first show was September 29th 1996, the famous Randall's Island show. That was about the time Five Horizons was created, and one year after that show was the first time I dove into the internet and found their site.

I would check their site during tours to check the setlists, see photos, read reviews etc.. As we all do these days on here during tours etc..

Again anyone know where they are today, and what's the story. Would love them to open up their site again at least during tours for updates and their personal mussings etc..

Thanks for reading.

The site is still there, but since they stopped, Two Feet Thick took over the Concert Chronology: http://www.twofeetthick.com/
And I haven't spoken to them in a long time, but I hope both women of FH are fine .

groetjes,
Mirella

Scott and Dan found Eli and Nick to take over TSIS.

Caryn and Jean couldn't find anyone, and were fine with the 2FT crew take over the CC.

Last I heard they were now http://www.thatsmeinthecorner.com

is caryn the nutty broad who stalked the band?

i did love that website by the way

No, that's someone else. Shannon Doherty?

groetjes,
Mirella

I think I'm one of the few people that was a member of the message board and actually got along with Jean and Caryn. Most people resented the shit out of them because they ran such a tight ship. They generally didn't put up with the crap that you normally see on a message board today, and some people had a huge problem with it. Caryn could be over the top, but all in all wasn't bad. I think they just got sick of the grind.

That Caryn chick was crazy yo, I can't remember what show it was, But I think she got kicked out of one of the Jones Beach 2000 shows.

That's pretty funny.

I miss the old 5H; it was well maintained during it's heyday. But it outgrew Caryn & Jean about the time they lost their passion.
Too bad the CC hasn't been current since.

Caryn is still out there in cyberspace devoting most of her time to writing about Bruce Springsteen and baseball. She does not write about PJ but will occassionally reference them and usually in a positive way.

5H really was essential for hardcore PJ fans in the 1990s. Good site.

Five Horizons was consistently the best Pearl Jam fansite around. In their prime, they were a better source than both official sites combined.

No one did more to cultivate and nurture my Pearl Jam obsession than 5H (and I mean this in a good way... not a creepy stalker way.)

5H taught me how to effectively begin trading bootlegs (which was so much better than dropping $50 in a record store for a 2 disc show)... they taught me how to master the art of getting good seats through ticket master... they kept me informed on all the latest news, but zero gossip... and with the concert chronology they helped me select the next bootleg I would trade for... and let me experience a Pearl Jam tour, almost as it happened, when I couldn't personally be on the scene!

Hell, at the time I was as much a fan of 5H as I was of Pearl Jam.

I have no idea what Caryn and Jean are doing today, but I truly miss the excellent work they performed on our behalf.

Thanks,
Newton

Jess, Kathy and I owe a whole heck of a lot to 5H for setting the bar very high for what a good Pearl Jam site is.

We realized recently that our site has been up for five years, and we're the first to recognize our lengthy droughts of late. And then we realized that 5H was just shy of it's 9th birthday when it stopped updating, and there was always a steady stream of new articles and updates. That's how great a site it was.

I'm not dumb enough realize that in 2008 this message will probably miss its target, but I would appreciate it if everyone who hasn't given Caryn or Jean a verbal greeting, hug, or personal email could stop with all the insensitive and baseless insults in threads like these. I hope that it doesn't get locked and it can end up positive, and not just another locked flame-fest.

I agree, I started this thread because I wanted to seek out others who had the same positive experiences using the Five Horizons website as a instrument to develop and nurture their own growing fandom as I did coming out of the '90s to today. I also wanted hear what the background to the sites development and a kind of "where are they now", while sites like this one and the Official site have become the forefront portal to the Pearl Jam fan community, Five Horizons played a key role in documenting those earlier times before and just after the explosive growth of the internet.

BTW...

JR@2FT

I'm right down Route 537 from you, good ol' West Freehold.

How many people here remember the old pearljamnetwork site? That was the message board that I discovered fivehorizons from.

5h was huge. it was far superior to the official site, back in the day. it was the first site i know to have any decent message board. from the original one, to the offsite board or 2. it was the seminal site. its more than understandable that they got burn out/interested in other things/sick of running such a major site.

their contribution remains huge, despite any issues that ass clowns had with the 2 main women, and despite the fact that perhaps neither are even fans of the band anymore

lol, this always makes me laugh. that is 100% false. why would you say that?

i've been reading some stuff on the site today (while it was still calm as hell at work). They had some pretty fantastic stuff for the "getting-to-know-PJ-more-and-more"- kinda fan.