Hello, my name is Roland Austin.... and.... I am addicted to Heep.

I am 47 years old, born January 13, 1955, which was a Thursday (Thursday’s child has far to go - - I never knew if that meant I would go far in life, or if I had a long row to hoe - - I’m still wondering). Of course, that meant my first birthday party would be on a Friday the 13th! But I dig it, especially since it is the Magician’s Birthday. (I was born again at the age of 13.) I have been married since June 3, 1978, to Sherri and have two children: Amber 21, and Eric 17. I have been self-employed the last 24 years, co-owner of the local Sonic Drive-In (a fast-food franchise).

I have a myriad of interests: The music of Uriah Heep and all connected, I collect stamps and postal history (that is stamps still on the envelopes and how they are used), I strive to play bass guitar, I like a good game of Chess, I like playing golf with my son, I like jamming with my son (he is a very good guitarist for his age), I like listening to my daughter tell about her dates when she comes in at night, I also collect PEZ candy dispensers, I like reading a good book (preferably science fiction but I do not limit myself), I like watching old TV westerns (especially Have Gun, Will Travel), I collect comic books (mainly from 1938-1969), my favorite comedian is (was) Red Skelton, my favorite foods include chili (I make a mean, award winning recipe), fried chicken and my wife’s American-Chinese, I collect old plastic toy soldiers...aw, heck, I collect just about anything that is old!! And much, much more -- there just ain’t enough time in a day to do everything I want.

Regrets in life: Probably turning down a commercial art scholarship in high school, not seriously playing bass guitar until late in life, and not going to more Uriah Heep concerts.

Overall, I am a melancholy man, rather quiet. "Salisbury" is one of my favorite tunes when I slip into one of my solemn moods; so is "If I Had The Time". My favorite time to listen to Heep is while driving in my car at sunset, especially during the Fall season.

My first exposure to Uriah Heep was in high school, when Easy Livin’ was released in the U.S. I knew right away this was a different and better kind of music than what I had been listening to previously on the radio stations. But, who -- or what! -- was a Uriah Heep??? I had to find out, and, eventually, was infected with the purity and magic of their music. Then I experienced what most of us did: the notion that I was alone in my appreciation for this special music. I eventually obtained all their albums up to Abominog, after which I thought the band had broken up for good (I have, since, added the rest). I still played all my Heep albums and cherished their timeless meaning. I saw Uriah Heep live in concert in 1975 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the Return To Fantasy tour. All I can say is that they were the best band I have ever seen/heard live.

How important is this music to me? We moved in 1986, and all my Heep albums were boxed and I didn’t get around to getting them out for a long period of time. Well, through this period of no-Heep my wife noticed I had become edgy, short-tempered and irritated at the most insignificant things, just a pure-D grouch. Even my health check-ups began to tell the tale; my blood pressure was shooting up and my heart rate was too high from always being tense. She finally told me to get my old albums out and listen to my music because she knew I was really a laid-back kinda guy when I listened to my music. When I returned to fantasy with my Heep music, my blood pressure and heart rate went back to normal and I was again the perfect husband and father (or fairly close). I can honestly say that listening to Uriah Heep music has, most likely, added 15 years to my life.

My favorite Heep album? Please do not make me choose. (I guess it would be safe to say that each album up through Conquest was my favorite at the time it was released.) I will say that Uriah Heep was the first group I could listen to a whole album and enjoy every song.

When I went on-line in November 1995, the first screen name I tried to obtain was... you guessed it -- Uriah Heep; however, AOL said that name was taken (!). I thought, WOW, at least there is one other Heep fan out there. So I tried a net search of Uriah Heep and zilch came back, so I was back to living in the past and resigning myself to the fact that I was still the only Heep fan on the musically-deserted island. A year later, just for the heck of it I tried searching for Uriah Heep again, and, to my surprise (understatement) Dave’s Welcome to Uriah Heep page was listed! I nervously sent Dave an email and reached him on his laptop in Florida. The rest is history, I quickly signed up to the Heepsters on the Web list and I found all my long-lost brothers and sisters in Heep!

Oh, yeah -- my favorite number is 13 !