As previously reported, Jimmy Page recently launched his long-awaited new website, jimmypage.com. Ahead of the launch of the new site rock writer and journalist Pete Makowski interviewed Jimmy about the site, the story behind its inception and his vision for the "On This Day" section of the site. You can read an excerpt from the chat below.
Q: When did you start thinking about putting together a web site?
Page: I've had the domain name for a number of years. I've just been sitting on it and a number of people had made approaches about setting something up and it got to a point that it felt it was the right time to put one together.
Q: Were you aware of the other Jimmy Page web sites and did that add to the importance of doing your own?
Page: Well, not really, because they were clearly fan web sites and that's really great. When you've got fans and especially ones committed to doing web sites, it's OK. The only problem I have is when inaccuracies pop up and gain a life of their own. Over the years, with the Internet and forums, urban musical myths start to change what actually happened at the time. And then it comes into the world of Twitter and blogging, of which I'm going to be doing neither. Another reason for doing the web site is if you talked to people generally who aren't switched on to what I've done they probably think, "Oh yeah, he was the guitarist in LED ZEPPELIN, wasn't he? And they did the O2." And if they said anything else about me it would probably relate to that BBC clip where I'm about thirteen. That's all they really know about me and I've had a really long career, seriously active for over 50 years. Having recently done the book for Genesis, which was a chronological history, it gave me an opportunity to revisit all of the various projects I've ever been involved with and I thought I could do something similar on the web site.
Q: How did you go about setting it up?
Page: Well, when I came to the arrival of the decision to do it, I asked other people what they found frustrating with web sites and they came up with two main things; navigation and the fact that they don't change every day. Well, I had the navigation sorted out but it was the criticism that the sites don't change that concerned me.
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Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
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