Editor's Note: Although GoneGator.com is now defunct, you can now find it at TomPetty.rocks.
Living Online: Nothing petty on this site if you're a fan of Tom's
By John Druckenmiller and Betty Parham
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - July 13, 2001
Tom Petty gets a cyberspace home here: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in town this weekend for a gig, have a few gigabytes dedicated to them as well, courtesy of an Atlanta fan.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' gig at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre on Saturday puts the longtime rocker on a little bit of home turf, at least in cyberspace.
Atlanta is the home of an unofficial Web site dedicated to Tom Petty (right) and his band. The site, www.gonegator.com, is operated by Sean Bresnan, a 34-year-old Web designer and longtime Petty fan. He drew the site's name from Petty's record and publishing label.
The site, in its present state, has been up for about a year, and Bresnan says 5,000 to 6,000 individual users stop by in an average week, with a weekly hit count ranging from 75,000 to 90,000.
What clicks: It's pretty clear from the opening visuals that this is a fan site, not something awash with the clutter you expect from a movie site or one of the record labels. That's a good thing. The guitar icons zip you to the need-to-know stuff and some gushy reviews of previous concert stops. What's interesting: The concert folder even tells you what songs were at the venue.
What crashes: Apparently, the message board. We clicked; it didn't.
Bookmark or bypass? Bookmark it only if you're a Petty fan, in which case gonegator.com is where you want to be.