Hello again my Excitable friends! Welcome to the latest edition of the 311 Fan Spotlight. This week, let’s meet Jesse Teel!
Jesse was drawn to music at an early age, so he has a wide spectrum of musical tastes. “I had influences from family with various genres from my father, who enjoyed Motown oldies, classical, and country, to my mom, who was a hippy at heart showing me music from the 60’s and 70’s, as well as country (since we lived on a ranch growing up), and my half sister playing the hits of the 80’s, but I really came into my own musically during the grunge era of the 90’s. I was always looking for new music outlets and I came across the cassette tape of 311’s Music album. I’m not sure if it was the rebel in me, but the famous album cover got my attention. I remember listening to Music and it not sounding like anything else I had heard before. I may not have really known it at the time, but I was hooked. At the time, I wasn’t aware of any other albums that had been released, but with the release of the Blue album in 1995, I was fortunate enough to discover Grassroots, since this was really the time that 311 really blew up. The differences from album to album, while keeping their signature sound I feel is what truly drew me to the band, and it stuck all the way until present day.”
For how many shows Jesse has seen, he’s lost count over the years. He see’s multiple tour shows each year, has done all of the 4th of July shows in Vegas, attended four 311 Day’s and just recently went on this last cruise, which was his first. “I know it has been well over 50 shows and counting with multiple shows purchased for this upcoming tour. My first show was in Irvine, California at what was the Verizon Amphitheatre, which is no longer standing. But I remember it so distinctly because they did an encore that I have never seen them do since. It was a huge mashup of some of their greatest hits that transitioned from one to another to yet another. I left that show in complete and total awe and couldn’t wait to see them again.”
There have been many events that have special memories for Jesse, but he absolutely loved this last cruise. “What an amazing experience it was and something I will never forget for as long as I live.”
There’s also an unofficial 311 event that means the world to him. Here’s his story. “In April of 2024, I submitted a video to a casting call to be part of a music video for 311 and I received a call back inviting me to join the music video shoot in Los Angeles, California. We were not given many details, but we were given an address and a time to arrive. Not knowing what I was going into, I followed the instructions and made my way to the address given. Upon arrival I knew the building looked rather familiar with security at the entrance. Before I knew it, I was in a holding room with about 20 other 311 fans. At the time, we figured we were being used for a performance scene of some sort and figured the band wasn’t there for this part of the shoot. As we waited, the director of the video shoot, Brian Bowen Smith, entered our holding room and began explaining the concept of the video and what he was asking of us. At this point, Brian turned to me and said, “I am going to need you to play the role of a body guard. Actually, let me go and get who you will be working with so you guys get to know each other a little bit.” He quickly left the room and moments later came back with the one and only Pnut. We were introduced to one another, and I could hardly speak. This is my first time meeting anyone from the band and it was absolutely sureel. After a short time together Pnut left the room, but it wasn’t long after that the entire band entered the room and everyone just froze. We didn’t know what to do, or if we were able to approach them. Not wanting to miss this insane opportunity, I jumped out of my seat and walked to Nick to introduce myself. Others quickly followed suit and we were all just mingling with each other for quite some time. It was so casual and we got to see just how down to earth every single member of the band truly was. Since the first part of the video shoot was performance based, both Nick and miT had their guitars in hand. I approached miT and couldn’t help but notice he was holding his famous Blue PRS, so I mentioned that he busted out the OG Blue for this shoot, and how hard it is to find his signature PRS. He acknowledged that there aren’t too many out there, but it is a sweet guitar and his original love. As if this dream couldn’t get any better, it was about to. miT then turns to me and says, “do you want to give this one a try? You can play it and we can take some pictures with it, if you want to.” My jaw hit the ground. He handed over the guitar and I got to play my favorite guitarist’s guitar! I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I soaked in every single second. My dream had just come true, and the day was only beginning. We were then called into the performance room where we spent the entire day with the band in a very informal setting. I was even able to go into the green room with the entire band during the lunch break where I got to have a very personal conversation with Pnut himself for about 20 or 30 minutes. We then were called back to the performance room where it was time for my role to be performed. After the shoot wrapped, we were released and got to say our goodbyes to the band before they headed to the roof for a photo shoot. I was able to sneak up to the roof to catch a glimpse of the photo shoot trying to get any additional memories of this epic day that I could. A small group of us overheard that the final wrap would be at about 6:00 pm, so we went and grabbed a drink at a nearby restaurant then waited outside the video shoot building in hopes to get a few more photos with the guys. As the band exited the building, the group I was with headed straight for the group, but I noticed SA walking across the street on his own, so I approached him and explained one of the fans needs his signature for her tattoo. He said he would go to his van to drop some stuff off and then come back. After we got more photos with everyone else, we waited, and sure enough, SA held true to his word and came back. He signed Jaclyn’s arm and the rest of us got more photos. A moment of silence came upon all of us and then SA says, “do you guys want to go grab a drink? We don’t want to sit in traffic heading home.” I exclaimed, “Hell yea we want to get a drink!” So for the next three hours we all sat with SA Martinez as he told us the entire history of 311, and answered any and every question we had. This was another dream to come true for me, and it was all in the same day! A perfect ending to a perfect day. About a month later, the You’re Gonna Get It music video debuted and I made the opening scene! I can be seen throughout the video and I have forever been cemented into the history of my all time favorite band, 311. This is by far my most memorable and favorite experience I have had with this band.”
While like many fans Jesse said there are lots of songs that mean a great deal to him, he narrowed it down for this blog and chose “Simplify.” “The reason is because when times get really difficult, remembering that “this moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present,” helps me to know that it is important to live in the moment. Live in the here and now, because worrying about the future is only a fear of the unknown. The difficult times are like storms….they too shall pass, and life is a gift. When we go through difficult times, it is really easy to forget that what we are living is in fact a gift.” One of Jesse’s favorite lyrics comes from this song as well: “This moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”
Jesse has a few other favorite lyrics of 311’s. The first is “You’ve got to trust your instincts, and let go of regret. You’ve got to bet on yourself now star, cause that’s your best bet.” “This is so true on so many levels. Sometimes we are all that we’ve got. If we don’t trust and believe in ourselves, then who the hell will? If we don’t believe in ourselves, then we take away the reason for anyone else to believe in us. Betting on ourselves is the safest bet any of us can take, because we are the only ones who can control ourselves, and ultimately the outcome of our bet.” He also loves “Stay positive and love your life.” “This is the common mantra that so many of our community members live by and it was set forth by this beloved band. It is the constant that they have always portrayed through all these 35 plus years and it truly helps us in our own way. I feel one of the biggest misconceptions of “staying positive,” is that we have a tendency to live with our heads in the sand and not face our adversities. Staying positive doesn’t mean to pretend that everything is always good and upbeat. Staying positive, to me, actually means keeping our heads up while facing adversity and taking on life’s challenges head on and believing that it will all be okay. The positive nature will inevitably attract positive energy, and the same goes for the adverse. When we stay positive, it allows us to make it through anything, even when it feels like we won’t make it when we are in the thick of it. Once we make it through, we then have reason to love our lives.”
One last lyric, he loves “Get with your rhythm, get with your nature.” “You are unique and you possess a rhythm all of your own. When you find this rhythm, it enables you to be your true authentic self, and that is your nature. Embrace it. Love it. Be it. Live it.”
Jesse was born in Westlake, California, and lived in Thousand Oaks until the age of nine when he and his family moved to Acton. He lived there for the next 10 years, where he was able to experience ranch life in a small town. “Riding dirt bikes, driving tractors, riding horses, playing little league every year, and always having music as a huge part of my life. My life’s soundtrack has distinct memories attached to various artists and even specific songs that when heard take me back to a time and/or place of my upbringing. I excelled in sports through high school, and moved on to attend California State University of Northridge, where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing. After graduating college and receiving a number of corporate job offers, I elected to become business partners with my father, Patrick Teel, who started a swimming pool maintenance and construction company in 1975, and added a second corporation in the retail side of swimming pool products. After my father passed away from Cancer, I assumed the role of sole owner of the two corporations that I am currently running to this day. While owning and operating the two companies is challenging, it enables me to make a decent living and fund my 311 habit, as well as attend other concerts and sporting events.”
Jesse’s dad taught him to fish when he was a very young age. They would take an annual fishing trip to the High Sierras, going from lake to lake each day. ” It was one of our favorite events together and I still take that trip every year in memoriam of his life. It has never been quite the same since his passing, but it enables me to stay connected to him since losing him on January 1, 2022. I continue to work hard just as he taught me so that I am able to continue our tradition each and every year. He not only was an amazing father, but he was my business partner, mentor, best friend, and hero. I truly believe he is watching over me as my days here on earth continue. May he forever rest in peace.”
Jesse has a younger brother Preston, they are 14 years apart, and he means the world to him. “He moved with the rest of my family to Colorado Springs about a year and a half before our dad’s passing. We are very close and I introduced him to the music of 311 at a very young age and he too is a huge fan of the band. He has been with me to many shows, multiple 311 days, and he was on cruise 8 with me. 311 is a common bond that we share and even though we live in different states, the band has provided us with many opportunities for us to remain connected and close to one another. He too has a great passion for music and graduated from Icon Music Collective and is currently a producer of bass and dubstep music. He has an amazing heart on him and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Something that set’s Jesse apart from the masses is his passion for helping others. ” I have been through a lot of hardships in this life and I truly feel it was in preparation to help those in need. I feel that my experiences enable me to relate to so many other people and the hardships they encounter. My goal is always to try and help others navigate through their struggles faster than when I endured mine. Over the last 5-6 years I have heavily researched the human mind, cognitive thinking and functionality, the effects of trauma, and the process of healing, which has led me to become a life coach. My ultimate goal is to have a full time life and business coaching business to help others change their lives for the better. My job is not to create a blueprint for others to follow to navigate life, but to unveil each person’s individual ability and strength to develop their own plan. In 2020, I made a documentary using the footage I took at 311 Day in Las Vegas showcasing 311 and the fan community that utilizes the positivity and unity throughout to help get through each person’s day to day lives. Besides footage of the festivities, I interviewed fans throughout the entire weekend to show just how 311 and the positivity movement impacts each person and the power that staying positive and loving your life has to enable a person to be the best version of themselves. Helping others achieve this level of enlightenment is my ultimate dream.”
Interesting fact about Jesse, about a month after he turned 13 he had a freak accident. “That caused a tomato cage stake go through my left eye and puncture the back of my brain, leaving me paralyzed on the right side of my body, my eye being turned around 90 degrees, and bleeding of the brain. During my stay in the ICU, doctors could not explain how I avoided instant death, but with swelling of the brain and continual bleeding of the brain, there was a good chance I would not survive the coming days. If I somehow did survive, I was told I would never walk again, have permanent brain damage, be confined to a wheelchair, and would most likely lose my eye. I was told my life was forever changed. At the young age of 12, I felt I was too old to cry, but for some reason, I just didn’t believe the doctor’s diagnosis. My father encouraged me daily to try and sit up, which led to trying to stand, then take a step, then get to the doorway, then just a few steps down the hall. I couldn’t feel the right side of my body, but if I held onto my dad, and watched my feet on the floor, I would make my way down that hallway. When I made it back to the ICU and was able to open those double doors, the entire nursing staff just stopped with disbelief. It was at that time that I was given the name, The Miracle Child, and everyone in the hospital knew of me. My eye surgery was put off by a day, then two, then a week, and scheduled a month later at UCLA medical center. I never made it to that surgery appointment because my eye was starting to correct itself. Little by little, my eye started to turn out towards the center again. I had to wear a patch over my eye, but I did eye exercises everyday. Eventually I had vision, but I saw double of everything. Six months later I got really good at being able to line the double vision up for periods of time but would then have to put the patch back on due to fatigue. By month seven I threw away my patch and I had my vision back. I made a full recovery in a year’s time. I had full feeling and functionality of the right side of my body, I could not only walk, but I could run. You couldn’t even tell I ever had the accident. No surgeries were performed and I did my own physical therapy. I missed half a year of school, but I was able to keep up through home school and maintained mostly A’s and a couple B’s. I only missed one season of baseball and returned right where I left off.”
Jesse taught himself how to play guitar and he has been playing for about 30 years now. “It is certainly a love of mine, but what I feel makes me unique is my heart and my compassion for others. We live in a very cynical world, and I have been kicked while down many times, but I still believe in the good that is all around us. I believe we all have a purpose and mine is helping others in many different forms.” Guilty pleasure for him? “I sometimes go onto random video chat websites and play guitar for people.”
As for other musicians Jesse loves, the list is a long and diverse one. “I mostly taught myself to play the guitar from Dave Matthews’ music when I discovered his Live at Luther College album with Tim Reynolds, so Dave’s music will always hold a special place in my heart. The Dave Matthews Band is another group that I have seen well over 30 times live, and I highly recommend that show to all. Some of my other favorite artists are as follows in no particular order: Incubus,Sublime, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Paul Simon, Prince, Linkin Park, Iration, The Black Crowes, Bob Marley, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Foo Fighters, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Nirvana, 2 Pac, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles.”
While Jesse has been blessed with talking to 311 a bunch of times, he still would like to send this message to them: “Thank you. Thank you for everything you have given myself and so many others around the world for over 35+ years.”
Now here is his message to all of his fellow Excitables:
“Being part of this community means you possess something very special within you. It is not something that we can touch because it is within your soul, but we can see it in your personality and we feel it during our interactions with one another. Our beloved 311 has been a vessel for our unity. When we acknowledge each other as fellow fans, we instantly have a bond. We know we “get it.” Our desire to be loved is filled with every show, every gathering, and every interaction. Each of us return that love because we are united through the music that feeds our souls. Nobody ever said that life is going to be easy, and quite frankly, it can be downright cruel at times, but I employ you to keep utilizing this music and the community to help carry you through these rough times. Continue to love one another. See past the differences we may have. Look for the positive in all that you do, and when you can’t seem to find it, lean on each other because we will carry each other for as long as it is necessary. Utilize music as your therapy, for it is our constant companion. Love yourselves, because if you don’t it makes it so much harder for others to love you. You deserve to be loved and don’t let ANYONE tell you otherwise. Follow your dreams. Put in the work necessary to reach your next milestone. Don’t ever give up. Be the light during someone else’s darkness. Always remember that it is okay to ask for help when you need it. You have made it through every obstacle up to this point and you are still here and standing. Be kind to yourself and give yourself the credit you deserve. I am so proud of you all and my love for each of you is endless. Thank you for being part of this amazing community and bringing me the joy you have over all these years. I will forever cherish our memories, and I look forward to creating new ones along the way. I love you all. – Jesse Teel, The Bearded Prophet”
Thank you Jesse for sharing your story with all of the community! And as always, my eternal gratitude to all who read these posts. Hope you have an amazing, day, week, month, year, and beyond!
Much Love – The Runt