It’s every excitables favorite week of the year! Happy 311 Day week everyone! I hope you are all celebrating this entire week (and tomorrow especially) in a unifying and positive sea of happiness! This week our special 311 Day fan spotlight features Mr. Jason Klemmer!

Jason fell in love with 311 when they first started having their videos played on MTV (as Jason put it, back then MTV was actually worth watching – so true). Jason played the trumpet growing up, so he was really into jazz music, but after school his brother would always have MTV on and he would hear the songs playing in the background. The videos for “Down” or “All Mixed Up” would play and Jason said he would stop what he was doing and just start dancing by himself in his room. He loved the sound the band created and recognized how well they played their instruments. “I had never heard a sound like that before.”

Some of us know how many 311 shows we have been to. Others have lost count because it’s been so many. Jason? He has kept every ticket stub from the shows he has been to! He didn’t have time to count them all, but he said that off the top of his head his show total is somewhere between 35 and 40. His very first show was back in 2003 when he saw them tour with Alien Ant Farm. He was on the rail for that first show, which he said just made the whole experience that much more epic! Of the many shows Jason attended, he was lucky enough to have been to three 311 Day’s (that’s including this years), the first and third cruise, as well as Pow Wow. One of his favorite events was 311 Day 2010, and as far as the regular tour shows go, he said that the Atlantic City show in the fall of 2012 was just epic for him. “311 played “Let the Cards Fall” and we all thew up decks of cards!” (I’m sure you’ve all heard about this show by now! I wish I had been there.)

Jason was born and raised in South New Jersey. His parents divorced when he was just 6 years old, so he spent his summers in both Florida and Kansas growing up. Jason also has MS (Multiple Sclerosis), a disease that affects the nervous system. He has had the disease for the past 10 years, but that didn’t stop him from seeing 311 live. He said the disease has made it so he can now only do certain things. He still works one job and says that helps fund his 311 habit.

Of all the 311 songs there are, Jason said there are many that hold a special meaning for him. “Jupiter” is one of them in particular, and he has the lyrics “stay positive” and “love your life” tattooed on his arms. He also mentioned that “Strong All Along” is a song he loves for it’s message and title. “Those are words I live by.”  If he could say one thing to 311, it would be that he is truly, “thankful for all the years of music I’ve been privileged  to hear and feel throughout my body. I believe this is a big reason I am as healthy as I try to stay.”

One thing you may not know about Jason is that he absolutely loves to cook and can do it extremely well! He also told me that he really is a very shy person, but tries to hide that side of himself. He also has trouble sometimes explaining how he feels. (I can tell you Jason, you did great with describing how you feel about 311!)  Jason also loves music in general and listens to all kinds of classic rock, as well as Incubus and Sublime. He specifically said he listens to, “Anything my ears ask me for!”

I mentioned to you all that Jason will be at this years 311 Day event in Nola. I strongly encourage you to find him and say hello. He said that, “This is closing in on the end of the road as far as big events like this for me. But it’s been a wild ride meeting all of you amazing people from everywhere imaginable!”  From what I’ve learned about Jason through his answers, I can truly say he seems like an amazing human being who has a lot of fight in him, and he truly embodies the positivity that 311 has been teaching us since day one! I personally look forward to meeting Jason in New Orleans, and hope anyone in attendance gets the privilege of meeting him as well! I leave you with his personal message to each and every fan in 311 nation:

“We are the best fans in the galaxy! Everyone have an amazing adventure in New Orleans! Oh and if anyone sees me, gimme a hug! :)”

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Will do Jason! Thanks for reading everyone and HAPPY 311 DAY!! Love you all! “Stay positive and love your life” – The Runt

Welcome back 311 nation! Is everyone excitable for 311 Day next week? Of course you are! So lets kickstart this week leading up to it by reading a new 311 fan spotlight! This week we give some love to the 311 Twitter family by featuring Mrs. Andrea Atchison Gabbitas!

Andrea was introduced to 311 thanks to an ex-boyfriend in high school, somewhere around early 2000. She was instantly drawn to the music and the positivity in the lyrics. However, it was her first live experience where she really fell in love with them. She said the whole experience was amazing and the fans were so great! Since then she’s never stopped listening and is always looking to befriend more 311 fans!

Andrea met one 311 fan along the way that really stole her heart…she met her husband Seth!  A coworker of hers said to her one day, “Oh you like 311? My two younger brothers love 311.”  Andrea went to a party at her coworkers house and met one of the brothers, immediately asking if he was one of the ones that liked 311, which turned out to be Seth. They ended up talking about 311 the whole night that night. Their first date was to a 311 concert in 2009, and they were married on 3/11/2010. Shortly after their marriage, they unfortunately lost Seth’s older brother Steve (the other big fan of 311) because he had a hole in his heart. Steve passed away on June 10, 2010 (which Andrea mentioned was coincidentally 311’s 20th anniversary). She said that it was a really tough loss, especially since it was Steve who really got Seth into 311, which inevitably led him to meeting Andrea and falling in love with her.

Since falling in love with 311 Andrea has been to a total of 16 shows, including 311 Day 2012. She was six months pregnant with her son at the time, so while she couldn’t party like some of us could, she said it still was one of the most perfect and breathtaking experiences of her life! “I loved being in Vegas, seeing all the 311 shirts and meeting so many amazing people. It was amazing having an entire city swimming in the positivity of all the fans. We met some really great people there and had a really fun weekend.”

One of the songs that was played at that 311 Day was “Taiyed” which is Andrea’s all time favorite song. “I love the lyric ‘out from a love that will keep on burning.’  We named our son Taiyden because of that lyric.” She even said that when the song was played her son was rocking out in the womb, kicking the whole time!

Andrea & Seth’s son Taiyden was born on June 5, 2012, which as many of you know is the one & only P-nut’s birthday! She said she swears she doesn’t plan these things!  Her son absolutely LOVES music and is a little mini-excitable, loving 311 just like mom and dad! Andrea said he unfortunately also likes some music that drives her nuts (she mentioned Low by Flo Rida). However, she admits he is just so cute that she can’t refuse him music he loves!

Andrea and her husband went through a tough period back in October of last year because of a miscarriage, but the love of her family and the music of 311 helped get them through this trying time. In order to have some closure, they decided to name the baby Greyson Skyler because as she said, “He was our moment of bliss” just like some of her favorite lyrics from “Beyond the Grey Sky”, “It is a gift I know, this moment of bliss that we hold. A firecracker flash of light then on to the next plane, soul remain.”

Andrea was born in Boulder, Colorado and raised in Farmington, Utah, where she still resides currently. “My husband and I bought a house in Farmington 3 years ago, so I really haven’t gone far!” She is the proud aunt of a brand new niece! (She told me she answered her questions with one hand while holding her!)  Andrea said she is a pretty open book, very honest and not afraid to share what is on her mind. One thing she said she constantly wishes though is that teleportation were real. “I’d love to be able to go anywhere in just a few minutes!” Andrea I think we all wish that were real, at least I know that I do!

While Andrea doesn’t follow anyone as closely as 311, she does have an admiration for other bands such as Muse, Panic! At the Disco, Dirty Heads, Sublime, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Alien Ant Farm, VAST and of course, Nick Hexum Quintet!

So there you have it, our latest star Andrea! She has a lot to be thankful for because of 311, and she would love to tell them simply, “Thank you. I owe a lot of who I am to you.”  If you get the chance to meet Andrea at some point, say hello, because she loves meeting all of you! I leave you with her personal message:

“I love you all!!! I love all the support and love I’ve gotten from everyone.  I can’t wait for more opportunities to meet more of you!”

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That’s all for now folks! Until next week, “Stay positive and love your life!” – The Runt

Welcome back to blog land 311 nation! I know it’s Monday, but get excited because our new 311 fan spotlight is here. Meet Mr. Jeremy Hamar!

Jeremy has an interesting story about how he discovered the music of 311. He has an aunt who was notorious for giving bad gifts at Christmas. She gave the standard socks and items that no one wants as a kid. One year though she got Jeremy a random cassette tape that she said she just grabbed at the local Target. It just so happened to be 311’s Music. Jeremy said that after just one listen all the way through he went to Target himself looking for more, he was hooked! He ended up then getting Grassroots and he says this is where the story of his life unfolds, with a montage of album covers flying by. Shortly after this he went to the same Target and bought Transistor which came with a sticker pack, which he wishes he still had to this day.

What drew Jeremy to the band was the fact that they were doing something way beyond what other bands were doing. “I tend to lean toward music and artists that are breaking the mold, and 311 not only broke it but invented a whole new one.”  He says the positivity of the music really attracted him to the band since most of what he was listening to at the time was much darker. Since he discovered 311 he says he can listen to that darker music and not get sucked in to it. “Like leaning over a cliff with a rope to keep me from falling. You could say 311 has been my safety rope in life. No matter how many dark days I have had or how many places I have been, I have always had that rope to pull me back up. It’s a blessing.”

Many 311 fans have been to tons of shows, part of the blessing of loving a band that tours so much. Jeremy though says he is unlike most, since he has only attended a total of 8 shows so far – 6 tour shows, 311 day 2008 in Nola, and the 3rd cruise last year. He credits his lack of live shows because he took 311’s advice to “Visit” the world. He’s missed a lot of shows because he has spent a great amount of time traveling. Jeremy says that all of the shows have been special in one way or another to him. 311 Day 2008 he pronounced as “mind blowing” and he made great friends and some really fantastic friends because of it. However, he says that his all time favorite would really have to be the cruise. “From just flying to Miami and spending the night there, to getting up and making my way to the boat and boarding. I was just in awe to be in a place with so many people and so many bands within an arms reach. One of the coolest moments was being at Rebelutions safety meeting during the opening briefing and just getting to listen to them joke around with each other. I lived relatively close to them in Cali and watched them play small shows before they were big, it’s surreal. I had a shirt made that said “Free Hugs”, if you remember Nick tweeting about it, my mission was to get 311 hugs. I only made it to 11, the weather was bad and I had to wear a jacket most of the time but my 11th hug was from the one and only SA!! Made my night. Another part of this trip that was extremely special to me was being back with some friends I made in Nola for 311 day, Brian, Karen and Charlene. Going on this cruise solo was a little scary but they made this trip by just being there.”

You already know that one of the songs that impacted Jeremy the most is “Visit”, but he also says that “Beyond the Grey Sky” really means something to him because he had a friend commit suicide. Another song is “Continuous Life” because he believes that, “We all carry on through energy and maybe we come back, maybe we don’t, but we always flow through this vast universe with light and love. Every step of our life, every event that changes us, is a portal that we walk through.”

Jeremy grew up in a small town in California called Porterville, which he dreamed of getting out of because they had a lot of crime and drugs there. He says he remembers that going out usually involved seeing a fight or someone getting killed. After he graduated, he moved to the coast where he was able to see 311 play on the beach with the bands Pepper and The Wailers. Jeremy then “got restless” and moved up to Portland, Oregon, where he still currently resides. “I love it here. They have amazing craft beer and food carts, and you can’t go anywhere without being feet from a hiking trail into nature.” Jeremy’s love for travel was enhanced back in 2009 when he was awarded the opportunity through work to go live in Germany. He managed to find a fellow excitable like himself who goes by the name of “Riff Raff” and he says she was his buddy while there. “Every morning I would walk to the showers and pass her room, and 311 would be blasting. Always put a smile on my face!”  In Germany Jeremy got to experience amazing events like Oktoberfest, while also having the opportunity to travel Europe. He was able to see Dublin, Barcelona, Paris, and Mykonos. One of the biggest highlights was getting to go to the Louvre in Paris since Jeremy has been an artist pretty much all of his life. “We spent hours upon hours in there and didn’t even see half of what we could have.” He was also lucky to see works of one of his favorite artists, Salvador Dali, when there was an art show in Spain while he was there. Jeremy also had some of his favorite 311 lyrics tattooed on his arm in German (the lyrics are ‘love your life’) because his time in Germany he says “really changed my life for the best.”

Jeremy says he lives his life like an open book so if you know him, you know there isn’t much he doesn’t put out there. “I have no filter and will say what’s on my mind, I am brutally honest.” Other than being an artist (Art of Kid Zero), he is a writer and a die hard animal rights activist.  “I believe all beings share the same inherent right to life as we do. This earth wasn’t given just to us.”  Jeremy supports Sea Shepherd, which is a conservation group dedicated to protecting the oceans and stopping the slaughter of dolphins in Japan. He says that if something is his calling in this world, that his fight to stop animal cruelty would be it. He wants to end it across the world and educate people about it.

Given one chance to say something to 311, Jeremy would simply say, “Thank you for making this music, for spreading this message of love and hope, the world needs it so much. I am grateful to live in this moment in history and have 311 as my soundtrack.”

So there you have it, the story of Jeremy and how he came to love a band that has unified so many people across the world. I hope you all enjoyed reading his tale and learning more about one more member of 311 nation! I leave you as usual with Jeremy’s personal message to all of you:

“My personal message might not be like the others, my message may hit some chords with certain people. But, in the long run I feel we need to be less selfish, we need to be more open to others thoughts and opinions, we need to love one another like we all say we do. Unity is fine and all but it becomes flawed when we allow unethical things to happen because we feel speaking out would be “negative”. I firmly believe in the vibe that got everyone into this music, “One Love”, we are all human, nothing else, so why not just love everyone. I feel like we as a group can do so much for the world and I see so many try, but if we put our efforts together we could be unstoppable. Love and peace are all I want out of life, not just for myself but for everyone out there.

All in all, I love everyone out there and am always excited for the next show or tour or album like everyone else. This music brought us together for a reason, lets blanket the world with our love! Peace!”

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Until next week, as always, “Stay positive and love your life!” Much love! – The Runt

Hello 311 family! Welcome to a new week and new fan spotlight! One of the best things about writing these blog posts is that not only do you all get to learn more about one of our family members, but I get the fun of writing about some people that I’ve never met in person (yet). I hope you are all enjoying these as much as I am writing them. So without further ado, let’s learn all about my latest “victim”, Mr. Mitch “Hex” Lyons!

Mitch’s love for 311 started all thanks to his uncle, who knew that Mitch loved music and introduced him to the band around the time Soundsystem was released. Mitch couldn’t get enough of the song “Come Original.”  He always had around ten of 311’s songs in his music library until his freshman year of high school. It was then that Mitch went through a life changing event – he lost a close friend suddenly from a heart ailment. After his friends death, he was in a very dark place and was having a difficult time handling the loss. One day Mitch had Jenn’s 311 radio playing and the song “Beyond the Gray Sky” came on. It was the first time he had ever heard it and Mitch said, “It honestly changed my life. Since then I bleed 311 and have devoted my life to spreading positivity, love, and inspiring those around me.”

After reading this you can all guess that “Beyond the Gray Sky” is one of Mitch’s favorite songs because, as he said, it changed his life. His entire left side is tattooed in dedication of that. One of the things Mitch mentioned about 311’s songs is that, “Their songs relate to anyone, anywhere, going through anything. Most lyrics are very situational to something in their lives and it is very easily transferrable to our own.”  This really is true and one of the reasons I feel most of us are so drawn to the band! We all have songs that struck a significant chord with us. Mitch said that aside from BTGS, the other songs that mean the most to him are “Come Original”, “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, “How Do You Feel?”, and “Jupiter”. Since there are so many songs that we can all relate to as fans of the band, it’s not uncommon for us to have a plethora of favorite quotes. Mitch listed quite a few, but some of his favorites are: “It’s not hard to be what you are, thank your lucky stars”, “You can take on the world, it’s all in your brain”, “You’ve got to trust your instincts and let go of regrets”, and of course, one of all of our favorites, “Stay positive and love your life.”

I ask everyone in the spotlight how many shows they’ve been to, if they know. Mitch responded with, “Ahhh the money question, haha. Who’s counting anyways?” I love that answer! Mitch has been to a total of 19 shows, including 311 day 2010 & 2012, and cruises 2 & 3. The big 2-0 will be this coming March at 311 Day in Nola! The tougher question to answer is which show or event has been the favorite. As Mitch mentioned, “They’ve all been so unique and partial to where I was at that time in my life, so they all hold a special spot in my heart. If I absolutely had to pick one, it would be cruise #2. Everything just worked out perfect.”

Mitch was born and raised in Chicago, and even though his family moved to the burbs of the city eventually, he still considers himself a “Chicagoan.”  He says that he goes to “great lengths to support his 311 habit” – which I feel like we all do so we can relate! While Mitch always managed to scrape by and make things work, he did mention that he wants to note one special situation that happened to him. “I was going through a very rough time in my life around the time of the second cruise. I made a birthday post, jokingly, asking for 1$ from each familia member as that would be well enough to get me on the cruise! MUCH MUCH MUCH to my surprise within hours the post went viral with people I had previously met and complete strangers (whom I now hold amazing bonds with) who just wanted to reach out to someone and help. I was absolutely blown away by the response and enough people contributed to get me on the cruise. I cried many happy tears that trip spending it with people who just out of the goodness of their hearts wanted a fellow Brodel to go on the trip of a life time. For that I am FOREVER grateful. 311 FAMILIA FOREVER <3.” Those stories and the acts of kindness that 311 fans do for each other are what make us stand apart from the rest.

The one thing Mitch would truly like to say to the band is “Thank you – for EVERYTHING.” I think it’s safe to say from what we’ve learned about Mitch is that 311 really did help him change his life and had a drastic positive influence on it, bringing him out of a dark time in his life. That is one of the amazing things about the band we all know and love dearly – their power to bring positivity and unity to people’s lives is continuous and never-ending! I leave you all with Mitch’s message to the fans:

“To any and all this may concern: I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Whether you know it or not. Whether you know me or not. This community, this band, this FAMILIA has got me through some of the hardest times in my life and I could never thank you all enough. So many people who have reached out beyond what any normal person would do and just completely uplifted me. I’m a youngin’ (22) of the group so I’ve got life long best friends that are old enough to be my dad, mom, brother, sister, cousin, anything. You’re all family to me. I have drifted away from the public eye of the group at times. But not all who wander, are lost. Many of you have kept me close through the best times and the worst times. That’s what this is all about. It has evolved into something much larger than just music and you all know that. I get teary eyed writing this because you all have shaped me and changed me into the person I am today and a million and one thank you’s would never be enough. To avoid a book long of individual shout outs you all know who you are! Just wanted to give one extra special shout out to Mr. Matt Brill. I was ABSOLUTELY BLESSED with the opportunity to become close friends with Matt. He more than anyone has been my go to in any given situation and I would trust my life with this man. I love you for life homie. Cheers to you, and all of my excitable friends for many many more years of beautiful bliss together in this crazy mess we call life. Much love, and ONE LOVE for all. Hope to see you all in NOLA!!! <3”

Thanks to Mitch for sharing his story and until next time 311 nation – “Stay positive and love your life!”

311 is a band known worldwide, and their fan base stretches across the globe. Many of us are lucky enough to live in the U.S. where we have year round access to the bands live shows, but there are many that don’t have that privilege. So this weeks 311 fan spotlight is on one fantastic girl who is much farther south than most of us, Ms. Xiomara Perez Caruso!

Have you met Xio? If you have then you know she is a ray of sunshine, emitting positive vibes with her shining smile at the 311 events she makes it to! I had the pleasure of meeting Xiomara at 311 Day 2012 and seeing her again on the last cruise.  She told me that she got to know 311 later on than most of us, because she lives in Caracas, Venezuela! It took time for 311’s music to travel that direction, so her first encounter with their music was the video for “Come Original” on MTV. “I loved the video, the music, the super bright green background, and especially that funky strong bass beat!”  Xio then started looking for more information about the band and got their albums. She was hooked after that and they became her favorite band.

Xiomara’s location doesn’t grant her the opportunity to attend as many shows as she’d like, so she knows exactly how many she’s attended and cherishes every one of them! Her total is 15 and counting, which is impressive given her Venezuela residence! Her first show was in 2011 when 311 traveled to South America and she was able to afford the trip to Santiago de Chile, Chile to see them at the Lollapalooza festival. She had just started a job four months prior and begged her boss to let her take a few days off so she could fly to Chile and make her dream come true of seeing 311 live for the first time. “I thought I was going to check 311 off of my list and move on…wrong! Not only did the show blow my mind, but I got to MEET P-nut, miT, Chad, and S.A. and just fell in love with them! I needed more!” Xiomara managed to attend two of the three cruises, 311 Day 2012, and some Unity Tour shows last summer. As she said, “I still can’t get enough!”

Of all the events she made it to, 311 Day 2012 takes the cake for her. One of her dreams was to make it to a 311 Day show, and the fact that she actually made it to Vegas to attend one was a mind blowing experience for her. She said that it was a milestone. Although she admits her favorite venue so far has been Red Rocks, which she was lucky enough to make it to during last summers Unity Tour. “It’s hard to choose just one answer!”

Her favorite song is known to us all as the happy slam dance song, “Do You Right.”  “This song just makes me smile and dance every time I hear it.”  And it just so happens that her all time favorite quote comes from it: “I’m free as I stare at the sea, and I’m not coming down.” She even has it tattooed on her! Xio said that she is a very optimistic person so this phrase is like her own personal motto. She knows that no matter what obstacle she encounters, she will find a way to overcome it.  She also loves the beach and ocean and one of her hobbies is to drive to the beach, park there, watch the ocean and meditate.

Xiomara was born and raised in Venezuela–Caracas to be precise, although she grew up in a small city by the beach called Puerto La Cruz. She moved back to Caracas when she got her first job. She has strong support from her family and friends, and thanks to them she was able to attend school full time until she graduated in 2010 as a System Engineer. It was on January 3rd, 2011 that she got her first job (and she said in her answers, it was on 3/1/11 or 1/3/11 depending on how you write the date, pretty freaking sweet!). Since 2011 she has been working as a Network Specialist. I asked Xio if she has anything that people might not know about her that she wants to share, but she admits that she really is an open book! “What you see is what you get!”  Although she did want to make it known that the word friend means a lot to her. “I treasure my friendships and my friends know they can count on me for anything.”

Some other bands that Xio listens to are the Deftones, Sublime (without Rome she said!) and the Foo Fighters. She also really digs a band called Travis from Scotland (I had a chance to listen to them, they’re pretty cool!). Xio also got really into the bands she has discovered from the 311 events she has attended like Full Service, Bad Rabbits, Ballyhoo!, and the Dirty Heads. So not only have the events she’s attended granted her the opportunity to see her favorite band live, she’s also been exposed to new music because of it!

Xio knows how blessed she is to have had the opportunity to see 311 and meet the guys. She’d like to tell them, “Muchas gracias por todo!”  She elaborated on that saying, “Just thanks for everything: the music, the events, the shows, and the amazing people I’ve met because of your music! Just a big THANK YOU to 311, 311 management and the whole team behind the band. My life would be so boring without 311.”

Special thanks to Xio for sharing her personal 311 stories with the rest of us, and reminding us to be grateful for every experience we get with the band, because some people aren’t as lucky as many of us to see them as often as we do! I leave you with her personal message to all of 311 nation:

“Love you guys! Hehe. Thank you for sharing this Excitable life with me. Thanks to all the friends who have helped me out one way or another to make these 311 journeys. For those I don’t know yet, come say Hola when you see me. One Love!”

Thanks again Xio! Until next week, as always, “Stay positive and love your life!”

Hello 311 family! This week we have a very special guest as our 311 fan spotlight. You may know him from a fantastic band called Ballyhoo! It is my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Howi Spangler!

Sure Howi is in a band and a rockstar himself, but he is also a fan of 311 and been lucky to have toured with them. Howi said that he remembers seeing the blue album cover in stores back in the mid 90’s, but didn’t really know the bands name or pay much attention to it. Then at some point in 95 or 96, JR (Ballyhoo’s bass player) played the song “Don’t Stay Home” for Howi. “I think I really liked the riffing between Pnut and Tim, and of course Nick’s vocals sounded like butter!” Howi then heard “All Mixed Up” on the radio and it prompted him to buy the album.

Of all the songs in the 311 catalog, Howi mentioned that “Do You Right” is a song that he really loves. “It’s so festive. It takes me back to being a teenager driving my friends around so they could skate. It just really encompasses what 311 is about.”  And while “Do You Right” might be one of his favorite songs, the lyrics that mean the most to him are “From chaos comes clarity.”  Howi said those words are just “so true” and I completely agree!

Howi thinks it’s been about 16 times total that he has seen 311 live. The first time he saw them was back in 99 at the HFStival in D.C. He then remembers seeing them again in 03 and two more times in 05. Then it was 2008 before he was able to see them again, and it was because Ballyhoo got to open for the band! How amazing is that? As Howi says, “I’ve been lucky enough that every time I see them now, I’m usually playing with them. I always catch their show when they have us on the bill. Never gets old!”

One of the most amazing events Howi attended was the Pow Wow Festival. He mentioned he had friends that came back from that event saying the trip changed them inside. However, it was the 311 cruise that Howi said really stood out to him as the coolest event he’s been to. “It’s an experience to say the least. And there’s roughly 3,000 people on the boat that show my band a lot of love. The drinks flow constantly. I have a feeling the 2015 trip will sell out really quickly. Word has gotten around and people are really jealous when they see the pictures on Facebook. We’ve done two of them and it’s been a rager both times.”

I asked Howi when it was that he knew he wanted to be a musician. He said it was early on in his childhood that he knew he wanted to be in a band. “My dad took Donald and I to see Ratt, Poison, Tesla & Def Leppard a couple times in the late 80’s. Watching ‘Behind the Music’ made so much sense later. I was there watching during that crazy period in hair metal. Those guys were having the time of their lives and I wanted to do that.”

One of Howi’s favorite bands is Green Day (any of you who are familiar with Ballyhoo! might know this, as you can hear the influence in certain songs). Howi credits Green Day for being the band that made him “get serious and start the band.”  He bought a guitar and started to teach himself how to play and write songs. He was the ripe old age of 13 when he wrote his first one! As he says, “It was really bad.”  Howi has only ever been in the band Ballyhoo! and has devoted his life to making music with the rest of the guys. “I’ve always been so driven and focused on my time with Ballyhoo!”

Howi was born and raised in Aberdeen, Maryland where he says his childhood and upbringing were pretty normal. While he had a good childhood, he went through a tough time when he was 8 and his parents divorced. Howi mentioned that the songs he writes, he writes for himself first, but then they record them and give them to whoever will listen. “I know we’ve helped people through their dark times and that feels really good.” Howi went through his own dark time when he lost his mother to cancer when he was just 15. He mentioned that the couple of years after that were tough for him. However that may be where he says “some of my more ‘emo’ lyrics come from” but in my opinion some of the music that connects the most with fans are born from a songwriters personal experience. The music that Ballyhoo! creates clearly connects with their fans on many different levels and we thank you for that Howi!

While we mentioned Green Day as one of Howi’s favorite bands, he also mentioned that he has a love for UB40 and Sublime. Some new artists he is in to are The Neighbors and Arctic Monkeys. “I try to mix it up!”  But for long drives Howi likes to put on old dub reggae. I asked Howi if there is one interesting thing we don’t know about him and he confessed, “I love hidden object games. I am a geek.”

I’ve been lucky enough to have met Howi a few times at various shows and also on the 311 cruise. One of the funniest moments I can remember is from the third cruise and my husband and I were walking up the stairs and ran into Howi. Like my husband and myself, he was out of breath. He looked at us and said, “Don’t let this lanky frame fool you, I’m completely out of shape.” I couldn’t help but crack up! Those personal moments are part of what make Howi, and the rest of the guys in Ballyhoo! so great. They love their fans, love making music for us, and take the time to give us each personal moments with them. I have to thank 311 for bringing Ballyhoo! into my life, and thank Howi for making amazing music and opening up to all of the excitable that read this blog!

I leave you all with Howi’s personal message to you:

“Thanks to everyone who’s every been to a show or bought an album or t-shirt. You’re the only reason we can keep doing this. Don’t let life pass you by!”

Thanks for reading everyone! As always, stay positive & love your life!

Happy Monday 311 peeps and welcome to the latest fan spotlight on Kevin Gentile!

I met Kevin for the first time down in Miami before the third cruise. I was talking to someone at a fan gathering and when they found out I was from Massachusetts they said, “You have to meet Kevin! He’s from Mass too!”  Of course as soon as I met him I recognized him because, as it usually goes in the 311 fan world, I was already friends with him on Facebook. So it’s my pleasure to introduce you to one cool individual from my neck of the woods!

The first thing Kevin wrote to me about being a 311 fan is that he had to be honest, “I’m not the most ‘old school’ fan, but I’m an old school fan the way Nick says it.”  Kevin’s introduction to 311 came when “Down” and “All Mixed Up” were released on the radio airwaves back in the mid 90’s. He also had heard a few other songs off of Music and Grassroots and liked what he heard, but was more into metal then. What really got him into 311 and listening to them more was his friend from high school Justin.  Justin was listening to 311 a lot and Transistor had just been released. It was that album that hooked Kevin. “I was playing it non-stop. That was my first 311 album that I bought and then I kind of went backwards from there and discovered everything else. Then Soundsystem dropped…still my favorite album by them.”

Two of Kevin’s favorite songs come from Soundsystem  – “Strong All Along” and “Can’t Fade Me.”  He has faced a lot of adversity in his life and says that he doesn’t believe in himself enough. These two songs help keep him moving forward with the knowledge that no matter what he faces, he has the strength in him to conquer it. One of his favorite lyrics comes from the song “Speakeasy” though – “If there’s a shadow in your life then there’s sunshine.”  A great lyric that I can see why he likes, especially with his outlook on finding the strength within to get by what is troubling you. Kevin also has some 311 ink like a lot of us fans, so he carries with him everyday the positivity that the band and their music provide for us. He has a tattoo of the 311 star symbol with reggae colors, surrounded by lyrics from “Strong All Along.” As he told me, “It’s a constant reminder that 311, the band that has gotten me through so much, as well as all of the fans that I have met and shared some of the best moments of my life with, that you have my back and that I have always been ‘strong all along’ no matter how much I doubt myself!”

One day Kevin was bored and decided to go through every show he has attended and see how many it was, as well as which songs he has heard live. Since then he updates it every time he sees the band. His tally so far is 34 shows and it will soon be 35 when he heads to Nola for his fourth 311 day! He’s also been on all three cruises and to Pow Wow. His very first show of 311 was the 10th anniversary of their first show and they played the whole blue album in its entirety! It was also his birthday, what an awesome gift! This is by far one of his favorite shows, and then he says his first 311 day back in 2008 was simply magical. However he claims that the beach show on the second cruise really took the cake as his favorite. Kevin had been saying he wanted to see a mosh pit during the song “Amber” so he and few others started spreading the word that it should happen during the beach show and it did! A huge “splash pit” erupted in the water. He says that while the setlist was amazing, it was the splash pit moment that really made it for him. In his words, “Did I just say my favorite 311 experience was seeing ‘Amber’? What is wrong with me?”

Kevin has lived in Massachusetts his entire life in various towns, and while he has thought about moving away a bunch of times, he just can’t seem to do it. “I love it here in Boston.”  He started out as a quiet kid who was often picked on up until he was midway through high school. He was a wallflower at that point but says that he managed to start opening up and became a social butterfly, the Kevin that we all know and love. Since doing that he says he has become one of the most reliable people his friends know. “I always want to meet people, always want to help, always want to be in the know.”  Kevin loves planning things and has a knack for it. He claims that he is a jack of all trades when it comes to work. He has been working hard since the age of 12 when he was a paperboy and continued to work all through high school and college. He’s worked in a variety of industries and currently works as a sales associate for an awesome travel company that he just recently started at. He also manages an upscale bar in Boston a few nights a week. So Kevin do you actually have any free time? “Yeah I have no time, but I always say work hard, play hard. That is what fuels my 311 obsession.” He is now known at work as “that kid that likes that band” and is even starting to convert a few people to being fans of 311! Go Kevin, spread that 311 love!

Want to know something really interesting about Kevin? His name is spelled wrong on his birth certificate. His mother signed his birth certificate with his name spelled Keven and he didn’t know about this until about eight years ago when he was going to apply for his passport. Funny enough, he had already created an email that was “Kevendust”, a play on Sevendust which is another band he loves. Kevin credits his dad for raising him on music that made him who he is today, such as The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Doors, Phil Collins and Billy Joel (all fantastic artists!).  Some of his other favorites are Sublime, Coheed & Cambria, The Mars Volta, and Led Zeppelin. Kevin says he is always willing to open up to new music and the cruises help him do that. He discovered Bad Rabbits because of the cruise and says he is really now one of their biggest advocates!

If Kevin could say one thing to 311, it is “Thank you so very much for bringing us all together.”  His experiences and the fans he has met have provided him some of the best times in his life and he knows that it is because of 311 and their music. Kevin mentioned to me that he usually throws it all out there and doesn’t have any secrets, so I just wanted to say thanks to him for being so honest and forthcoming for this fan spotlight! It’s great to hear other peoples experiences and everything that they take away from them. I leave you all with a personal message to all of you”

“I have to say this – I’ve never experienced something quite like what I have the last 5 or so years.  I have friends in almost every state, and probably a couch to crash on to boot.  Many of my “311 friends” have become some of my closest friends.  I thank you for being there for me, for making me laugh, for partying with me, for giving me the hospitality that you’ve shown.  I say this to all my friends that don’t understand what we are.. and I said it’s like we’re the new “Dead Heads”.  It’s not even about the music anymore, 311, however much I love them, are like background music to what I get to experience when I am at one of these big events.  The love, the friendship, the good times.  Don’t take this for granted… this moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.  I told myself I was going to stop after the 2nd cruise.  That translated into a 3rd one, as well as visiting friends all across the country this summer and a 4th 311 day in March.  I just can’t stop loving this awesomeness.  See you all in NoLa!!!!!”

Thanks “Keven”! 🙂 As always, stay positive & love your life! Until next time!

New week and it’s time for a new 311 fan spotlight! So without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce you all to the one and only John Dawkins!

I’m sure many of you know John – he is a prominent member of the 311 community and you may have rocked out with him at one of the shows! John hails from Denver, Colorado where he has lived his entire life.  Like so many of us, he was introduced to 311 when he heard “Down” and “Don’t Stay Home” on the radio back in the 90’s. The blue album was one of the first CD’s that he ever owned. John went to visit his brother in college one time and put the CD in after his brother left for class. He had the music blasting when suddenly his brothers roommate, Rusty Lyon, threw open the door. John at first thought he was mad that he was playing the music so loud, until Rusty looked at him and said, “You’re listening to 311?! That’s my favorite band!”  Rusty then ran back to his room to grab the Grassroots album to play it for John. From that moment John was absolutely hooked on 311! He says they call Rusty “The Godfather” because he is the oldest 311 fan that he knows!

John is lucky to have seen 311 live 48 times over his years of being a fan. He’s been on all three cruises, Pow Wow, the 2010 Halloween Show in Atlanta, plus the 2010 and 2012 311 Day shows. Next up will be show number 49 for John when he makes the pilgrimage to New Orleans for this years 311 Day festivities! Out of all the events that John has been to he said that the cruises were some of his favorite memories. “It’s hard to pick which one was the best, because they were all so special in different ways.”   However, John said that his favorite show is definitely the second indoor show on the very first cruise. “There was soooo much energy there…insane show!”

I was at that indoor show, and I can attest to the amazing energy that was in that room as the boat swayed side to side. I’m sure it was even more special for John as they played what he told me is his all time favorite song, Strong All Along. He said that song means the most to him because, “It embodies the band and all their talents. It’s also kind of like a theme song to me. It says just do what you feel, just get out there and enjoy life! It really makes my soul happy!”  John also said it reminds him of one of his most favorite people ever – Gustavo Chavez Jr.! Shout out to Guslifter!

One of John’s other favorite bands is Passafire and he credits 311 for introducing him to them since he learned about them on the cruise. His love for music doesn’t stop at 311. Some of his other favorite bands are Tool, Rebelution, Incubus, Beastie Boys, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, and the Deftones! He listed more, but I figured with these few examples you get the point that he loves music and a wide variety of it!

John grew up in Denver surrounded by a lot of supportive family. He mentioned the importance of family to him and that it transferred to his second family, The Excitable Ones. John started working at a hospital over ten years ago and when he was promoted five years ago, he really was able to take the time to attend more 311 shows. He knows that if it wasn’t for his company, he wouldn’t have been able to take the time off that he has to “visit the world” and meet so many great 311 fans! Even if you’ve never been to Denver, you know it’s surrounded by mountains and John is completely in love with them! He adores spending time in the hills. “I go backpacking and camping as much as possible. Give me a cold beer, a nice mountain view, and I’m set!!”

311 has the power to impact each and every one of us in a different way. If John could say just one thing to the Nick, SA, Pnut, Tim and Chad, he would say, “Thank you for exposing me to outstanding music and amazing people! You have truly changed my life for the better!”  One of John’s favorite lyrics is, “It’s alright to feel good, It’s alright for nothing to be wrong. The deepest dream that we have could be tomorrow’s song.” I love this lyric and think it really represents the positive vibe that John exudes. He loves 311, loves the community of fans, and knows that, “The only thing true, we gotta love each other. Try to keep a positive vibe!” (Another favorite lyric of Johns!)

Here is John’s message to all of the excitables in the land:

“I just want to say to all the other fans – “It’s been a wild ride, I wouldn’t change a minute” Thank you all for being such amazing friends. I’ve never met such a dedicated, passionate, fun loving group of people! My life is soo much better with all of you in it. Don’t stop rockin’, because I sure won’t. See you out on the Road! ONE LOVE!!”

Thank you John for taking the time to let us learn more about you and your love for 311! Until next time people, stay positive and love your life as always! 🙂