Hey there 311 nation! A new week is here and that means it’s time for a new fan spotlight. Let’s meet Seth Mansell!

It was around 1994-95 and Seth’s cousin was driving him around, and he was flipping through his CD binder. He saw a CD with just numbers on it and asked his cousin what it was. “He put it in his CD player and the rest is history. It was the blue album that was burned on an old circuit city cd-r (don’t tell the band 🙂). I was immediately hooked and later that day I bought Grassroots and Music from our local record store.”

It was around the time that Transistor came out that Seth started going to see 311 live. First show for him was in 1999 in Cleveland. “There have only been a few summers since then I have missed a concert when they come to my area which is Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve been to 50+ shows since then and attended 311 Day 2016.”

As for favorite show or shows, Seth said the ones he saw on the 2007 tour really stand out to him. “I ended up going to several tours that year with a great group of friends and met the band after the show in Columbus that year. There was a lot of energy on that tour and it is the tour where I also discovered The Dirty Heads who are another favorite band of mine. I also enjoyed the 2010 tour a lot because that’s the first tour me and my wife went together (one of our first dates).”

While there are a lot of songs that stand out to Seth as meaningful, he said the one that really strikes him is “Eons.” “That song always puts me in a good mood, I believe the song means that sometimes you need to face the negativity and conquer it.”

One of Seth’s favorite lyrics comes from the song “Flowing:” “You can’t be let down if you don’t expect the world.” “Life likes to throw curveballs and we expect too much from others, ourselves and other things and we need to sometimes take a back seat and let life figure itself out.”

Warren, Ohio, is where Seth grew up and he now lives in Kent, Ohio. He also spent 5 years in Cleveland. He’s a high school teacher and his career is close to being halfway over already. “Life goes fast! Throughout the year I always stash some cash away for a summer tour, I have not been on a cruise yet, but it is on my bucket list!”

Seth’s biggest hobby is his 311 media collection. “I have nearly every single piece of official 311 media the band has ever produced, even the elusive Omaha cassette tapes. I have been collecting 311 media from all over the globe since 1999-2000, I like to think I have the biggest/most complete 311 media collection in the world! I’m not sure what sparked my interest in collecting everything, but I know that it has been a guilty pleasure of mine for about 25 years.”

Fun fact about Seth? Elvis Presley is in his family tree! Something that makes him unique is that he builds arcade machines and has a full size arcade room in his basement. “I love retro arcade games, especially Mortal Kombat!” Guilty pleasure for him is the movie Encino Man. “I have probably watched it 500 times. I also am a huge Big Lebowski fan!” When not listening to 311, some other artists that Seth loves include Dirty Heads, Incubus, O.A.R., Tropidelic, and Less Than Jake.

To 311, Seth has this message: “Please let me show off my 311 media collection on ESTD4!!”

Now here are his words to all the other fans out there:

“To all the 311 fans out there, new and old, keep rocking out. The 311 community has been amazing to me and I have met some lifelong friends and made memories that I will never forget!”

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Huge thanks to Seth for sharing your story! Always my eternal gratitude to the readers each post. Hope you all have a great week friends.

Much Love – The Runt

Hello again my friends in 311 nation! Here we go with the latest edition of the fan spotlight. This week let’s learn the story of Josh Perry!

Josh remembers the first time he heard 311 like it was yesterday. “I was with my mom coming back from the mall on a hot summer afternoon listening to the radio and what I didn’t know at the time was that it was 311. It was instant love for such a unique sound.”

For show count, Joshua is unsure of the exact number but believes it’s around 60. This includes three 311 Day events, and Pow Wow. First show for him was in 2005 in Saint Louis, at the 105.7 The Point Ho Ho Show. “Alien Ant Farm opened for them.” As for favorite event, Josh said it’s probably Pow Wow. Or as a close runner up, 311 Day 2010, when he was able to sneak into soundcheck and heard “Rub-A-Dub,” “1,2,3,” and “Jackpot.”

For favorite song, Josh said “Visit” has always spoken to him consistently. “One, that guitar riff dosnt stop and I love it. Second is the simple message of exploring the the vast earth that we live on. The plants, animals, creeks, mountains and oceans. priceless moments… perhaps, Don’t stay home.”

Saint Louis, Missouri, is where Josh grew up, about a 30 minute drive from the arch. He’s a middle child with a younger sister, Olivia, and an older brother, Justin. “My mom had a big influence on me when it came to art and music. My mom always had drawings that she was working on and of course music playing. Always very encouraging of both. She went to concerts very often…oh the stories she could tell.”

Josh has worked in the food industry, retail, on a horse ranch, a wooden watch company and now he’s in manufacturing. “So I’ve seen a lot.” Something that he loves to do is laugh and make others laugh with him, even if it’s at his own expense. “My humor is something that I also get from my mom.” He also said he’s good at imitations and humorous improv.

Josh was fortunate enough to meet the love of his life through 311, Rachelle Calhoun. “She is the best thing that ever came into my life, she is my rock. Nothing is better than being able to rock out in the car and sing together to 311. Going to shows with her, doing life with her. She is what keeps me in line. She makes me a better person and I can’t image life without her! That is the power and stretch that 311 has.”

There is also a close friend that Josh made all thanks to 311 and his name is Craig Leese. “He’s a big part of my life for over 14 years. All because he came into work with a 311 shirt on.”

Fun fact about Josh, he designed a poster for the 2012 Boston 311 show. “I had entered my design into a shirt contest and management felt that it would make a better poster than shirt. They gave me the details on the event and so I just added that in. Side note, it’s the very first paid digital artwork that I had ever done or since. I had no idea what I was doing in Adobe Illustrator. For god sakes I created it in RGB format instead of CMYK, didn’t have bleeds. A lot of rookie mistakes on a paid 311 gig. smh LOL”

When Josh was growing up, he would walk the creeks of his neighborhood with his mother, who taught him about fossils and crystals. “I have one hell of a Crinoid fossil collection that is around 25Lbs. I recently bought a Mosasaur tooth and Trilobite fossil.” The movie “Jurassic Park” is one of his all time favorites. And as for T.V. shows, he said “Seinfeld” and “The Office” are his go to’s.

When not listening to 311, Josh can be found listening to Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Dirty Heads, Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid, Soja, AAF, and Jinjer, just to name a few.

To 311, Josh would like to send this message: “Thank you all for believing in yourselves! The inspiration that the music has created is fractal and will live on generationally. I know this to be true. You all have made a positive impact on the world. You all should be proud of yourselves. I’m proud of you Nick, Tim, SA, Chad and Pnut!”

Now here is his message to all the other fans out there:

“Dont take life or yourself too seriously. Have fun. get out and enjoy the world!”

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Many thanks to Josh for sharing his story with us all. As always, so much gratitude to the readers each week. Keep smiling and spreading that positivity.

Much Love – The Runt

Happy 2024 my friends out there in 311 nation! Hope you all have had a nice start to the new year. Let’s meet the first fan spotlight of 2024 – Rachelle Calhoun!

It was at the young age of 15 that Rachelle started listening to 311. She grew up with their music always playing in her home. “I am very much a 90’s alternative girl when it comes to music. Their music was unique and not like everything else on the radio, and when you listened to an entire album every song was so good, I didn’t want to skip any songs and then hearing the lyrics… it was deeper and had a real positive message. I love how the albums have grown with the band, because it has grown with me getting older as well.”

For total shows Rachelle has seen, she said she’s never been one to count, but she knows it’s a lot. She has been to four 311 Day events, two cruises, and one year she and her ex picked a show in the north, south, east & west to attend. They went to shows in Connecticut, Texas, California, and Michigan. “My first show I was 15 and I don’t remember if it was in Tulsa or Oklahoma city since I did them both that same year. I remember being blown away by the OKC show so I think it was my first. I thought wow they are incredible, the live show changed everything for me. Seeing 311 live gave me all the feels and I have loved them ever since.”

There are a few really memorable shows for Rachelle, like the one in Cincinnati where she and Parker were on the rail. Or the 311 Day show she was able to be on the rail. Her most favorite though was in Omaha, Nebraska. “Watching the show from the balcony, the songs were perfect, but afterwards going to to the Hive to see the secret show was the most incredible experience. Seeing them in such a small place, I could reach out my arm to touch Nick and the entire place jumping and singing every word. That show was everything.”

While there are many songs that mean a lot to Rachelle, the one that takes her top spot is “Simple True” and she has yet to hear it live. “I was at the 311 day they played it and I was with my boys and Josh Perry we had flown in that day from the snow in Tulsa and the boys were falling asleep so we left the show just a little early so we could get to the hotel and get the boys in bed, but leaving that little bit early made me miss my song and it has plagued me ever since. I feel like it was my only chance to see it and that just kills me.”

As for lyrics, there are also a lot that Rachelle really loves. However there are two that really stand out to her: “I’m looking out for a simple kind of true, don’t know what I am waiting for I’m holding out for a simple kind of true, at least some kind of a metaphor,” and “Do as you will, do as you wish, follow your bliss.”

Tulsa, Oklahoma, is where Rachelle grew up and has pretty much lived her whole life, with the exception of the few years she was in Norman, Oklahoma. She has a very normal family – parents are still together and she has a younger sister Katy, who she said is her complete opposite. “We are all very close and live pretty much all across the street from each other today. I was married for 12 years and had my 2 beautiful boys Jace and Canon. I am divorced for about 10 years and happy as ever.”

Rachelle decided to attend college and will be graduating from the University of Oklahoma this May, then she is going to pursue her masters degree. Her goal so far is to be a high school counselor. She loves dogs and said if she had a house she would have rescued about 5 more by now. “I have 2 Remy and Rufus, they are my babies and 10 years old.They are the most bonded pair you have ever seen.”

As for funding her 311 habit, she said it’s putting it on a credit card and letting future Rachelle figure it out! She also said that the biggest thing 311 has brought her is people. “311 day 2014 changed my life and led me into this group of people that I found to be my soul mates. I met my best friend Parker Buehler. She changed my life and even though our time together was too short, I will cherish the 6 hour phone calls and the shows we saw together. I have so many beautiful souls I have met and will always root for! If it wasn’t for 311 I wouldn’t have Josh Perry, we were just friends on Facebook and starting talking since we were both going through terrible break ups. After clicking immediately and some time he ended up picking up his life in St. Louis to come be with me in Tulsa and has been here for 2 years now. Our love for 311 started our relationship and its crazy to think we wouldn’t have met without 311. I love that when we get in get in the car our Playlist is all 311 and we sing every song together, it’s the best to be with someone who gets it, and some who is “6 foot 3 and like Mohamed Ali, floats like a butterfly and sting like poison ivy” 😉 He is definitely my very sexy brodel.”

Fun facts about Rachelle, she loves hippos and the color blue. “I have a tattoo of the Fantasia hippo on my back and would love to add more and have a whole hippo magical scene. I love that the 311 community knows I love hippos, I get tagged, have gotten gifts, and most recently shout out to Corey Coussens who made sure I had all the bioworkz hippo pins. I don’t think most people know I used to be a dancer and started dancing at the age of 2, I danced all up until I had my boys and didn’t go back to it. I still would love to and hope its not too late!”

Some talents for Rachelle, she is an amazing cook and cooks almost every night for her family. She is also really good with hair and makeup and is a master cosmetology instructor. Another fun fact – she is double jointed in her arms. “My arms always look broken, I can turn them 360 degrees its very creepy.”

Guilty pleasure? Rachelle loves watching murder documentaries with Josh or watching alien documentaries. “I am obsessed with the paranormal as well and will watch anything with that. I just got done with the white princess, the white queen, and the Spanish princess so I really enjoy period shows too. My most guilty pleasure is scrolling through instagram for vintage jewelry. I just bought a Victorian ring, that I call my ghost girl ring.”

As mentioned before, Rachelle is a 90’s alternative girl when it comes to music, but there are other artists she loves too including Dirty Heads, Foo Fighters, Tribal Seeds, Iya Terra, Slightly Stoopid, and Muse. She also said she will forever be a Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul fan “because I gotta have some 80’s in there.”

Message to 311 from Rachelle is this: “Thank you for bringing the most incredible group of people into my life with your music, please keep making new music!”

Now here are her words to all the other 311 fans out there:

“I will leave one of my favorite quotes from Gandalf (Lord of the Rings): “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” time is fleeting and make the best of your time on this earth. I believe there is always time to have your dreams come true.”

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Many thanks to Rachelle for sharing her story with all of us! As always, my eternal gratitude to each of you who continue to read these and support this little blog. Hope you all have an amazing week, sending you all positive vibes.

Much Love – The Runt

Hello again my friends in 311 nation! It’s time for the last fan spotlight of 2023 (Yes I’m taking a break for the holidays). Let’s finish up the year and meet Josh Callan!

The song “Down” was the first song that Josh ever heard when it was played on KROQ. He wasn’t a fan at first but the more he heard it, the more it grew on him. “By the time KROQ started playing All Mixed Up and Don’t Stay Home I was hooked and went and bought every album they had at the time.”

Current show count for Josh is 138. His first show was December 12th, 1999, at the Las Vegas House of Blues. “That includes all 7 cruises, every 311 Day since 04 except 06 (new job kept me from going), Pow Wow, and a couple Halloween shows (2001 & 2017). Overall I’ve been to probably like 600-700 concerts in my life, maybe one day I’ll figure out that exact count.”

Favorite show for Josh, it’s hard to narrow down because there are so many that mean a lot for different reasons. He said the most important to him is without a doubt the Red Rocks show in 2010, because that is where he met the love of his life, Kristen. There are some others that also mean a lot to him. “The first sail away show had an energy that I don’t know will ever be topped. 311 Day 04 & 14 for the length of show and setlist, and Pow Wow just for the experience of it all (and Transistor of course). Another one I enjoyed, not necessarily because it was a great show but very different one was Warped Tour 2019 in Atlantic City. It was the last year for Warped and they did a few two day events around the country. SA’s mic was out the entire set which really sucked, but at the same time ended up a great memory. Whenever it was his time to shine, half the crowd was booing the Warped sound crew, and the other half were singing what we should have been hearing SA sing. His mic never worked but by the time they closed with Down he figured it out and started sharing with Nick. On one of the switches he almost didn’t get it back to Nick on time. When everyone heard SA’s voice for the first time that day the crowd erupted. I felt bad for anyone that hadn’t seen 311 before but for me it was an interesting and in a strange way enjoyable set.”

Picking a favorite song for Josh he said would be impossible. He said “Universal Pulse” will always be important to him because when it was released in 2011 he started traveling a lot to follow 311 and meet up with friends he had made the previous year. “Stereolithic is another one because 2014 is the summer Kristen and I went Facebook official and possibly the tour that I went to the most shows on. That’s also probably my favorite album and a shame that it’s basically been ignored since the year after it came out.”

Josh said he has always been bad at learning song lyrics, but from the first time he heard the lyrics to “Speak Easy” they’ve always been special to him. “I’ve always loved being in, on, or near the ocean. Over the years a couple things have made them even more meaningful, and after Kristen’s Runt Rant last week we can add another reason why I love that song and those lyrics. Another lyric I love that I see everyday is “I’d say you hung the moon if they ask me.”

Long Island, New York, is where Josh was born but his family moved to Los Angeles, California, when he was just 2 years old. So he grew up in Burbank where all the movie & T.V. studios are. “That led to some cool encounters with actors at my school and stumbling across many different sets of things shooting in my neighborhood.” Once Kristen and Josh decided to not be long distance anymore he made the move back to Long Island. “I moved back to Long Island and have been here about 9 years now. It was the easiest and at the same time one of the hardest decisions to make…and as much as I miss my family and friends back home, it is the best decision I ever made. I work a normal 9-5 type job doing final quality control for labels for medical trials. It’s a job I enjoy (most of the time) which is always a plus.”

Fun fact about Josh is that they filmed “The Wonder Years” at his junior high school and they were occasionally used as extras. “I don’t think I ever ended up on screen but they would give us Wonder Years t-shirts for hanging around in the background. One episode I remember being a part of was when there was an anti-war protest and everyone was on a grass field singing (I believe) “Give Peace A Chance.”

Josh said that while he isn’t sure this makes him unique (some people think he’s weird) that he can have a conversation with just about any living creature. “We have built a decent size garden in our back yard and I’ll be out there thanking the bees for pollinating, the worms for helping us grow everything we plant, or just chatting with the birds and butterflies for no reason at all. I guess I can add to this that at one point my beard was more known than I was, to the point that we had pictures of it on our phones and on a stick to take pictures with. Sometimes I would get pics of people that I didn’t even know (and they probably didn’t know why they were doing it) with my beard on a stick.”

As for guilty pleasures, Josh said he has none because if he enjoys it, he doesn’t feel guilty about it. “That being said, a few things that people have (or may) give me a hard time about…I’m a big fan of Richard Marx, I love watching Boy Meets World, and still watch Beverly Hills, 90210 sometimes.”

As for other musicians that Josh is into, it’s a big list because like many 311 fans, music is a huge part of his life. “Some favorites are The Beatles, Nirvana, Tupac, Passafire, Bad Religion, The Interrupters, Less Than Jake, Social Distortion, The Police, Bad Rabbits, Rage Against the Machine…I grew up in the 90’s going to punk shows so 90’s and punk is my true music love but I like almost anything (no country), I was just listening to Dolly Parton’s rock album she just put out and loved it.”

To 311, Josh would like to send this message: “Thank you for going on so many amazing vacations with me, for leading me to so many of my closest friends, and of course, for being the reason I met my wife, Kristen Misner.”

Now here are his words to all the other 311 fans out there:

“Be excellent to each other.”

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Many thanks to Josh for sharing his story with us all! Of course, my eternal gratitude for those who read each week. Hope you all have an excellent holiday season. See you in 2024!

Much Love – The Runt

Welcome again my Excitable friends to the latest edition of the 311 Fan Spotlight! This week let’s meet the lovely Ammi Tucker!

Ammi said she will always remember the first day that she heard the sweet sounds of 311. “I was 12 and in 7th grade, still making it through the first few months after losing my mom in a car accident, and trying to find a new normal but struggling with lots of emotions. I came home after school one afternoon and popped on TRL for noise when Down came on. I stopped everything that I was doing and just watched. I’d never heard anything like that, and it immediately called to me. Just everything about it, the music, the aggression balanced with the singing, the beat and hooks. I knew I had to get their album and I went to Sam Goody as soon as I could and got it. I was hooked. Then I immediately went backwards and bought Music, Grassroots, and every bootleg (Teenie Weenie, Omaha Sessions, etc) or anything else I could find lol.”

Show count for Ammi is at 18 (she said it’s partly due to her location and not having access to as many shows). She met her husband David when she was 16 and only 2 shows in, so they’ve gotten to experience most of the shows together. “I’ve lived my whole life in northeast Arkansas, so we were frequent Memphis showgoers. Then, we had a big gap where we were busy raising kids and working all the time like young families do. Now, we’ve gotten to a better place and have started making road trips / mini vacations out of 311 concerts.”

First show for Ammi was September 9, 1997, when they played with Goldfinger at the Mud Island Amphitheater in Memphis. “I was 13 and had been listening for about a year at that time and the show was captivating for me. Being a teenager living in a very small town, it was so awesome to see other Excitables coming together to enjoy their music. Definitely happy it opened my eyes that the world was a lot bigger than my little bubble.”

As for favorite show or event, Ammi said for a long time it was a small venue tour show that she caught in 1999. “I snagged a spot on the rail at the New Daisy Theater in Memphis (where the Fan Party was in 311 day ‘06), Omaha Stylee opener, the whole show was insane.” Another great show she attended was the Chicago album shows in 2022. “Though Transistor was the tour of my first show, the energy at the Transistor night in Chicago was unforgettable. First time seeing Omaha Stylee as a closer, and it’s now my favorite way to end the show!”

However her most favorite show was her first 311 Day in 2006. “Despite only being 8 hours away, I’d never considered traveling to NOLA for the event, just thought it was something out of my reach (and budget, we were still newlyweds). Tragically, August of ‘05 was Hurricane Katrina, and once the immediate shock and emergency management subsided, it became apparent that 311 Day would have to cancel or move. Then, the stars aligned and they moved it to MEMPHIS. At that time, that was the only city I could see them in, and it was like Christmas. I called into a radio station and begged on air for tickets and won lol. So also, at that time, the 311BB was still alive and thriving, and I was somewhat active there, making signature banners and such for fellow BBers. As you all probably remember, P-Nut’s mom Joan was a mod and frequented the board as well. Well, I decided to shoot my shot and made this giant PDF of area points of interest and stuff, welcoming them to the area and offering to help in any way. I emailed it off to management and everyone’s email I could find, and about choked when I got an email back. VERY long story short, I ended up picking a crew up at the airport, helping get them around Memphis, meeting the band for the first time, and getting a peek at rehearsal. It was the absolute coolest day of my life, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.”

There are several songs that have a special place in Ammi’s heart. “Eons when facing delayed grief over my mother’s passing, and Don’t Worry when going through a cancer scare (thankfully was all clear). Don’t Dwell got in heavy rotation when choosing to let go of past pain and move forward with life. BUT the one that always has hung through it all is Jupiter. It’s such a simple song, but just a good reminder that regardless of the curveballs that come your way, always try to look on the bright side.”

One of Ammi’s favorite lyrics is “You can’t be let down if you don’t expect the world.” She also loves this line from Don’t Tread On Me: “In the shadow of those looming battleships, I love our canoe.” “To me, it always made (and still makes) me think of my husband and how no matter what happens around us, we’re in it together.”

Northeast Arkansas is where Ammi has lived all her life and she started going to concerts in Memphis with her aunts when she was very young. “I think my first was Motley Crue and Whitesnake when I was 3 years old lol.” She has a background in marketing and communications, and now works at a local community college that she loves and feels very passionate about their mission. “I’ve always tried to be a positive force wherever I am, and through faith and music have rebounded from some pretty hard knocks. Thankful for all the trials, as it made me appreciate everything in life so much more.”

As Ammi mentioned, she met her husband David when she was just 16 years old. They’ve been together ever since then. “He was my version of a high school sweetheart, and though we’ve each changed tremendously since then, we’ve continued to grow together and still enjoy each other’s company. Now we’ve got a houseful of boys, two teenagers and 1st grade twins, and are loving life :)”

Another fun fact is that they are a house of band kids! “David and I both received the John Phillip Sousa awards our senior years, and we’ve got two boys in the band now. We’re very active with the band boosters at our school and help raise money however we can to support the music program. I’m passionate about the interdisciplinary impact and value of music education, and do whatever I can to help spread the word and enable more students to pursue performance and learning.”

Guilty pleasure for Ammi she said is The Sims. ” I’m an OG player that took a long break of about 10 years but recently got back into it, and I’ve been obsessed with the new building options. I’m also really into genetic genealogy and exploring family trees and stuff.”

When not listening to 311, Ammi said her playlist is a jumbled collection of artists and genres and what she is listening to really depends on her mood, activity, or the weather. “Spotify cannot keep up with recommendations for me lol. In one area, I’ve got Sublime, Everclear, Weezer, Cake, No Doubt, Bush, The Strokes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, and lots of stuff that was on heavy rotation in the mid-late 90’s and 2000’s. Then in another corner, you’ll find George Clinton & P Funk, Booker T & The MG’s, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, Tower of Power, etc. Then you’ll find bands I’ve learned about through 311, like Goldfinger, Little Stranger, Jungle Fire, Los Stellarians, The Urge, Tropidelic, Ballyhoo, Bumpin Uglies, etc. Dig around some more and you’ll find grandson, Daft Punk, Fastball, Limp Bizkit, The Cure, Living Colour, Weird Al, KISS, and a whole menagerie of random artists. I’m a walking jukebox lol.”

For a message to 311, Ammi has these words: “Thank you guys for staying real and genuine even with your successes. You’ve all been so nice and humble every time I’ve met you, and it’s refreshing that you are all so down to earth and kind. Even at your shows, it’s evident that you’re all grateful and appreciative of those there. Also, it’s been fun “growing up” with y’all and seeing you all with families and stuff now that we’re parents, too.”

Now here is her message to all the other fans out there:

“Fellow 311 fans are some of my favorite people. Some I met decades ago, others only recently, but I love the kinship and vibe that you all bring. Thank you for showing a young girl from a little Arkansas town that she had her place with some awesome people outside the bubble. Keep staying positive!”

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Thank you so much Ammi for sharing your story with us all! Also a huge thank you to all the readers & supporters of this little blog each week. It truly brings me joy to share your stories. Hope you all have the best week possible!

Much Love – The Runt

Well hello again Excitable nation! A new week is upon us and that means time for a new 311 fan spotlight. This week let’s meet Alicia Sastamoine-Rackley!

It was the age of 16 when Alicia was celebrating her birthday with some friends, and her bestie put on “Fuck the Bullshit.” “I instantly was drawn to the energy of the song. As a teenager, I was living with my functioning alcoholic mother. I was severely depressed. I was also deep in the closet. I had zero relationship with my father (still don’t). This music was really a good way to get that anger out but also focus on the good around me. They truly saved my life listening to their music.”

Show count for Alicia is at 70. She’s been to one 311 Day (2022). Her first show was in March of 2000 in Portland, Maine, at the State Theatre. They played with Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. “Absolutely love seeing them play at that venue.”

It was too difficult to pick just one favorite show. Alicia said part of why she loves to see them live is she always ends up with a good story to share afterwards. “I have gotten a flat tire (in a different state) and had to drive home with a donut. I have been kicked out of a venue and had to repurchase a ticket to go back in. Simply for holding a beer for someone! I have been center, front row and fainted when Nick took his shirt off (psssstttt I’m gay). Ive met them just walking around town before a show! There is just always good stories involved when you see a 311 show!”

Song that means the most to Alicia is “Beautiful Disaster” because it hits home for her on a personal level. “The lyrics say it all.” She also really loves “Inside Our Home” because seeing it played live really connects with her. “They played this at 311 Day in 2022. Everything was just starting to lift and slowly return back to normal. When this song came home it was very subliminal. Everyone in that venue was moving, smiling, and cherishing the fact that we were there… finally enjoying live music. It just felt very comforting. I will never forget that moment. I straight up cried.”

As for a favorite lyric, Alicia chose words from “Born to Live:” Everything I need is right in front of me, I wanna bridge the gap & feel the unity. Yeah, everything I need is in the air I breathe. You get back what you give, and I was born to live, born to live.”

A small town in Maine is where Alicia grew up. At the age of 15 she moved in with her older brother. Once she graduated high school she went off to college. It was during this time that her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and she passed away just 6 months later. “I was pregnant 2 years later. And came out when my son was 2 ( I was 25). I got married at 30 & started a business. I turn 40 next year! As you can tell, my life was chaotic but I wouldn’t be who I am without any of that chaos. And I am forever grateful I came out of the chaos with a positive mindset. I love uplifting people around me. I love complimenting strangers. I love to give back when I can.”

Fun fact about Alicia, she is a burlesque dancer! “I lean more towards loving modern burlesque. It really is so out of my comfort zone but I find it incredibly therapeutic. My stage name is Anna Stay-sha.” She is also really great at photography and was a successful wedding photographer. “I was featured on the Today Show and Business Insider! And even won some pretty prestigious awards. So incredibly grateful for everything.”

Guilty pleasure for Alicia? It’s Phil Collins. “He is the man!” When not listening to Phil Collins or 311, she loves bands like Rage Against the Machine, Tool, State Radio, RHCP, Limp Bizkit, Beastie Boys, Sick of Sarah, Madonna, New Polics, Prodigy, Salt N Pepe, Weezer, Fugees, No Doubt, and Nirvana. “I could go on and on and on and on. Music is therapy to me.”

If allowed to say one thing to 311, Alicia would like to send this message: “Fuck the Naysayers and THANK YOU for being the weird, funky, positive, eclectic guys you are!”

Now here are her words to all her fellow 311 fans:

“Let’s keep spreading the positivity and living your most authentic life. Remember, fuck the naysayers! Thank you for being YOU!”

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Huge thank you to Alicia for sharing your story with us all! Of course, always grateful for the readers and supporters each edition of this little blog. Hope you all have an amazing week my friends!

Much Love – The Runt

Hello my friends in 311 nation! Hope you all have been well and are ready for the next fan spotlight. This week, let’s meet Adam Strachan!

For Adam, his 311 journey started with the song “Down” but it was really the song “Jack O’Lanterns Weather” that really hooked him. “It was 95, we go for the hive! The entire Blue album was such a cornucopia of styles, meshed together with catchy lyrics, that captured a wide variety of emotions. Since then, I’ve always been DOWN.”

In summer of 1996, Adam was working at Darien Lake theme park. He hasn’t been to many live shows at that young age, but when he saw 311 was going to be playing, he knew he had to be there. “Of course, they rocked my face off and afterwards I wouldn’t miss a show when they came within 100 miles of Buffalo. To this point I’ve been to 50+ shows, including 311 day twice, and 4 cruises.”

As for favorite show or event, the Soundsystem cruise is the one that he holds near and dear to his heart. “It was a Friday afternoon at precisely 3:11pm. The boat was docked at Ocho Rios. My wife and I exchanged vows in the Jamaican Jungle on one of the excursions. Fellow Excitibles witnessed our ceremony and we all celebrated afterwards to the band playing the “Sound System,” album in its entirety. Ironically they played “Friday Afternoon” and I still get goosebumps when I hear the lyrics, “going to our secret spot and no one else knows how to get there.”

As for favorite song, Adam said that their songs are fluid with his life and he finds that his “favorite bounces around like Excitables at shows.” If he had to choose just one that embodies his relationship with their music, he would pick “Inner Light Spectrum.” “When the kind consciousness, yes, comes unto you, you will know, and it won’t stop.”

Adam has always lived in the Western New York/Buffalo area. “I was raised in the sticks, on top of a hill, and we heated our home with a firewood stove. Every summer my father would task me with splitting blocks of wood, then stack wood in the early autumn. It would be no surprise that after high school I made it a point to get out of my parents house, and so I went to work.”

Adam tried many career paths and settled into working as a construction foreman for a Union glazing company. “Which means I work with glass, heights, and heavy lifting. I’m a Dad to 2 amazing children. My oldest, the boy, has now been to 3 shows with us and can pick out Nicks voice on any obscure track I play for him.”

Adam also plays music in a couple of bands local to Buffalo. “I playa da bass in, Idiots of Idealism, a grunge act that just released its first EP this year, “Stranded in Tomorrow,” streaming on all platforms. In the other band, Bighorn Sheep, I play guitar and drums. Bighorn Sheep has a 5 song EP that’s been out since 2018. It’s mostly a hobby, but we play out when we can and have even hosted our very own 3 day music festival outside the city of Buffalo.”

The local 311 family in the Buffalo area is a pretty big group and they make it a point to gather regularly. “Shout out to the WNY Excitible Crew, 😘 . 311 fans are some of my favorite people to be around. Them and Buffalo Bills fans, my mother sentenced me to life with this team. I have bled the red, white, and blue, since 88’. You will always now how to find me at a 311 show if you yell out a, “Hey Ey Ey Ey” 😉 It’s a Bills Mafia thing ha ha ha!”

Many people don’t know that Adam is a black belt martial artist. “Trained in American Kenpo Karate International (A.K.K.I.). It’s a ballistic fighting style focused on striking and self defense. I tested for my Black Belt in front of Grand Master Paul Mills in Las Vegas, NV. It was an absolute honor to meet one of Ed Parker’s (The father of American Kenpo), star pupils.”

Adam says something unique about him is that he’s a dreamer. “I always imagine grandiose scenarios with very little caution to the direction of the wind. Perhaps it isn’t a strength, but I have learned in life, that even the most trivial talents can lead to success.” He’s also been told he is a great writer. “I’ve even ghost written a story for a friend that he wasn’t too keen on writing. I don’t practice much anymore, but someday I hope to write my own book.”

When not listening to 311, there are a variety of musicians that Adam can be found tuning into. “I’m a sucker for a good lyricist. Anything that Maynard James Keenan has been a part of is in my catalog. I love Bumping Uglies (both the band and the action). 😈 My punk rock roots stem from Bad Religion, Zebrahead, and Sublime. All the 90’s grunge; Nirvana, NIN, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, Helmet, etc… The metal; Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Type O Negative, Megadeth, Korn. I could go on and on. I LOVE MUSIC and rarely am uninterested in absorbing a new album that someone suggests.”

As for words Adam would like to say to 311, he’s said it to them before and he will say it again: “Thank you for all the years of wonderful music and taking us on these incredible adventures. I am truly grateful for every moment.”

Now here is Adams message to all the other fans out there:

“To my fellow Excitibles: Keep shining like the star that you are! Half the reason I’ve continued to see 311 is because of the community. You all raise the vibration. To those I’ve touched, know that I have love for you. To those I have not, “if I ever didn’t thank you, then just let me do it now!”

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Thank you so much Adam for sharing your story with all of us! As always. my eternal gratitude to all the readers each week. Hope you all have an amazing week!

Much Love – The Runt

Well hello again my friends in 311 nation! It’s that time of the week where we meet the next fan spotlight. This week we get to learn the story of Mike Walls!

Around 1994 is when some kids, who were a couple of years old than Mike, were playing the Blue album on a boombox at camp. “I stopped dead in my tracks as I was walking by, I had to know who it was. I had never heard anything like them before and I was instantly a fan. Being a musician myself since the age of 9, the thing that has always grabbed about their sound is their ability to blend so many different types of musical styles together in such a seamless way.”

Exact number of shows Mike has attended is hazy, but he believes he is around 37-38. First show for him was in 1997 at the Jones Beach Amphitheatre in Long Island, New York. As for favorite show, he chose the Halloween show in 2017 at the Paramount in Huntington, New York. “As the Halloween shows usually are, that night was magic for many reasons. They played so much stuff off of Transistor, it was amazing. On top of that, SA’s costume that night would eventually inspire his character in the 311 comic books, so that was a cool addition to the whole experience.”

There are a few songs that really resonate with Mike, but he said the one that really hit him was “Beyond the Gray Sky.” “That song has seen me through some tough times, and now that I’m past all that it fills me with a sense of gratitude for being able to push through and keep going every time I hear it.”

As for lyrics, Mike said there are way too many for him to list. “I’m in the cover band ‘Brodels – a 311 Tribute’ (shout out to my fellow Brodels – Jacob Ruhmann, Mike Vicious, zach McConnell, and Michael A Vidal). I do Nicks parts in the band so there’s A LOT of lyrics in the mental library, makes picking tough. But, one of their more recent lines that I’ve really liked ever since I heard it the first time is from Rolling Through off Voyager. “You always know that you gotta grow, so, honestly it’s best that you know, who you are as you go rolling through” Life can make it easy to lose sight of what’s important, it’s important to remember what you stand for when things get tough and those lines speaks to that.”

Long Island, New York, is where Mike was born and raised. He lived upstate for a few years and also in Connecticut for bit. He’s been an auto technician for about 10 years at a GMC dealer. “Do you have any idea how may oil changes I had to do to pay for the cruise? It was A LOT haha. Before that I was a home theater installer for almost 10 years.”

Mike was in the 4th grade when he started singing and playing guitar. Then he picked up being a DJ in college, so music has always been a pretty big part of his life. “In fact, pretty much all of my activities since my 20’s have centered around music in some way. It’s an integral part of me. No matter whether it’s in a club or on a stage I love putting smiles on faces with music. Besides that I’m just a fun loving goofy dude that likes going to shows with my friends. If you see me out, say hi! I have a big heart that I tend to wear it on my sleeve a lot. I’ll move mountains for the people I care about. I’m trying to be the best version of myself that I can be and working on living a happy life. All we can do right? SPALYL to all the excitables out there.”

Fun fact about Mike is that he won a poetry contest when he was in high school. Something that makes him unique is that he can do some really good impressions. “My Stewie Griffin and Kermit the frog are spot on.” Guilty pleasure for him is the movie “My Cousin Vinny.” “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, if I happen across it on TV, best believe I’m dropping e everything and sitting down. My mom and I have been watching it together since I was a kid.”

As for other bands that Mike can be found listening to, he said this list is pretty long. “My music taste varies a lot. Besides guitar and singing I’ve also been a DJ for over 20 years, so I’m into a lot of different electronic stuff too. Lately I’ve been jamming Surfer Girl, Little Stranger, The Elovators, Enter Shikari, Twenty one pilots, Sleep Token, Jinjer, and then all of the DJ stuff from Europe.”

Words that Mike would like to say to 311 are these: “Thank you for being who you are and doing what you do. You have given all of us unforgettable experiences and life long friends and idk what my life would look like without this band.”

Now here are Mike’s words to all his fellow 311 fans out there:

“We don’t get much time in this life, try not to let negativity take up too much of it. its a waste of energy. With the time you have, hug the ones you love, do the things that make you happy, and go see some live music because it’ll prob make you happy lol.”

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Thank you Mike for sharing your story with us all! My eternal gratitude, as always, to the readers of this little blog. May your week be filled with good vibes my friends. Until next time.

Much Love – The Runt

Welcome again readers & friends of the 311 Fan Spotlight! Here we have edition #407. Let’s meet Ben Witsen!

Fall of 1999 is when Ben’s 311 fandom started. His older cousin Ryan introduced him to MTV and was getting him in to popular bands of the time like Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Korn, etc. “I want to say it was October as I believe it was about a month shy of my 10th birthday that I came home to watch TRL as I did after school every day, and I watched the debut for the Come Original video. I was absolutely blown away. Nothing my cousin or anyone else had showed me had the mix of sounds and the energy that I caught from hearing it. Not long after I heard the Soundsystem album and thought how cool they were. Then, as kids do, I got distracted and basically only knew them casually for the next several years.”

Flash forward to summer of 2007 and Ben saw that Matisyahu was performing that night and he asked one of his closest friends, Johnny Blaze, to go to the show on about 2 hours notice. “311 is the headline act, I tell him, pretty much as an afterthought. We go to the show and had our lives changed from that day forth. From that day on I dove head first into the music and never looked back.”

For show count, Ben checked through the tour lists and he counted 64, with some of the dates being a bit hazy. First show was in Philly in 2007, which is the one mentioned previously. “My homie Jonny and I actually got backstage at our first show because we got friendly with some Matisyahu fans who had already gone backstage a few nights previously! After our little meet and greet we went back out and watched 311 take the stage and proceed to change our lives forever.”

Picking a favorite show or event is tough for Ben. There are some up in the top level like when he did a 7 show run in about two and a half weeks last Fall. ” I drove solo to and from my current home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to Pittsburgh, Atlantic City, New Haven, Burlington, and New York. The Music and Grassroots album shows in New York and the hijinks associated with them were just tremendous.” However Ben chose the 2017 cruise to Cozumel as his top event. “The three sets were terrific as always (ALL BANGERS NO MASH!), but what makes it the most special was the immersion I had into the 311 community. After a decade of hitting shows in the Philly regional area, it was my first major event after having to bail last minute on previous cruises or 311 Days and the like. My mainest man JP Chilicki, whom has been featured here before, got me into his cabin and started introducing me to people. I have always been a very outgoing and social person, but I had never really felt like I fully belonged or felt accepted until that cruise. The love, the positivity, the joy, the laughs, all rooted in the band that we all love so much. It was just magical. While in Cozumel the homies and I rented this little mopeds and zipped up the coast with the water on one side and dense jungle on the other and it was just fucking surreal. I was in a picturesque place with an incredible group of people and would later be seeing 311 on a fucking boat. Like, what could be better?”

Favorite song, if Ben narrowed it down to one, would be “Paradise.” “Following that amazing day I had in Cozumel we got Paradise during the 311 show that night and it really just hit me. Like, this *IS* Paradise to me! A handful of years later at 311 Day 2022 I was wearing my Paradise 311 Eagles jersey (GOOOOOO BIRDS) and I heard that opening chord it and looked at my friends and tossed them my bag and shot forward. The big homie Steve Plump from San Diego hoisted me onto his shoulder and spun me around and P-Nut caught it and gave me a nod and smile and I just lost it. I was full on bawling and it felt so good! The tears are welling up as I type this reflecting on that moment, and just how fucking happy I was.”

For lyrics, Ben has two that really resonate with him. The first one is, “Embedded in our souls, it breathes out of this band.” ” I think this single line from Omaha Stylee sums up all of it for me. This band is the embodiment of the love, the positivity, and the unity that we all share.” the second one he chose is, “I got a clique but it’s more like a family.” “For real! The people I’ve met and grown to know in this community truly are like family to me. We’ve shared ups, downs, and in-betweens. I have people in my life now that I will have forever, and that I would do anything for. There’s a reason this band of ragtags and misfits is called the Familia.”

Ben was born and raised in Philadelphia and bounced around the surrounding area. It 2016, he moved to Rehoboth Beach and has been there ever since. “I’m currently a bartender at a higher end mom-and-pop owned restaurant that largely caters to our locals and other service industry workers, so they’re mostly to thank for my 311 travel habits. I’m also an exceptional poker player and that has gone a long ways into aiding my 311 addiction as well. I’ve had a few occasions where a session has paid for a 311 Day trip or cruise in full. Some of the more degen people in my family taught me how to play different variations of poker games when I was five and I’ve made sure to put it to good use.”

For something unique about Ben, he said he has a strange phobia that involves a certain red condiment. “I’d rather eat cyanide than the stuff most people put on their hamburgers and hot dogs!” Fun fact about him is that he might be the most knowledgable person on Earth when it comes to Harry Potter trivia. “It may be nerdy and silly, but I know the books inside and out, cover to cover. I’m more than down for a challenge if anyone reading thinks they can hang!”

Guilty pleasure for Ben is that he is a HUGE fan of “The Challenge” on MTV. “The recent seasons have kinda sucked, but I go on Paramount+ and watch old seasons religiously. I can’t get enough of CT, Wes, Kenny, Tina, Coral, and the gang.”

As for other bands aside from 311 that Ben can be found listening to, he’s a huge Deadhead because of his parents. “My parents met on a Grateful Dead tour and I was brought to my first show at just a few months old, so I guess it kinda explains how I became who I did! My mom took me to a dozen or so shows from infancy until Jerry died, and when I was a teenager I picked the ball up and ran with it. I’m also a huge Warren Zevon fan and have his portrait tattooed on my leg.” Other than that, he said you are missing out if you aren’t listening to Little Stranger. “I’ve been friends with John Shields since middle school (gimme my Troy bootleg DVD back dawg!), and to see he and Kevin having worked their asses off to the point they are right now is just incredible. It makes me so happy when my friends succeed, and they were the talk of the boat this past cruise! Let’s fucking go boys!!!”

To 311, Ben has this message: “Thank you, for everything.”

And now here are his words to the other 311 fans out there:

“Thank you all for being you. The bonds I’ve built in this community mean more to me than I could ever put into words. I’ve celebrated life, mourned death, and built everlasting friendships with the best people I could ever ask to have around me. I love you all. Stay positive and love your lives!”

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Thank you Ben for sharing your 311 story with us! As always, a big shout out to all the readers each week. Sending you all many good vibes. Enjoy your week!

Much Love – The Runt

Well hello there Excitable friends! It’s about time for the next 311 fan spotlight. This edition we meet Courtney White!

It was during middle school when a friend of hers started listening to 311 that she first heard their magical sounds. “I got two 311 CDs for my birthday, Live & Soundsystem (new album release) and I was hooked!”

As for show count, Courtney believes she is somewhere in the triple digits but she lost count a long time ago. “I remember one summer I went to 5 311 shows in a span of like a week and half.” First show for her was in Kansas City at the Uptown Theatre in 2000. “We hung out behind the building afterwards and got to meet Nick, Tim and SA.”

Favorite show for Courtney, there are a few. She said the secret show at The Hive in Omaha was pretty bad ass. Other than that she said it’s pretty much a tie between the first cruise and the third. ” The sail away show on Cruise 1 had this amazing feeling I’d never experienced before and #3 I had met SO many new and wonderful friends. I am a 7timer!”

There are a few songs that mean the world to Courtney and they are “Eons,” “Use of Time,” and “Large in the Margin.” “Maybe it’s because they are part of my original favorites but I get emotional every time I hear them – especially live.” For favorite lyrics, she loves the ending of Offbeat Bare Ass: “The war on drugs may be well intended but it falls fucking flat when you stop to mention the overcrowded prisons where a rapist gets paroled to make room for a dude who has sold a pound of weed to me that’s a crime – here’s to all good people doin time ya’ll.” She also loves “Every time I turn the volume down, all I hear is the deafening sound of your hearts pound” and “You’re all up in my mix like fucking Betty Crocker.”

Courtney was born, raised, and still resides in Kansas City. She grew up on the Kansas side and now lives on the Missouri side. “GO CHIEFS!!” For work, she has been selling cars for the last 14 years and she says it certainly pays for all her 311 adventures. “It’s a job that I really love.”

Courtney has two 311 tattoos that she says people either comment on because they know the band…or they ask her what 311 means! Fun fact about her is that she had a very Midwest experience – she’s been in a tornado. “Ironically, coming home from 311 day in Memphis, we had to pull over on the highway and get under a bridge to be protected from it.  Wasn’t a big one luckily but it was an experience!”

While Courtney claims she doesn’t have any special talents, she did say that she’s really good and successful at her job. “I am the product specialist car salesperson.” Guilty pleasure for her is watching reality TV shows like Are you the One?, The Challenge, Too Hot to Handle, and Below Deck. She also loves cooking competition shows.

When not listening to 311, Courtney loves the sounds of Zebrahead, Stick Figure, the Movement, and Rebelution. She also loves some old school bands like Tool, Korn, and Less Than Jake.

When asked what message she would like to send to 311, Courtney had these words: “This question always gets me bc I’m not creative in any sense and anytime I ever see one of them in person, I freeze up and never know what to say.  I was in Omaha at a hotel and some of the guys were staying there too – this was after the secret show at the Hive – and SA and I were in the elevator together and I was stunned.  He’s asked if I had fun and I simply said “I had a blast!  Did you guys have fun?”  facepalm.  But I guess I’d keep it simple – Thank you and I fucking love you guys.”

As for what she would say to her fellow 311 fans, that was easy:

“311 fans are so awesome, we really are a special group – keep livin’ & rockin’ Excitable Ones!”

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Thank you to Courtney for sharing her story! And of course my endless gratitude to all the readers each spotlight. Hope you are all well and surrounded by love & good fortune. Until next time.

Much Love – The Runt