311 isn’t just a band to us in the community of fans, it’s a way of life. We live, eat, sleep and breathe everything that this band means and the positive messages that they imbed in us. When you meet a fellow fan, you can tell that they too share your passion just by talking to them for a few brief minutes. After reading his answers to my questions, I can tell Broc DeStefano and I share the same connection that all of us do – That electrifying blood coursing through our bodies making us excitables!

Broc fell in love with 311 when his older cousin, whom he has always looked up to, made him a mix tape with the song “Homebrew” on it. He was only ten at the time, but knew that this song connected with him differently than other music. “I thought it was the coolest sounding music ever.” Then the blue album came out and he says he knew “that this was for ME” and he has been a loyal fan ever since.  Broc can credit his love to his cousin, who is also still a huge 311 fan still. When the cruise rolled around, his cousin was unable to attend due to his wife being ready to give birth to their son. So Broc, being the good family member he is, took the ultrasound photo of their son and had Nick sign it because they were naming the baby John Hexum in honor of him. What a lucky little boy!

At 33 shows and counting, Broc says that his favorite event so far is the first cruise. “Nothing can ever really top the first cruise…myself and five friends scraped every penny we could to make it happen. It was incredible.” Anyone who went on that cruise has to agree that there was something magical in the air as the ship set sail. “Picture this: You’re on the top deck of a cruise [ship], the sun is setting in Miami, the boat just starts moving away from shore and 311 takes the stage. miT starts playing the opening riff to “Down” – I’ve never experienced anything so electrifying in my life. I’ll never forget it!”

Broc was born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey where he still currently resides. How does he fund his 311 addiction? By his day job as a baker! How cool of a job is that? He loves all movies by Tarantino and Scorsese, and he is really in to tattoos. As many 311 fans do, he expressed his love by putting some ink on him to represent. He currently has two 311 themed tattoos, one which is the album cover of Transistor with an alien in place of the meditating guy. How he came to get that tattoo has an interesting story attached to it. He was in a local tattoo shop with a friend who was getting inked that day. Broc walked past a room in the shop and saw a bass hanging up that had a 311 sticker on it. He started talking to the guy in the room and saw he had a huge 311 tat on his leg. They started chatting, sharing 311 stories, and as it turns out he is a really great tattoo artist! As Broc puts it, “It was fate! We chatted about some ideas and he was honored to put my 311 tattoo on me a few weeks later. This was about three years ago and this tattoo artist is someone who has become a very good friend.”

Anyone that has met the band knows how precious those moments you interact with them are. Broc was lucky enough to meet Tim backstage when they were touring with The Wailers. Tim has been Broc’s inspiration for playing guitar so as he says, “It was really great to have him talk to me and not be in a rush. He was the coolest most genuine person ever and we talked for a better part of fifteen minutes. They were the greatest fifteen minutes to date!”

Every song means something different to them personally and Broc, like many of us, know it’s hard to pick just one song that means the most to you or narrow down some of your favorite 311 lyrics. “So many songs have meant so much to me at so many different times. If pressed I would say that “Eons” has always resonated with me very deeply. The ending where Nick sings “not an even field”, that part is so beautiful.” Some of his current favorite lyrics come from the song “Plain” which are “Don’t you know the devil he’s in me, and God she is too, my Yin hates my Yang but the hell ya gonna do. I choose a rocky ass path but that’s how I like it, life’s a bowl of punch, go ahead and SPIKE it!”

Broc mostly listens to 311 but he also likes listening to heavy bands such as Chimaira, Deftones, In Flames, or Crazyfists. He also throws in some Dean Martin & Sinatra for balance. Something most people don’t know about him is that he only dances at 311 shows! “Most people who have never been to a 311 show with me think that I don’t dance, and in a way, I don’t. I refuse to dance at weddings, clubs, bars, or other concerts. It’s just not my thing and everyone knows it. But at a 311 show, I let out all the dancing that I’ve stored up! It might not be good dancing, it’s kinda like interpretive dancing to the lyrics but regardless it’s my dance and its intense!

I think it’s clear that Broc has the same passion that we all carry with us daily. That fuel that 311 provides to get us through our lives, spreading positivity as we go! Thanks Broc for sharing your personal passion for the band! We loved hearing it! I leave you all with his personal message to the 311 community:

“Throughout the years and all the shows and events, I have met some of the most wonderful people. 311 is not just a band, it’s like a religion and their followers preach positivity. I love all my brodels and slinkies! Thanks for being the awesome people on the planet.”

Thank you Broc!

One thing I truly love about the 311 fan community is how many people you can meet and not even realize you are friends with them on Facebook and Twitter. Over the summer I went to the Jones Beach show and met this guy while we were tailgating. I had to talk to him because he was wearing a Celtics jersey, and since I’m from Boston, I had to comment. It was only later on after the show that I realized we were friends on Facebook and that I followed him on Twitter! So without further ado, I introduce you to Dan Mayotte!

Dan was born in Lowell, MA and raised just across the border in the lovely state of New Hampshire. He grew up spending his summers wake boarding on Lake Winnipesaukee and winters skiing in the White Mountains. Dan was lucky enough to grow up in a family that was very close to each other. He has two brothers and a sister (who he says don’t always understand his passion for 311, but they appreciate and accept his individuality). While Dan may call New England home he has also lived in a variety of other places like Michigan, North Carolina, and Montreal. He recently moved back to New Hampshire after spending four years in Seattle working for an aeronautics company.

Dan began his love for 311 back in July 1995, when he became a “Blue Album Baby.” It was his summer before he started high school and he said it was all of his “favorite kinds of music perfectly coagulated into one.”  He then went back and found Music and Grassroots, and he says it has been “A symbiotic relationship ever since.”  Dan stopped counting the amount of shows he has been to somewhere around 21, because he said at that point the number didn’t matter to him anymore. It was more about the experiences. One of the many shows he has seen that he says holds a special place in his heart is the second indoor show on the first cruise. “It was the closest to a transcendental experience as I’ve ever had.”  Dan has been to all of the major events in the past four years, and he says each one just keeps getting better. The one that sits at the top is the most recent cruise. He says those four days carried so many different experiences because of all the people he had met previously, that it was like “a culmination of everything I’d experienced up to that point. The bar has been set pretty high.”

Being from New England, Dan is what he likes to call a “shameless Boston sports fan.”  He can usually be seen wearing a Celtics jersey (to which he’d like to shout out to Paul, his “hetero 311 life mate” who just happens to be a die-hard Lakers fan).  Dan has a ton of hobbies, such as reading, cooking, and boating. He also has a passion for crafting and says that, “One thing that truly sets me apart and folks who read this might recognize me for is my 311 clothing creations.” One of these unique creations can be seen in his picture above. Dan has learned how to make clothing where he uses electroluminescent wire to make elements of the outfit light up, strobe and illuminate with the music at shows! How cool is that? Dan says that no matter what the piece he is creating, “Each project takes my love for 311 and transfers it into something that I can wear and display out into the world.”

Every fan has a connection to 311 for one reason or another, and there is always that one song that really sparks a love within. For Dan, since he’s been listening to 311 for half of his existence like a lot of us, he said it is hard to choose one because 311 was basically the soundtrack for his teen and adult life. However, if forced to pick just one he says Strong All Along would be it, “Only because it had the most dramatic impact on my development as an individual and what shapes my own personal ethos.” His clothing creations represent things he learned from the song, such as “Let your body go, just don’t follow the letter. Do what you feel the more absurd the better.” Dan said some of the clothing items he has made are “pretty damn absurd”, but if you ask me they stand out and show his unique personality! Something fun to know about Dan – his brothers and friends call him Father McKoss because his first vanity plate said “FRMKOS” (From Chaos). He also hates mayo and chocolate. (Chocolate?? Really Dan? Alright I’ll let that one slide! He he.)

The band has clearly had an enormous impact on Dan and has shaped him into the person that he is today, and they still influence him every day. When I asked him what he would say to the band if he could say one sentence, Dan replied, “Is thank you a sentence?” He was of course joking and instead decided on this stellar sentence – “Your longevity is reaching rarified air, how long do you conceivably and realistically plan on continuing?” If any of the 311 guys happen to read this and care to share their answer, please do comment! 🙂

Not only has the band impacted Dan but the community of fans have as well. It is thanks to 311 that he has met “some of the most amazing and wonderful people and afforded me the ability to express my true character. It’s celebrating music and meeting those people that have given me the opportunity to blossom and project the core of my essence.” Dan would personally like to say thank you to the following people who have come into his life: “Paul, Sonya, Chris, Will, The Bakers, Bobby J., Cheryl, Greg C., Kristen and all the NY peeps, Tom F. and the Chi Crew, Mike & Jane, Greg & Lauren, John D., Kyle and the CO crazies, Big Keith, Jay & Jill, and all the other wonderful folks who have enriched my life in ways I may never be able to fully express.”

In tradition, I leave you with Dans personal message to the 311 community of fans:

“I find that lately a lot of people seem more concerned with being a ‘311 fan’ than being a fan of 311, especially on the internet. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Be passionate about the music and the rest will come to you. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Well said Dan! Hope everyone has enjoyed meeting Dan. I have to say, the vocabulary and way he weaved words in his answers were a joy for me to read! Thanks for participating Dan! 🙂