We meet again 311 nation! Happy Monday to you all. Let’s start the week right by meeting a new excitable who hails from Illinois and has amazing hair! This week our fan spotlight is on Mr. Mario Garza!

Mario developed a love for 311 through his younger brother and they always listened to the band growing up. It wasn’t until after his first concert in 2009 that he really fell deep for them. His brother gave him the ticket shortly after he moved back home and once he saw 311 live, he was hooked! “After that first show I was addicted and wanted to do it over and over again!”

Mario’s show count is up to 21 and includes seeing them in 10 different states! He’s been lucky enough to attend two 311 day shows. Which one of the 21 is his favorite? He says it’s a toss up between 311 Day 2014 and Red Rocks 2013. “Both shows I was surrounded by amazing people. The unity at those two concerts was unreal.”

The song “Still Dreaming” is the one that holds a special place in his heart. He says it’s because a lot of his friends and family don’t really get why he travels to see 311 over and over again, something I’m sure most of us can relate to. Mario says “Still Dreaming” reminds him to keep on doing what makes him happy and not to worry about trying to get the approval of others. Naturally his favorite lyrics come from the song as well: “No I’ll not renounce my views, do what others do. I’d rather drink the hemlock than be like you, to my soul untrue. It never gets easier, so quit tryin’ pleasing her. Everything is a choice, so let me hear your voice.”

Mario hails from the state of Illinois and grew up in Danville.  His family consists of mom and dad plus 3 younger brothers, all of whom are 311 fans! Mario joined the Air Force at the age of 18 and was stationed in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He served two tours in Iraq and then was honorably discharged back in 2007. (Thank you for your service to our country Mario!) After leaving the Air Force he moved back to Danville and he works there as a painter and a bartender. He says that since returning home he tries as hard as he can to attend as many concerts and Chicago Cubs games as possible!

Mario loves jigsaw puzzles and NASCAR – both he says are his guilty pleasures! One thing that he thinks makes him unique is his amazing hair! (See photo above!)  “Anyone that has met me or is my friend on Facebook knows that I won’t shut up about it! #HairFlow.” Mario also has a love for music from other artists such as The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Rebelution, Dirty Heads, Tribal Seeds, Led Zeppelin, Jack Johnson, Incubus and Rage Against the Machine.

Mario knows that 311 and their music have impacted his life in a big way and he’d like to say to them, “Your music has changed my life in such a positive way! Keep on rockin’!”

To all of you out there in 311 nation he has this message:

“You guys changed my life and helped me expand my horizons. I made many life time friends though 311.  Love you and can’t wait for many more good times at future concerts with you all. See you this summer in Ft. Wayne, St. Louis, Chicago, Chillichote, and hopefully I can squeeze in a few more shows this summer.”

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Well excitables, that is our new fan spotlight on Mario Garza! I hope you enjoyed reading about him and his stunning hair! 🙂

Until next week, keep on dreaming and remember, summer is just around the corner! Can’t wait to be surrounded by the unifying love of 311 fans again. “311 is down for the unity!”

Much love – The Runt

 

Ladies and gentlemen of 311 nation, I welcome you back for another week of fun and delight as we meet a new excitable. Did you go on the third cruise? Did you play a treasure hunt game and find the Sasquatch at sea? If you did, then you know that this weeks 311 fan spotlight is on the one & only Matt “Sasquatch” Taylor!

Matt got into 311 twenty years ago, back in 1994 when a friend introduced him to the album Grassroots. What Matt loved most about them was how different they sounded than everything else playing at the time. He then attended his first live show in 96, and while he never kept count, he believes he has attended anywhere from 25-35 shows. Included in this count are all three cruises. “I’ve never made a 311 day, but I have been lucky enough to have been on all three cruises.” Of all the shows Matt has been to he said the first cruise takes the cake. “It was such a life changing experience. So many great times and wonderful people.

Matt is a happily married man with two kids, currently living in Washington. He says that his wife Mari and his two daughters Pepper and Colbie are his world  He was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, an only child and only grandchild. Despite being an only kid he was taught the valuable lesson that hard work pays off. He was stacking wood at the age of 6 and started working on cars at the age of 12. Matt has been working on cars professionally for 21 years and manages a mom and pop Goodyear store, where he has been for the past 14 years. He says he still enjoys it too! Matt mentioned that ever since the first cruise ended he & Mari have been saving nonstop for each consecutive cruise, taking a year to make it happen but that it’s been worth it every time.

So what’s up with his nickname being Sasquatch? Well, Matt loves tattoos – he said it’s one of his guilty pleasures. And the man has a giant tattoo of a Sasquatch on him. Here, take a look:

“On the first cruise lots of people stopped and told me how much they liked it. On the second cruise, people actually started shouting at me “Hey Sasquatch!” as I walked the boat. Before the third cruise my lovely wife decided to turn me into a treasure hunt/hide & seek type game. We plastered the boat with find the Sasquatch flyers and handed out special bracelets saying “I saw Sasquatch at sea” we took pictures with everybody who got a bracelet, gave out almost 600! Thus my moniker was cemented.” Matt said it was a blast doing it and they did it again at the Full Service Circus a few months later. He says thanks to all the fans & Familia for helping make him unique!

Something else that makes Matt stand out are his pinky fingers. Yes, you read correctly. His pinky fingers actually bend in an odd way. It’s a hereditary trait where they both bend making them look broken. Both of his girls have them too and the love it. “I told them that’s how they know I’m theirs and that they’re special.”

I mentioned before that Matt loves tattoos and he is about 70-80% covered at this point. He plans on having a full body suit at some point, but right now he is waiting to get his sleeves done out of respect for his Grandmother because she doesn’t like tattoos. “Lots of people trip on me the first time they see them because I have almost no visible tattoos with pants and a T-shirt on.”

One of Matt’s favorite songs is “Crack the Code” because it reminds him of his wife. For a brief time they had taken a break from their relationship and it was during the time that Evolver  came out. After they reconciled, they both had listened to that song and it helped them realize that they should get back together. “We had cracked each others code.”

I asked Matt to give me some favorite quotes from 311 songs and he replied, “Theres always a quote when you need one! So many different songs have just the right lyric for what you need, when you need it that it’s impossible to pick just one.”  That said, he did mention that “Lovely life, I thank you for the reason to see the pain through.”  He stated that it reminds him that even at it’s toughest, beauty can still be seen and felt everywhere in life.

When Matt isn’t listening to 311, he cranks up some Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (a band from my hometown! Nice pick.), Rebelution, and Passafire. “When I was younger it was all thrash, hard rock and heavy metal. Now that I’m older it’s mostly reggae and similar styles. Just makes me happy!”

Matt would love to say to 311 that, “It has been a joy growing and evolving with you. Keep it up for another 20 years!” I think we all agree with Matt on that note. That my friends is the man they call Sasquatch. So if you see him on cruise #4, keep an eye out for that tattoo and give him a high five when you find him! His final words to all of you are sweet, simple and to the point. They are words we all know and live by. In the words of 311 – “Stay positive and love your life!”

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Thanks for reading all about Matt Taylor everyone! Until next time, and in honor of this years Record Store Day, go spin some vinyl somewhere! Trust me, you’ll thank me for it! 🙂 Much love!

-The Runt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome back 311 nation! I hope you are all coming off an amazing weekend and ready to conquer another week! Get it started right by meeting our newest fan spotlight – Marion Novicky!

Marion first discovered the wonderfulness of 311 back in 2003 when she went to the Rolling Rock Town Fair in Pittsburgh, PA.  She saw a ton of bands that day and as she said, “They all sucked and then 311 came on and I was blown away.”  She went home, bought all the music that she could find, and has been listening to them ever since. “What I loved most was how different their music was from everything else that I was listening to at the time.”

Since then Marion has seen the band somewhere around twenty times. She isn’t sure of the exact number but she tries to see them at least once a year, although it’s usually multiple times. Her favorite event she said is hard to choose because they are all such a blast. If forced to choose, it would be the 2013 cruise, which is the first one she went on.   “I just loved how there was live music playing from every corner of the ship, pretty much 24/7. It was so much fun to go to the name that tune event and have Nick hang out and just jam out.” She also said everyone was just so friendly and having so much fun that you couldn’t help but have a great time too. She also was lucky enough to hit 311 Day this year in Nola and she got meet a ton of other fans which meant a lot to her!

Marion grew up in a Cleveland, OH suburb where she still currently dwells. She still lives at home with her mother, and even though this doesn’t make her happy, she realizes how fortunate she is for this opportunity. It allows her to save a ton of money and go where she wants, when she wants. “It allows me to follow 311 around or go to California to visit my brother and sister-in-law.”  Marion has one brother who is a year and half older than her and he lives in Orange County, CA. (He is in the photo above with her, which she said is her favorite picture!)

Not only does Marion love 311, she loves music in general and doesn’t limit herself to a set type that she’ll listen to. “I’ll listen to whatever I think sounds good. I don’t have any other artists or bands that I love as much as 311. If you look at my playlist, my top 25 songs played are 311. 90% of the time they are who I’m listening to.”

I asked Marion to tell me something that makes her unique, and she responded saying, “I know you say there has to be something but here honestly isn’t haha. I am the most boring and generic person you’d ever meet.” (I sincerely doubt this!)  She does like to read and run. Something you may not know about her though is that she is a vegan. She also said her guilty pleasure is that she “may or may not” watch The Vampire Diaries. (No shame there Marion! I watch it too!  He he.)

Marion is like many of us in 311 nation who have multiple songs that mean the world to them. When asked what song means the most to her, she replied, “I can’t pick just one song, they all mean a lot to me for different reasons.”  Marion’s answers show the lessons that 311 music has taught her. “From Chaos reminds me that people’s actions can only bother me if I let them.  Trouble reminds me that I can be my own worst enemy sometimes and life is too short to hold things in, that I need to just let them go.  Beyond the Gray Sky reminds me of some rough times I went through and how I got through them because of my family and friends.”

Some lyrics that Marion mentioned stand out to her are, “No matter what you do I don’t react, I’m a perfect example of not giving a fuck about the catty rude people that just suck.” She also loves words from the song “Get Down” – “Think I’m despised when I look through the eyes of another, not mine to discover, what the next man think is none of my fucking business.”

I asked what one thing Marion would like to say to the band and she came back with, “This kills me because I’ve met Nick a few times and I always want to tell him how much the band means to me but I clam up like a nerd.” So Nick if you are reading, here is her response:

“I would thank them because they’ve taught me to not care what people think about me and to live with a positive attitude.  Nick has said he’s positive to a fault, well I’m negative to a fault and their music reminds me to not think that way and just enjoy life and live it to the fullest and every time a negative thought comes across my mind I just turn on their music and it fades away.  I will be forever grateful for what they’ve taught me about the power of having a positive attitude.”

That my friends is Ms. Marion Novicky! I hope you enjoyed learning more about her and that one day you all get to meet her in person! The fact that she mentioned all the things 311 has taught her with their music and lyrics shows just how powerful their words affect all of us excitables. Here are Marion’s words to all of you in 311 nation:

“Thanks for all the love!  You’re all so kind and even if I’ve never met you or I’ve just met you, you always treat me like we’ve known each other for years.  It means a lot.  311 fans are the greatest.”

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That’s it for this weeks edition of the fan spotlight! I hope it brightened up your Monday a bit! Until next week, “Oh living is a journey, waking, believing, running.”

-The Runt

 

 

 

It’s that time of the week again 311 nation! This week we introduce a fan who is from good old New England – the state of Maine to be precise! I actually had to ask him his real name because I’m sure most of you, like me, only know him by the name of Clockwork! Ladies & gentlemen meet Mr. Paul Butler!

When Nick dedicates the song “Down” to all the old school fans in the house, Paul a.k.a. Clockwork is one of those fans. He graduated from high school back in 1991 and he was really into punk music. 311 infiltrated his life somewhere between 93 & 94. “I was a big fan of Fugazi and heard 311 on an older recording of a Fugazi show.”

Clockwork didn’t really keep track of how many shows he has been to, however he thinks it’s somewhere around 24, which includes the recent 311 Day in New Orleans and the third cruise back in 2013. That cruise was his first big event that he attended and he said it was purely magical because he finally got to meet a ton of other excitables. Not to mention he met Doug Benson, as you can see from his photo above!

There are a few songs that strike a personal chord with Clockwork, but he says that “Strong All Along” has a special meaning to him since last summer at the Unity Tour Boston show they dedicated it to the marathon bombing and said, “Boston strong, Strong All Along.” He also loves the song “Old Funk” because he freestyle raps and says that instrumental melodies always catch his ear.

Yes you heard me right, he loves to freestyle rap! He would love to do this as his career. “I freestyle rap A LOT and J. Randy has really inspired me a lot the last few years.”  He can also freestyle for long periods of time. How long? He once did it for three hours straight at a YouTube convention! He says he can rap on any topic and it’s always off the top of his head. I asked Clockwork what his guilty pleasure and he says he believes it is freestylin. “Even though I can go forever and rhyme really well, my delivery is sub par. I really enjoy rhyming in front of a crowd, I’m just really shy about it. So next time any excitables see me, ask me to spit some bars!”

Clockwork was born in Florida but moved to Maine at six weeks old and has lived there his whole life, minus a short stint of living in New Hampshire. He says he has a few ways that he funds his 311 addiction. The main one is he sells motorcycle riding boots ten weeks out of the year. He also works in recycling at a family owned business in Maine. Clockwork has an older sister (he says is not a 311 fan) and a younger brother (HUGE 311 fan). He is also a single dad to a beautiful 10 year old girl. He also says that music is a huge part of his everyday life. He also is told by his family and friends that he is very diplomatic. “Guess I just want everyone to get along!”

Clockwork was a huge Phish head from 1991 to 2004. He has been to over 150 Phish shows! He also loves rap, metal, jazz, and rock. Some favorite artists include Eminem, Suicidal Tendencies, Grateful Dead, Primus, Lamb of God, The Algorythm, and Deadmau5.

One thing he’d love to say to the band, well really Pnut in particular is “Thank you for the basketball tips on the cruise!” And then to the whole band, he says, “Let me freestyle on stage to you guys playing Old Funk!”

So now you know a little more about fellow excitable Clockwork! I hope you all get to see him at a show this summer. And when you do, don’t forget to ask him to freestyle for ya! I know I will!

Here is his personal message to all of you out in the 311 universe:

“To all the good people I’ve met through 311, keep being you. To all I haven’t met, hope to some day! And lastly, we’re not here for a long time…we’re here for a good time! :)”

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Hope you all enjoyed this weeks fan spotlight! If you like what you read, leave comments showing some love for Clockwork! Thank you all for reading, I truly love doing these and hope you love them too. Until next week…”Just take a moment to have a fit once and awhile!”

-The Runt