Hi there my excitable friends in 311 nation! Happy Monday! It’s everyones favorite time of the week when we meet a new 311 fan. Let’s read the story of Greg Gardner!

8 years old was the age that Greg first was exposed to 311 through the song “Down,” which was getting a lot of radio airplay at the time. “That was the coolest song I had ever heard in my life. 311’s sound is so unique, there is not another band like them.”  As Greg got older, the lyrics started really resonating with him and he fell in love with the band even more. “In my opinion, they created their own genre and they are the only band in it. I love that all of their music is so positive and uplifting. Even when they are referring to life’s struggles, there is always a positive that they try to convey and it has definitely helped me through all aspects of my life.”

14 is the number of live shows that Greg has reached so far. He went to one show a year when 311 would come to the D.C. area and then he finally got to fulfill a lifelong dream of attending 311 Day back in 2014. “It was at this event where I met a ton of amazing people whom I now consider to be some of my best friends.  Now that I have friends all over the U.S. with a similar passion for 311, I will traveling to 5 shows this year at venue’s I’ve never been to.”  While this event had a huge impact on Greg’s life by introducing him to his second family, he now says that his favorite event is the cruise to Jamaica. “It was like reuniting with family I hadn’t seen in a year.  I can’t put into words how much I loved the Cruise, it was not only my favorite 311 event, but maybe the single greatest time of my life.  I am ALL IN for the next one.”

Greg was born and raised in Northern Virginia and growing up constantly surrounded by music. His parents are the reason he loves so many great bands because they were big into 70’s and 80’s classic rock, which shaped his musical taste. Some of his other favorite bands include Pink Floyd, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin. Another love is sports and he says he rarely watches anything else on T.V. “I played baseball, football, and basketball growing up but baseball was always my true love. I am a diehard Washington Nationals fan and I try to go to as many games as I can. I’m also a big Green Bay Packers, Washington Capitals and Lebron James fan.”  Greg is also an alumni of West Virginia University so he is a HUGE fan of WVU football and basketball. Apart from music and sports, Greg simply loves hanging out with friends and his awesome girlfriend Sam Cabrera, who he has molded into becoming a die hard 311 fan as well. “She always enjoyed the shows but 311 Day and the cruise have got her hooked!”

The song “Made in the Shade” really had a big impact on Greg’s life. It’s because of lyrics in that song that he woke up and realized he was tired of his job and feeling like he wasn’t getting anywhere. “An opportunity presented itself that was way outside the box from what I was doing before but I took a chance and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Greg now works for a construction company as a Customer Service Manager and the company is growing rapidly. “I am extremely busy but it is exciting being a part of a company that is having so much success.  It is very rewarding to get feedback from customers and knowing not only that I could help brighten their day but really better their everyday life.” His company was even recently on The Today Show! Greg said it was the lyrics, “Bout time to give up on, the same old stuff I’m stuck on” and “I’ll be looking out the same old window, years later on a Monday thinking something would come from doing the same things” that really made him make the bold move to his new career.

You already know that Greg is really into sports, but what you don’t know is that his little league team won the Virginia state championship and advanced to the South East regional of the little league world series. “I pitched a game where we upset Florida, who was a favorite to win it all, but we lost to Alabama in the regional championship.” He’s also really good at impersonations. “My favorites are Butters and Mr. Mackey from South Park. I also do a good Harry Carey.” As with most of us, Greg isn’t immune to having a guilty pleasure. “I am a big fan of The Voice. It is really the only thing I watch on T.V. other than sports. I think it is really cool seeing people go after their dreams, and being a big fan of music, it is just awesome to watch people grow throughout the show. I also like that unlike other singing competition shows, they don’t show all the BS and only give air time to the people that deserve it.”

With the impact that 311 has had on Greg’s life, he’d like to plainly send this message:

“ Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration for me.”

To the fans, the community of awesome people:

“Thanks everyone for just kicking ass as a fan base.  There is no other band in the world with a fan base that is as loving, friendly, and passionate as we are.  To my Plurbie crew, you all already know how I feel about you.  I love you guys to death and can’t wait to party with some of y’all at the shows this summer!”

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That’s how Greg fell for 311 and now you all know more about him!! I hope you all enjoyed his tale and thank you as always for reading. You are all awesome people and I can’t wait to interview each and every one of you! Until we meet again, I leave you with one of Greg’s favorite 311 lyrics: “Life’s a bowl of punch, go ahead and spike it.”

Much love! – The Runt

Hello again and another happy Monday to all of you in the excitable 311 nation! Tis the time to read about another amazing fellow fan. This week’s spotlight takes aim at Dwayne LeBlanc!

Dwayne credits his best friend at the time for hooking him on 311. He told him about 311 Day 2002 and they decided to go. That’s where his love for them began. Since then he’s been to almost 40 shows. “I’ve got about 35 ticket stubs but I know I’m missing a few.” His favorite event so far though has hands down been the most recent cruise to Jamaica.

The song “Daisy Cutter” holds a special place in his heart, not only because it’s he and his lovely ladies song, but also because they named their daughter after it! Another favorite of his is “Tribute.”  Some of his favorite lines though come from “Hydroponic” – Everything I eat is from the Earth, right? I am what I eat, straight up Earth, right? Nothing but a walking sack of Earth, nice to meet you, how do ya do? Guess what? Ya you’re one too.”

Born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, Dwayne grew up right outside New Orleans. He’s a southern boy who works hard doing plumbing work for his family’s company, which he’s been doing since the age of 17. He loves his job and that it funds his 311 addiction. “I just simply save up everything I can months before a big show, or I just jump on something and spend all my money and hear it from the wife later lol.”

Dwayne said his number one love really is his family which includes his beautiful wife and three awesome children. Outside of that his other love is music. “I love to play my bass when I get the time.” He said that playing music is one of his talents and he has a great ear for it. He also said his life really revolves around music! Some of his other favorite artists are RDGLDGRN, Soja, Tribal Seeds, Rebelution, and anything from the Marley family. He’s big into Reggae but also enjoys other genres ranging from Grateful Dead to Van Halen. Incubus, Deftones, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and the whole Taylor Gang, plus Lupe Fiasco are just some others he’s into to name a few.

Guilty pleasure for Dwayne comes in the form of comic books. “I’m still a comic book nerd and I also still watch more cartoons than my kids hahaha. I’m just a big kid so they say!”

His message to 311 is simple and sums up his gratitude for them well: “Thank you for everything y’all do for us crazy excitables!”

To all the fans that make up this amazing community of positivity:

“I just wanna thank all the excitables I’ve gotten to meet over the years. I’m so happy and blessed to be a part of this movement. Y’all are truly the greatest people on this Earth. Keep doing y’alls thang, I love every single one of y’all!”

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Thanks for reading the story of Dwayne LeBlanc! I hope you all enjoyed meeting another fellow fan. As you all know by now, you keep reading, and I will keep writing! Now go enjoy your day and pass on that positive vibe to those you see today.

Much love! – The Runt

Happy Monday excitable nation!! Another week is here and it’s time to meet another awesome fellow fan! Let’s not delay – here is the story of Jordan Ouzounian!

Ninth grade year was the time and it was friend Britton Williams who introduced Jordan to the wonderfulness of 311. “The first album I listened to was Grassroots and that got me going.” Then in 2007 he went to his first show in Salt Lake City on 8/6. He’s been hooked since!

The Salt Lake City show on May 8th this year was number 11 for Jordan. Of the shows he’s seen he said that his favorite has been 311 Day 2014, which he attended with Britton and his cousin Artin. “That was a trip to never forget. From the get go that shit was the most random yet fucking awesome 36 hours of my life!”

While every song of theirs is unique and means something in one way or another to Jordan, he said it’s the songs that drew his family in that mean the most. “For example, June 30, 2008 the band played “Champagne” in SLC, which is my moms favorite jam. I earlier had gone on the BB and requested that song. Come to find out SLC was the only time they played it during the summer tour! That was a pretty cool coincidence or not.” Jordan also said one major reason he convinced his cousin Artin to go to 311 Day was because he would hear his favorite song, “Beyond the Gray Sky”, live. Jordan’s favorite quote comes from “Brodels” – “I cannot think of a better way that we could celebrate freedom than to think of a set of goals and cold beat ‘em!”

Jordan is the youngest of five siblings and has called Salt Lake City, Utah his home all his life. “One thing I love about where I live is the access to the Wasatch and Uinta mountains. I fly fish and hunt so this is really a perfect place for me to be located.” To fund his 311 addiction he waits tables at a large scale restaurant. He also resells items on eBay as well.

An interesting fact about Jordan is that he is legally blind in his left eye! But he says that doesn’t stop him from being talented in the kitchen. And his guilty pleasure? “Nothing can clear my head quite like a day on the river. Although I don’t feel guilty about it :).”

Other music Jordan is into is metal and bands like Pantera or Lamb of God. Although he  said, “Honestly who am I kidding, 311 is 95% of my music intake!”

His message to the guys is a simple one: “Thank you for all you do!”

To all the awesome fans out there his message is this:

“To all of you I have met and have yet to meet, I wouldn’t change a minute! Shout out to the 801 Familia and Cody and Cori Robinson for being all that you are!”

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That friends is Jordan! One more amazing person in this sea of positive vibe merchants. Thank you as always for reading and for being the awesome people you are. Until next time keep on spreading the love!

Much love – The Runt