Good day 311 excitable nation! Here we meet again for the next fan spotlight. Are you ready for it? Let’s meet Christy Krasowski!

“Down” and “All Mixed Up” were the first songs that Christy heard from 311. They were played on her local alternative station in the summer of 1996, when she was working at her first summer job. “I was instantly drawn to their blend of reggae and rock, their harmonies, and I especially liked the way Chad’s drums sounded on those songs.” The following year in school choir, she met her best friend Laura, who also happened to be a huge 311 fan. “She would always have 311 tapes playing when she would drive me to different choir events.  This was when I first heard “Music,” and the entire “Blue” album.”

Christy has kept a running list of shows she attended and this summers Unity Tour show in Chicago was her 28th. She’s attended three 311 Day events. As far as favorite of the 28, she narrowed it down to four of the most memorable ones. The first is from 2001 at the Mean Fiddler in London. “This was the smallest venue that I’ve ever seen 311 perform in.  It was their first headlining tour in Europe, and I was able to sneak all the way up to the rail for the first time!  I caught one of miT’s guitar picks and snagged the setlist after the show.  It was also the first time I ever met any of the band members–I still have that autographed set list in my bin of special keepsakes.” Second show is 311 Day in Memphis 2006, because it was her first 311 Day. She and her two best friends hit the road together for it. “It was so awesome coming together in one place with SO MANY other 311 fans.”

Third show was July 12, 2015 in Milwaukee where the audience was gifted with hearing Grassroots in its entirety. Finally number four was this years 311 Day in Nola. “ My two best girlfriends and I reprised our first 311 Day, ten years later, this time in New Orleans!  Besides the fact that New Orleans is an amazing party town, and being surrounded by 311 familia everywhere we went, the two shows were so memorable.  I loved the fan montage and gospel choir the first night (another weeping moment), and Chad’s drum solo into, “Hey Jude” the second night was stellar!”

The song “Beyond the Grey Sky” is one that has spoken to her the most as she’s grown. While not her favorite song, that would either be “Stealing Happy Hours” or “My Stoney Baby,” the lyrics in BTGS have carried her through some dark times. “When 311 performed that song at 311 Day in Memphis, I was moved to tears.  Listening to it that day opened my soul, as cheesy as that might sound.” Favorite lyric comes from “My Stoney Baby” – “The fish that keeps on swimming, is the first to chill upstream.”

Born in Spain, Christy lived there until she was 5. Then she moved to and grew up in Dundee, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She’s pretty much lived in Dundee all of her life, with the exception of attending college in Bloomington/Normal, a semester spent in Canterbury, England, and four years spent in Chicago. She and her husband of 9 years Matt bought her grandparents home five years ago and their kids are the fifth generation of family to grow up in that house! Christy has a degree in photography from Illinois State. “Aside from taking really nice photos of my kids, I never put that degree to much use.” Instead she spent six years as a Human Resources professional and is now a stay at home mom to her two kids, Will who is 7 and Tilly who is 2.  She also is a bartender at a local private club a few nights a week to fund her 311 habit. When not spending time with her family or bar tending, she loves seeing live music, cooking, traveling and “drinking copious amounts of craft beer.”

Some other bands Christy loves are classic rock acts like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, and The Dead. However she also is really into folky music like the Old Crow Medicine Show, The Head and the Heart, and the Lumineers. Then there is her emo streak, which includes bands such as Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, and a hometown favorite called The Smoking Popes. She also lately has been getting into jazz with artists like Trombone Shorty, Charlie Parker and Stan Getz.

Something unique about Christy – she grew up speaking three languages: English, Spanish, and Danish. “Sadly the only language I’m still fluent in is English.” Hidden talent of hers is that she brews beer and that she also took belly dancing classes for a few years. “I was pretty good at that.” Guilty pleasure is watching the movie “Austin Powers.” “I can’t even imagine how many times I’ve watched that movie. I’m obsessed with the 1960’s Brit pop culture and fashion, so when the movie came out, I was an instant fan!”

To 311 Christy’s message is this: “Thank you for providing the soundtrack to my life.”

To the other fantastic 311 fans:

“I spent many years as a 311 fan before becoming familiar with the 311 Familia.  What a generous, unique and truly awesome group of people you all are.  I love that I can go to 311 concerts and feel safe and well taken care of–there’s always such a positive feeling radiating before and after 311 shows–a sense of belonging and unity.  I just can’t get enough!”

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There you have the story of Christy Krasowski! Thanks as always for reading and being the amazing fan community that you are. Now go…be awesome…spread the love & unity!

Much love – The Runt

Hello again my excitable friends! Welcome to a new week and a new fan spotlight. Let’s read all about the fabulous Katie Lay!

It was Katie’s older brother who introduced her to the magic of 311. He listened to them and gradually Katie started listening to them on her own. “I loved the sound, the lyrics, the attitude.”

Katie didn’t start keeping count of the shows she went to until 2006. Since that year she’s been to 42 shows, the latest 4 being the two SLC shows and then Red, White, and Boom, Las Vegas 2016. “I might have 1 or 2 more Unity Tour pre-2006 but I’m not sure.”  Favorite show is a tie between the secret show at the Hive after the 25th anniversary show last year, and then the beach show on cruise two.

Picking a song that means the most to her was impossible and she said she couldn’t choose. “I find myself reaching for different songs all the time. Currently I’m particularly digging on Sever.” Some of Katie’s favorite lyrics are: “Don’t you know that The Devil, he’s in me, and God, she is too,” and “I wanna do what’s right, be kind to every single body, open up to light, just let it flow through my body.”

Katie grew up and still lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also lived in Austin, Texas for about 6 months after college. She is currently the Director of a youth music program which she said is her passion. She also works for a tutoring center/online high school as a Content Manager and Curriculum Coordinator. “I LOVE music – I also work part-time for a concert series in Park City, Utah.” Some other bands Katie listens to are Orgone, Bob Schneider, The Mother Hips, Less Than Jake, Pepper, Ballyhoo!, Dirty Heads, RDGLDGRN, Bill Laurence, Los Stellarians, Beats Antique, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Pendulum.

Aside from music, Katie also loves to travel! She’s been to 46 of the United States and 19 countries, including Cuba twice! “My current 311 goal is to try to see them in a new state every year. I’ve been on all 4 cruises, and will go on #5.”

Did I mention Katie loves music? Not just listening to it, but performing it as well. “I sing and play the saxophone!” She mentioned that most people don’t know that and it’s something that makes her unique. She’s also really proud of the music program that she runs. “It’s a premiere youth handbell (yes, handbell) choir that tours the States every year. It sounds super nerdy but is actually really impressive. It’s way more awesome than that episode of the New Girl, if that’s your basis of reference. This summer we played 13 concerts in 11 states in 16 days and traveled more than 6,000 miles.”

Katie had a great answer for what her guilty pleasure is: “I dislike the concept of guilty pleasures. If you like it, you like it! Who gives a damn what anyone else thinks.”

Her message to 311 is a simple one: “THANK YOU!!”

Now to all the other fabulous fans:

“Be kind to each other. We’re so lucky to have this built in network of friends who love the same thing we do. Take advantage of it!”

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That’s the story of Katie my friends! Thank you Katie for being a part of this and thank you to all that keep reading! Its truly an honor to share all your stories. Until next week – keep being awesome!

Much love – The Runt

Hello again excitable 311 nation! The 2016 Unity Tour is in full swing and I hope you are all enjoying it so far or anticipating your upcoming show. Let’s take the time to read about the new fan spotlight, Sydney Novik!

2010 was the year and Sydney was in college at the time. She decided to go see 311 in Atlanta with a group of friends. “I was 19 and had only heard of the band at that time – kinda late but it didn’t take long to become a serious fan.” Since then she’s been to every Atlanta show and also traveled around to see them. What she really loves is the bond between the fans and it’s online presence. “I’m somewhat introverted but it feels great to be a part of it.”

Since 2010 Sydney has attended 14 shows, with shows 15 & 16 coming up this summer in Atlanta. “Add the cruise in 2017 and that’ll potentially be another three sets!” So far her favorite event was the cruise in 2015, but the 2014 Tabernacle Thursday night concert is one of her all time favorite shows. “I had just temporarily relocated to Kentucky and drove six hours back to Atlanta just to see them, blasting the discography from oldest to newest all the way down. (By the way, it takes from Music to mid-Evolver from Lexington to Atlanta y’all). I went on my own and met so many new friends in line and was lucky enough to get a rail spot. The band was also airing their performance live on Yahoo, and I managed to get on camera. I remember getting a text from my best friend in New Jersey saying “Omg I saw you!”. It was pure bliss to be that close to a band that’s been killing it for the past twenty-five years.”

Song that means the most to Sydney is “Unity.” She had the whole discography from 311 but had never listened to it all the way through until a long road trip. “Unity came on shuffle. I rocked out the four hour trip to Music on repeat after that. It’s probably one of my favorite albums now. It was the song that made me fall in love with their music.” Another favorite is “Off Beat Bare Ass” because she said it’s fun to rap to. “I’m pretty sure I know the lyrics top to bottom.”

Born in Staten Island, Sydney lived in New Jersey until she was 9 and relocated with her family to Atlanta. She’s pretty much lived there ever since. It took playing every sport under the sun for her to find her talent in swimming. She also found a talent in playing the drums. She used to work in the fitness industry selling gym memberships but later transitioned into the construction industry. “I’m also an avid weightlifter and an aspiring fitness competitor!”

Her musical likes change (besides 311 obviously), so she is currently listening to a lot of Rage Against the Machine, Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Incubus. While she talks all the time about playing drums, she actually grew up playing clarinet! “And was kinda good at it, lol. I did pretty well in high school, sat first chair for a few semesters in a competitive wind symphony. I tried to continue in college but had way more fun playing drums, so I gave it up completely.”

Unique attribute for Sydney? “I can burp like a dude and on command. Always do it for fun or to be obnoxious. My teacher even commented about my etiquette in my yearbook once. Haven’t changed! Haha.” She also said that thanks to her career she has an abundance of knowledge about cell towers. “How to build them, decommission, test and read results, identify structure, carrier, radio-frequency, etc. It’s almost frustrating that it’s hard to talk about what I do for work around my friends.” Guilty pleasure? “I’ve been watching episodes of House back to bak for the past month. Dude is hilarious.”

To 311, Sydney would like to say:

“Thank you for creating this musical community and giving me something to be a part of. Your message of positivity is so appreciated, especially during this time.”

To all the fans out there her message is short and sweet:

“See you on the boat! :)”

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Now you’ve all met Sydney! Thank you all for taking the time to read the fan spotlights. It’s amazing how wonderful you all are and I love sharing your stories! Until next time, go out and be awesome!

Much love – The Runt

Happy Independence Day Excitable nation! Some of you are in Vegas…some are not…but no matter where you are let’s take the time to meet yet another awesome 311 fan. Here’s the story of Jason Beaudoin!

Let’s travel back to when Jason was in the Navy. A friend of his had Grassroots on cassette. “LOL I know I’m old.” From the intro of “Homebrew” Jason was hooked on their rap, rock, funk sound. “I listened to the whole thing over and over, that was in 1994.  1995 when they released the blue album and I saw them at a small club, the energy was incredible, and the rest is history.”

As for how many shows Jason has seen since that small club show, he is at exactly 40 currently. Favorite of the 40 is the first 311 Day he attended back in 2010 in Vegas. “I always wanted the ultimate fan experience and i got it.” There was also last years Cincinnati when he had broken his hands. Chad’s mom Linda got word of this and hooked Jason up with VIP and backstage passes so he wouldn’t have to be in the crowd!

When asked what song means the most, Jason said it’s like picking your favorite child. However he did narrow it down to “Livin’ and Rockin’.” His reason? “Cause ‘Cant nobody do it like 311’!” Some of his favorite lyrics are: “Stay positive and love your life” and “We make a sick tight connection when we see our true people on tour.”

Jason grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, just 20 miles north of Cincinnati. He was in the Navy for 4 years in Norfolk, Virginia which enabled him to see a lot of the world. He now funds his 311 habit working a factory job and trying to get as much overtime as he can. He also runs a DJ service on the side. So far he’s attended three 311 Day events but no cruises. “That’s a bucket list item for me so I have to do one.”

First love in the musical world for Jason was KISS. “I loved the make up and the music.”  First concert for him was Run D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys, which made him fall in love with hip hop, but he still also loved big hair metal. Lately he’s really digging the band 21 Pilots.

Meditation is something Jason is really in to and he said he isn’t your typical 40 something year old. “I still love rap music and dancing. I have been taking my 19 year old son to shows since he was 11.” Jason and his son both love 311 and it’s a special bond that they share. Guilty pleasure for him is golf!

To 311, Jason would like to say:

“Thank you for the positive message you send to us fans and I hope you guys continue for 26 more years with the same 5 guys!”

Now to all the awesome 311 fans:

“Through following this band for over 20 years, I can go to a show anywhere and feel at home. I have made bonds with people all over the world that can never be broken! I hope we can continue this livin’ and rockin’ forever.”

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That’s Jason’s story friends! Thank you all for taking time to read about how he developed his love for 311. Now go get your red, white & boom on! Happy 4th!

Much love! – The Runt