Hi again my excitable friends! New week means new fan spotlight. Time to read the story of Siera Hehner! 

Siera’s love for 311 starts in a familial way. “Well once upon a time my Aunt Helen called and told us that Dougie was joining a band called 311 …so I was instantly hooked .. I dumped my New Kids on the Block for them haha.” 

Show tally for Siera is at 7 she believes because she wasn’t allowed to go to shows until she was 18, so her first event was in 2004. Favorite shows are the hometown shows, especially since she can watch from the side of the stage, but she also loved the Red Rocks show because she was with all her peeps. Siera even had to sell two cars to fund that trip so you know it meant a lot to her!

“Prisoner” is the song that means the most to Siera. “I feel like that song was made for me…it just gets me.” Siera said when she’s sad that song is always there to save her and then when she’s not sad, it’s just still a great song that she loves. Some of her favorite lyrics include, “My heart was the target it found your arrow baby you know I want to be your straight and narrow,” “Aunt Mary summertime backyard picnic, did you drink my beer Doug yea I did it, don’t tell me to me to bring ya beer if ya think I won’t sip it,” and “The monologue of a sing a long las banderas de San Juan, piden pan, no les dan.” Those last lyrics are from the song “Nix Hex” and Siera said it’s part of an old folk song that her great grandma Martinez used to sing to the grandkids. She listed quite a few more song lyrics and said she could really just go on and on listing them. “Let’s just put it this way, every single song has great lyrics… you might randomly hear me say a line from a song if it applies to a certain situation lol.”

Siera was born in Kearney, Nebraska and raised in Gibbon. Her grandfather and Doug a.k.a. SA’s mom are brother and sister and then her grandmother and Doug’s dad are siblings. “I was pretty much the only hardcore 311 fan in my town lol. I was the only little kid with 311 t-shirts in my school and had to ask if it was ok to wear them due to the KKK rumors.” Siera said she’s also not shy about telling people about her love for 311, and it’s not just because she is related to SA, but because they are really her favorite band in all the land. “When I was little I looked up to Dougie cause it was so cool my own cousin made it big. To come from Nebraska and then get to VISIT THE WORLD is so freaking sweet. So when you hear me mention anything, its not me name dropping or anything like that, its my love for my cousin and the guys, their music, and all my 311 FAM I get so geeked out and excited I could burst so I have to let peeps know stuff whatever it may be lol. And fuck the naysayers cause they don’t mean a thing lol.”

Siera said she had a pretty messed up childhood but always looked forward to her weekends with grandma and grandpa. It was grandma who gave her a love for music and cooking, then grandpa was responsible for her love of film, photography and the arts. “Both made me the person I am today. Those two and 311 helped me get through my childhood and teenage years.” Siera suffers from anxiety, depression, PTSD, autoimmune liver disease, hypothyroidism, asthma and diabetes, so her family and 311 really help keep her strong. She just finished counseling for stuff that occurred during her childhood with is helping with her PTSD. While she doesn’t think she’s fully cured, she said she is still here fighting everyday. “I enjoy see others happy and making them smile and laugh so I’m kinda silly. My grandma always says I’m just like great grandma Martinez cause I’m patient and kind and put up with a lot . I love my FAM more than they’ll ever know, same goes for my friends.” Siera also tries to help others, including strangers, whenever possible. “Sometimes I kinda feel like I was dealt a shitty hand due to my past and my health but then I look at the ones I love and it brings a smile to my face gotta take the good with the bad.”

Talent for Siera comes in the form of art. “I love to paint, make stuff, be creative, anything artsy.” Guilty pleasure is reality T.V. Something you may not know is she is Mexican and Irish, with a German last name!”My grandpa was a clinch but was adopted into the Hehner family. My grandma was a Martinez who obviously married my grandpa to become a Hehner, and no dad for me so that’s how I got the Hehner last name.” As far as other music she listens to, she’ll pretty much listen to anything that makes her feel good including Mexican music, Reggae, Pop, Hip Hop, Classical and Oldies. 

To the band that has helped her through some tough times and good times she’d like to just say – “Thank you!”

To all the other fans:

“To those of you who haven’t left my side, I love you and I thank you for your friendship! Means you’re a real friend and I appreciate you. XO.”

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And there you have the story of Siera Hehner! Gotta love the family stories. Thank you Siera for sharing your personal journey of your love for 311. And thank you to all of those reading every week. Now go be awesome, do good things, and spread that positivity and love! 

Much love – The Runt

Hey there 311 fans! Welcome back to another edition of the fan spotlight! Let us start this week off in the best way possible, it’s time to meet Brentton Parham. 

Word of mouth is how Brentton stumbled upon 311. He was walking to his car after school one day when he heard his buddy blasting the song “Silver” from his Jeep. His buddy yelled, “Hey come listen to this sh*t!” with a huge grin. “The rest they say is history! I am extremely grateful that day occurred and that I was introduced to such an amazing journey that is more than just a band. Posi+ive vibes which this world needs.” The sound is what hooked him. He said there is nothing in this world like it. “Just pull up Soundsystem and listen to to ‘Livin’ & Rockin’” – Nuff said.”

Number of shows Brentton has seen? He’s never really been one to keep track. Ballpark number is in the neighborhood of 40 or so. “It’s a great ‘return on investment’ I think. I know others that are well North of that though. Hats off to those fellow Excitables.” He’s followed 311 around the southeast quite a bit back in 2000. His first show was back on 2/3/96 at The International Ballroom in Atlanta. “Pharcyde and Cypress Hill played that night as well. EPIC night.” Favorite event (or events really) and any 311 Day. “Fans coming from all over the World, together to celebrate Unity. Lots of good people getting together to build each other up, celebrate life and many good memories are made. The show the guys put on is amazing. Name me another band in the entertainment business / industry that plays either a one day 6 + hour show or two 3 + hour shows?? I’ll wait…..lol  Hopefully, they (311) can continue to host the event in NOLA. Great place for it. Great vibe down there.”

Favorite song was narrowed down to “The Continuous Life.” “Hearing S.A. singing/rapping about an out of body experience is just fascinating to me. Very deep song. The afterlife interests me greatly.” Favorite lyrics? “Life’s a bowl of punch, go ahead and spike it!”

Brentton was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina but moved to Georgia after his 5th birthday, where he has been ever since. He’s a diehard Clemson Tigers football fan, as well as a lover of music and animals. “I wish I could save them all.”  He works hard to fund his 311 habit. “Work hard / play hard so when 311 hits the stage it makes it that much more enjoyable. I think 311 is kind of like a release for folks to turn off any negative vibes or to go see them live, and just for a few hours actually live again, release and forget any negativity in his/ her own lives.” Brentton said there were many times where 311 helped him out of a dark place over the last couple of decades. When he wrote this he was counting down the days to the shows at The Tabernacle. “No cares, no worries, except for hearing that 311 sound pulse throughout my body when P-Nut slaps that 1st bass string.”

Something most people don’t know is that Brentton has very nice penmanship! Or so he’s told. Also, the “Transistor Intro” is the alarm on his phone. Something unique about him? He does impressions of celebs and public figures well. “Rodney Dangerfield, Obama, Bill Clinton, Don Pardo, and some others. Robin Williams had a huge impact on me. RIP.” Guilty pleasure? “My car. Car enthusiast. Lots of horsepower. These are a few of my favorite things.”

Other bands he loves include Van Halen,Incubus, Avenged Sevenfold, One Day As A Lion, RATM, Aerosmith, Marshall Tucker Band, Gregg Allman, George Thorogood, Nonpoint, Prince, RDGLDGRN, James Brown, J.J. Jackson, Mel and Tim, G N’R, Rebelution, Full Service, King Harvest, Bill Withers, and the Deftones. “I could go on and on. Always in my car so SIRIUSxm gives me many options. Very eclectic.” 

To the band, Brentton has one question: “Can I play Chad’s kit to ‘Down’ with you guys?  God, that would be epic!”

Now to all the other great fans out there:

“Rock On beautiful people! P.L.U.R. to you ALL out there in ‘311 Nation’.  You are GOOD enough! Keep fighting! Love your neighbor(s)! Better days are ahead! 

Cant NOBODY do it like 311, Fuc*in’ up competition ’cause their really is NONE!”

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That’s Brentton’s story and he’s sticking to it! Thanks for participating Brentton and thank all of you wonderful people for reading! Until we meet again, go and be awesome, spread the positivity to all! 

Much love – The Runt

Hello again my friends out in the 311 fan universe! Tis the time…the time for our next fan spotlight. Take a break and read all about the lovely Kady Jaymes!

What got Kady into 311? Truth is she really doesn’t remember exactly what it was. “The first real memory I have is the last day of 6^th grade (so roughly 1995-1996), coming home to pack for a family vacation to my grandparents’ house in Iowa and I put on the blue album real loud while I packed.”

Kady also hasn’t kept track of the number of shows she’s attended. She’d like to know, but it would take a long time to sift through the archives of shows to figure it out. She guessed she’s at a minimum of 50 at this point. Favorite event? She knows that and there are two that come to mind for her. Top spot goes to the 25th anniversary show last year at Sokol Auditorium. “Being from Omaha and living here all my life, I have always felt an incredible sense of pride for not only my city/state, but for the boys having “Grassroots” here. Seeing the band play in the same venue as their very first show (opening for Fugazi) and also the same venue I am pretty sure I saw them in for the first time. Not only that, but now surrounded with friends I have met from all over the country because of this band. It was almost indescribable. I stood towards the back by the soundboard and I found myself a couple times just looking around and taking the whole experience in.”

Second show that stood out to her was the sail away show on the cruise in 2013. “It was MY first cruise and the excitement was almost too much, but in the best way possible. I can barely put into words how happy I was to be on that ship with 3000+ excitables with our favorite band and so many other amazing artists. Not to mention I managed to make it pretty close to the stage.It was MY first cruise and the excitement was almost too much, but in the best way possible. I can barely put into words how happy I was to be on that ship with 3000+ excitables with our favorite band and so many other amazing artists. Not to mention I managed to make it pretty close to the stage.”

Favorite song – can you guess it? It goes to “Omaha Stylee.” “It’s almost hard to fight back (happy) tears when I hear it live or get a concert call from a friend who is hearing it live.” Favorite lyrics was a difficult question for her to answer because there are so many great ones that stand out and have impacted her over the years. While she said all the lyrics to her favorite song are of course in there, some others are: “If there’s a shadow in your life, then there’s sunshine,” “This one is dedicated to the excitable ones,” “My heart sings when I think of you,” and “You gotta keep on climbing the hill, cuz if you think you’ll make it you will.”

You all know where Kady was born and raised (Omaha for those not paying attention hehe). She graduated high school in 2003 and went on to attend Iowa Western Community College where she earned an associates degree in radio broadcasting. “College was such a fun time and I was fortunate enough to work with one of the largest radio stations in Omaha and surrounding cities. This included working shows that our radio station either put on or sponsored, including a couple 311 shows! One show specifically, our radio general manager let us go through the 311 meet and greet line AND gave me a backstage pass so I got to watch 311 from side stage! miT’s side to be exact 🙂 It was an awesome learning experience and really fun to work in radio for a few years!”

Once Kady graduated she didn’t really know what to do with her life, so in 2007 she applied for job at the hotel company where her mom worked, and she’s been there ever since. “I started as a reservations agent taking phone calls, booking reservations for our hotels and have moved my way up to being the Online “Subject Matter Expert” for our social media team (Facebook, Twitter, online reviews, etc).” Kady pretty much enjoys her job but she doesn’t feel she’s found her passion yet. She’s recently gotten into cooking and is thinking about going back to school for a culinary degree. “I still consider my life somewhat of an open book.”

Interesting facts you may not know about Kady: She’s never seen ANY of the Star Wars movies nor has she read or watched any of the Harry Potter series. Something she does love though? “I love to laugh and I love to make other people laugh. There is not much better than laughing so hard you have tears in your eyes and your cheeks and stomach hurt!” Guilty pleasure isn’t really an issue for Kady because she is proud of everything she does! But if she had to pick something, it’d be that she’s a junkie for reality shows. “I’ll totally watch the Kardashians, Bachelor/Bachelorette and other similar shows.”

Other musicians Kady loves? “I am a HUUUUGE Lady Gaga fan 🙂 LOVE HER!” While she said it sounds cliché she really loves a wide range of music. “I love everything from oldies, to some jazz, heavy metal, country, top 40, etc. I am also the biggest fan of 90’s music, specifically alternative, rock and pop. So many great bands, artists, songs and albums from that time!” Some other bands she finds herself listening to a lot are: Volbeat, 2 Skinnee J’s, The Urge, Melodime, Garth Brooks, Cute is What We Aim For, The Cab, The Maine, and 30 Seconds to Mars.

Kady’s message to the band is:

“This band and the fans have opened the doors to so many amazing adventures that I can’t say “Thank You” enough. Because of this band, I have met so many incredible people that I now consider family because friends just doesn’t cut it. I know we as fans allow them to do what they do, but them staying true to who they are as a band and as humans I feel has also had a huge impact on them staying happy enough to keep going. I know a lot of bands/artists are great to their fans, but 311 truly thinks about new and exciting ways to “feed us” and engage with us. I can’t wait for the future and to continue to grow with these guys.”

Now to all the other fans/friends/family of 311:

“Let’s keep our positive, generous, caring, fun, funny, dysfunctional (in a good way), silly relationships going. I am never surprised when I hear about the kind acts this family does throughout the year. Be it setting up GoFundMe accounts for someone going through a tough time, donating money or time or posters/merch, rallying encouraging messages for someone who might be having a hard time, making custom memorabilia to hand out for free, food drives during Unity Tour, volunteering with other Excitables and so so much more. I am so damn proud of the people we have in this community and feel so lucky to be even the smallest part of it. “Stay Positive and Love your Life.”

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What a great story, thank you Kady Jaymes! Every week I get the honor of writing all of your stories and I thank all the readers for keeping this thing going and just for being the amazing people you are! Until we meet again my friends, just go be awesome to everyone as I know you will!

Much love – The Runt

Here we are again my friends in 311-ville! It’s time for our next fan spotlight. This week we learn all about Jon Welshans!

The year was 1995 and Jon was in the 5th grade when he first heard 311. The video for “Down” aired and he instantly fell in love. “I bought that CD thinking it was their first. Then a few months later I came across Music and Grassroots and was blown away at how different they sounded compared to the Blue Album.”

As far as how many shows he’s attended, he doesn’t really keep track. “I’d estimate maybe somewhere between 40 and 50.”  He does however know what his favorite event was – the first cruise. “It was magical! I knew not a single person on that boat except who I went with. No one knew what to expect. We were all first time 311 cruisers. Time of my life! And I made a few lifelong friends too!”

“Paradise” is the song that means the most to Jon, because it brings him back to 311 Day 2008 when they closed the show with it. “That was the first time I was ever got emotional at a 311 show. It was at that moment that I realized how much this band and their music means to me.” As far as favorite lyrics, they are as follows: “Jump into the pit and just slam. Big respect goes out to those who can. Lose their shit once in a while act a fool just to mark time yo that’s my style.”

Arizona is where Jon was born, raised, and is still currently living. “I’ve never lived anywhere else, but hope to.” He funds his 311 habit by flipping posters…kidding! “I drive a truck for Pepsi. I’ve worked there almost 11 years.” Jon says there isn’t a serious bone in his body and also, he lives to eat!

Something interesting about Jon is that he’s never been to Disneyland or Disney World! (Sounds to me like it’s time get a 311 show near there hehe.) For what makes him unique, he said he’s just your average, everyday normal white guy. However, he does love to make people laugh! Guilty pleasure is “kinda, maybe a little” enjoying watching Grey’s Anatomy with his girlfriend.

Other bands and artists Jon enjoys are The Urge, Between the Buried and Me, Streetlight Manifesto, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Soulfly, Deftones, and Normal Jean. “I love music! I could go on for days.”

To 311, Jon’s message is: “THANK YOU! I met my girlfriend, made many new friends, and traveled to some amazing places all because of you guys! I couldn’t imagine a 311less life.”

To all the 311 fans:

“Live in the moment. Life is all about experiences.”

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There you have it folks – Jon Welshans! Thank you to Jon for being a part of this community and for all the rest of you reading each others stories every week! You are all amazing! Until we meet again next week…stay cool & always stay positive!

Much love – The Runt