Well hello again my friends out there in 311 nation! New fan spotlight time! Who’s excited? Let’s read the story of Chris Childress!

Chris first discovered 311 in 1995 when he was 8 years old. After playing outside and finishing homework, he and his younger sister were usually allowed to enjoy music videos on MTV and “The Box.” When the video for “Down” crossed their family room TV screen for the first time, Chris felt an instant attraction to the music. He had previously spotted 311’s logo in his cousin’s CD collection and a Grassroots album at a family friend’s house before, but upon hearing their music for himself, Chris begged his dad to buy him 311, which he would later come to know as “The Blue Album.”  He recalls regularly listening to the whole album from front to back and then starting from the top again. “What really drew me in back then was that I had never heard anything like 311 before. The songs absolutely rocked, and I could feel the music even if I didn’t understand everything they were saying at the time. I still don’t understand everything they’re saying.”

Eleven years later in 2006, in his freshman year of college, Chris was killing time at the mall during spring break when he picked up the 311 Day 2004 Live in New Orleans DVD. “The first time watching that DVD blew my mind and essentially ‘woke my mind up’ to what a phenomenal live show and crowd 311 had been cultivating for many years unbeknownst to me.  I didn’t even know they had that many songs, and never heard of a band playing a 5-hour long show before. It was incredible to me.” Captivated by what he saw and heard on the DVD, it was that summer when Chris bought a ticket to see 311 perform live for the first time at Festival Pier in Philadelphia. “I hit their Philly shows every summer after that, then started driving to Atlantic City for Fall Tour shows, which snowballed into my first 311 Day (2012), my first 311 Cruise (2013), my first Red Rocks show (2013), 311 Day 2014, meeting my girlfriend, Kama Star, moving to Vegas, cruising again, joining as a guitarist for the Unity All Stars, etc., etc., etc.”  While he has lost track of exactly how many 311 shows he’s attended in all, he estimates it to be in the 40-50 range.

Chris’s favorite 311 show is a toss-up between Festival Pier in July 2011 or Red Rocks in July 2013. “Both of these shows were extra special in their own unique way and each experience really cemented 311 shows and the 311 community as a big part of my life and my future.” Another show that was special to him was in Atlantic City in 2010. Chris drove to the show alone but was immediately befriended by a long-time fan who parked next to him. “I ended up watching the show by myself that night, but noticed some people in the crowd really vibing together and I remember saying to myself, ‘I need THAT in my life.’ Then my friend from before the show found me afterwards and encouraged me to stick around for a couple more hours. I took his advice and we were rewarded when Nick Hexum came off the tour bus to meet with a small group of us, so I had my first experience meeting a member of the band.”

The entire “Blue Album” really resonates with Chris because it was what originally got him hooked on 311, but if he had to name one track that means the most to him, he would choose “Random.” “That one automatically gives me ‘that feeling.’ There’s a certain nostalgia factor when I hear it that brings me back to my childhood days.”  While just about every 311 song has a lyric that he loves, there are a few that really stand out in Chris’s mind: “It’s alright to feel good, it’s alright for nothing to be wrong. The deepest dream that we have, could be tomorrow’s song”; “Slow slow lover, rub you down, we don’t want no one hurting don’t make a sound. Oh living is a journey, waking, believing, running for shelter now.”; “Give thanks and praise for good things you found, humble people not ashamed nor proud. And always try to keep your feet on the ground, and love yourself.” “You’ve got to trust your instinct and let go of regret. You’ve got to bet on yourself now, star, cause that’s your best bet.”

Chris was born in Philadelphia, PA, and was raised in a suburban town called Media. His parents were both musicians so he was raised listening to a wide variety of music and was introduced to the piano and bass guitar at around 3 years old.  He began taking piano lessons, played the trumpet in the school band, the bass in jazz band, and by the age of 12, he convinced his parents to let him start playing the guitar. “By [age] 14, I was extremely focused on music and learning to be guitarist.  I became deeply infatuated with my dad’s vinyl record and CD collection, consisting of classic rock, folk, blues, jazz, prog rock, funk, and fusion, all of which really broadened my range in terms of what I was listening to and trying to emulate.  I began taking private lessons in jazz harmony and improvisation with a jazz piano player named Jimmy Amadie, who remains one of my greatest influences not just in music, but in my life.”

In 2005, Chris graduated from high school and went on to study English with a concentration in writing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. It was there in his freshman year of college that he really started to catch up on 311’s entire musical catalogue and, as previously mentioned, he started attending their live shows. After graduating college in 2009, Chris briefly joined a band called Soraia while applying to law school, but neither pursuit panned out.  In need of a career path and a steady income, Chris took a job at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2011. “During that time my attendance of 311 shows and events started to ramp up significantly since I finally had a little bit of money coming in and some paid vacation time to use.”

After attending 311 Cruise #3 and Red Rocks in 2013, Chris became good friends with Kama Star and they gradually started dating.  She lived in Vegas, and after 6 months or so they decided they wanted their relationship to continue, which prompted Chris to pick up and move in with Kama in June 2014.  “Little by little, I established myself in Vegas and the new location brought me even closer to the 311 community.”

Chris had become friends with a couple members of the Unity All Stars between Red Rocks 2013 and 311 Day 2014, and after a few times hanging out, they were asking why he hadn’t played any songs with them yet.  He remembers telling Kevin, “As soon as you tell me what songs to learn and when to bring my gear, I’ll be up there with you.”  By the time 311 announced Red, White, and Boom Weekend in Vegas in 2016, Kevin needed Chris to fill in on guitar for their lead guitarist, Brian Sweeney, and Chris joined the band.  “We all live in different states and have jobs outside of music, so we don’t go on tour or play as often as we would like, in fact we never get to rehearse as a band before gigs.  But that approach hasn’t stopped us from playing the past three 311 cruises, 311 Days, and a solid number of fan-party gigs over the years.  We have a great group of people and we are all extremely invested and connected to the music that we cover.  We aren’t the most polished, rehearsed band out there, but we thrive on each others’ energy, and most importantly, the energy of our audience.  Kevin does a great job pushing us all to challenge ourselves, to play as many different songs as we possibly can, and putting together sets that our crowd will be excited to hear. We practice our asses off to be able to perform in the manner that we do, without a single group rehearsal, but let me be the first to say that we would be nothing without 311 and our audience, the 311 fan community.  Getting to experience even just a sliver of the crowd energy that 311 feels playing for everyone is an incredible experience and something that I’m thankful for every day.”

Chris currently works in the Las Vegas cannabis industry as a Lab Testing Coordinator which helps to fund both his 311 habit and playing with the Unity All Stars. “My ultimate goal is to keep doing all of the above while also writing and recording music of my own and continuing to develop and grow as a musician and just to be a better person.” What you may not have known about Chris is that he is a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and was his chapter’s president during his senior year of college. He also has a strange capability to be able to read people. “I feel things acutely and have a certain sense of empathy and intuition, sometimes to the point that I freak myself out with thoughts or feelings that end up coming true.” Chris has a passion for food and loves cooking, especially sharing home cooked meals with others. He also has a couple guilty pleasures – playing video games and being a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan. “I watch every single Flyers game unless I absolutely have a conflict, and I still play my Xbox 360, keeping NHL ’14, Skyrim, The Sims 3, GTA V, Fallout New Vegas, and a few others in steady rotation.”

In addition to 311, some of Chris’s favorite musicians and bands are Allan Holdsworth, Frank Zappa, Yes/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Bill Bruford, Scott Henderson/Gary Willis/Tribal Tech, the Grateful Dead, the Dixie Dregs/Steve Morse, and Steve Gadd. “That’s just to scratch the surface…there are many, many more.”

If he could pass a message along to the band, Chris explains: “I always want to express to them infinitely how much gratitude I feel for them, their music, and their persistence in following their dreams, in turn providing inspiration for hundreds of thousands if not millions of people including myself. But if I really had one sentence right now, it’d probably be like, ‘Hey guys, let’s hang out at my place, I’ll grab some beers and grill up some dinner. We can smoke, laugh, and listen to music, whatever you guys want, stay as long as you like!’”

And in closing, Chris has a message of positivity to his fellow 311 fans:

“Just like 311 has shown us the way, don’t be afraid to chase your dreams and passions in life, don’t let anyone except for yourself tell you who you’re supposed to be in this world; be thoughtful, caring, respectful, and kind to each other.  There’s nothing more important to humanity than our individuality and how we accept one another.”

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Hello all and welcome back for another 311 fan spotlight. This week let’s learn the story of Daryell “Scooby” Royer!

During middle school Daryell was really into the music scene. Every shirt he owned had a band logo or their artwork on it. “I grew my hair long, drew on my jeans, and I was always tethered to my Sony Disc-man with giant oversized can headphones and my zip up binder of CDs in tow that musta weighed 20 lbs. In that binder was literally labeled “311-Weezer” and contained a little bit of everything from Boyz 2 Men to the Jerky Boys, John Philip Sousa to John Popper, that last one truly responsible for bringing me all the way into the fold.”

Then the summer before he started high school he got tickets to The HORDE Tour, which was put on and headlined by Blues Traveler. “Blues Traveler was my jam back then because as an aspiring musician it gave me hope that a fat guy could make it in this world.” It was at this tour that he saw 311 live for the first time, on September 1, 1996, in West Palm, Florida. “As if I wasn’t already feeling it, having snuck from my lawn seat to the pit for their set, and puffed on a random new friends nazz cigarette during Nix Hex. But then the big man himself came out and blew his harmonica while some dudes from Omaha played Taiyed and that was that, I was hooked.”

Current show count is now at 125. Favorite event so far has been the 2017 cruise, which was Daryell’s first one. “Having schlepped every and all my friends from airport to harbor and back for the previous 4 cruises, I wasn’t gonna to stand on the shore anymore waiving goodbye to my familia as they set sail and committed myself to getting OTMFB. Adulting was hard, but I made it work and won’t ever miss another boat. The second 311 set of that cruise was my 100th show and it’s like I was reborn there, surrounded by love, totally unable to control my emotions. Singing through tears and speaking in tongues, hands in the air waving all around like I just didn’t care. I’ve never been one for church, so that’s as close to a religious experience as I’ve ever had. I stood next to Larry for his son’s solo, watched as he smiled that Larry smile, and then watched as the goosebumps totally enveloped my arms to signify what I had just witnessed. The magic wasn’t done yet though, because as they were closing the set, I suggested that we just be creatures for awhile, and we were.”

Daryell’s answer for favorite song – well he quoted his cousin, thee bearded brodel: “I love 311. They play all my favorite songs.” One of his favorite lyrics is, “The river cuts its way through stone. Not through sheer force, but persistence. At the end of the day the relentless always win.”

Daryell was born and raised in Florida and grew up in his family’s restaurant. “Starting out at the age of 5 as the cutest maitre d on the planet, I quickly moved into the kitchen as soon as I could see over the stove.” He then worked in kitchens over the next 15 years, with a few breaks here and there to work as a tattoo artist, bounty hunter, and a commercial truck driver. Then he discovered his gift of cannabis arts. “I currently work in the seed to sale production and manufacturing of the highest quality medical cannabis in Florida. If you’ve had a Scoob Cube, then you know. I also play my robotic saxophone for a couple different groups including The Unity Allstars and sell my art on Etsy ( https://etsy.me/2G6aifA ) to make a buck and help fund my 311-centric lifestyle.”

Want to know an interesting fact about Daryell? “I’m probably the luckiest unlucky guy around. When I was in elementary i spent over a week in an oxygen tent (boy in a bubble stylee) I’ve also been shot, stabbed, run over, and electrocuted too.” Something that makes him unique is he finds the funny in any situation. “I’m often the “too soon” guy because of my desire to want to make people laugh. The greatest range of emotion one can feel is laughter through the tears.”

Music attraction is all over the map for Daryell with the exception of country. “I love and find I inspiration from all sorts of music. If it’s good, I’ll listen. Subsequently, every band I’m really into now, Ive discovered on a 311 undercard. Slightly Stoopid, Stick Figure, Fortunate Youth, Pepper, Rebelution, The Movement, SOJA… I found them all through opening for 311.”

Guilty pleasure for Daryell…well it’s “Amber.” “Over the years, I’ve had a love/hate, love to hate, hate to love relationship with this song. I’ll be perfectly honest, I’ve taken my fair share of pee breaks. But, I’ve also taken part in the most amazing arm in arm organically formed dance breaks, smoke circles, and sing alongs too. Me and my cousin Colenzo have Whoa’d like nobody’s ever Whoa’d to that song. Plus, me and some other Allstars who are all about that Unity ska’d up a version on this past cruise that rocked the atrium and allegedly melted 3 faces.”

Daryell’s message to 311 is: “You don’t just make the music that I listen to, you’ve scored the soundtrack to my life.”

His message to all the other fans:

“Fuck the naysayers. Always rock your 311 gear in public. When someone asks “are they still a thing?” you tell them YES!”

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Another great story from another awesome fan! Thanks Daryell for being a part of this community and per the usual, thanks to all of the readers out there for supporting your fellow excitables! Have a fantastic week you beautiful souls.

Much Love – The Runt

Welcome back friends & fans of 311! It’s about time for a new fan spotlight. Let’s meet yet another member of the Unity Allstars, Aaron Zuckerman!

The seventh grade was the first time that Aaron heard music from 311. He was in his art class and was instantly hooked. “What continues to draw me to the band is how they evolve their writing styles while staying true to their sound.”

First show for Aaron was in Worcester, MA when he was in his freshman year of college, around 2001-2002. Alien Ant Farm opened for 311. Show count for Aaron he’s unsure of. Favorite event for him was the 2012 cruise. “It wasn’t sold out and felt like private events the whole time.”

Song that Aaron loves is “I’ll Be Here Awhile.” “Brings me back to some good times playing unplugged shows and house parties in college with what turned into the Unity Allstars.” A favorite lyric of his is, “Serendipitous my travels throughout time.”

Aaron grew up in Croton on Hudson in New York. He spent most of his time in the woods, on the river, or playing guitar and bass in his room. He attended college at SUNY in Albany. There he was part of a 4 piece band called Infectious by Nature, which later evolved into the Unity Allstars. Now Aaron and his wife live in Hollywood, South Carolina, where he paints and repairs boats for a living. “I am an avid woodworker, painter and artist.”

The Grateful Dead are a band that Aaron absolutely loves. He’s also into Radiohead, Sublime, Weezer, and Passafire. He loves others too, there’s just too many to list!

Cool fact about Aaron’s family is that his grandfather was a stand up bass player and his father is a drummer, so musical talent runs in his family. He also once lived on a sailboat in Florida for 3 years with a dog and 2 cats! Guilty pleasure for him comes in food form – he loves McDonald’s Egg McMuffins.

Aaron’s message to 311 is sweet & simple: “Thanks for treating the fans like family!”

His message to all of the other fans is just as simple & perfectly worded:

“Stay positive and pass it along!”

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There you have the story of Aaron Zuckerman! Thanks for Aaron for sharing his story and to everyone for reading. Go have a kick ass week my friends!

Much Love – The Runt

Welcome back 311 nation! Are we ready for the next edition of the fan spotlight? Let’s get this party started and meet Mike Sterling!

The year was 1994 when Mike learned about 311 thanks to a friend from work named Scott. Mike was into a huge variety of music at that point and being a trombone player he was all about the Ska music and more specifically the band The Urge. Then in 1996 The Urge were opening for his now other favorite band, 311, at Red Rocks. “Yep the one from the first ETSD video! Every time I watch it I can see the silhouette of my friends and I having the time of our lives in the trees off to the side of the stage( they were small trees back then lol). That group and I attended every Red Rocks show that 311 ever did after that as well as just about every other Colorado date over the next 15 plus years. No social media back then so the group was big, then small, then big, then small… but always I would organize a group of friends to pre-party and attend every show. I would even buy blocks of tickets to ensure everyone could go. We would also go to Independent Records on album release days and party in the parking lot until the midnight release. Then we’d rock on all night listening and breaking down the new masterpiece. Really miss those times! Somehow a download party just isn’t the same… But anything that 311 did in Colorado or nationally for those first 18 years we were there.”

The 1996 show was the first for Mike and he’s sort of lost count of how many it’s been since then. He knows show #100 was on the Jamaica cruise so he believes he’s somewhere around 120. For him, the second cruise (his first) was his favorite event so far. “After retiring from my job of 21 years my wife Cassie and I decided to embark on a 17 day musical journey across the country. My hope was to rediscover my love for playing music again and maybe re-visit being a musician again someday. We started in New Orleans for Jazz fest with Petty and Springsteen among others. We discovered a variety of new artists like Gary Clark Jr along the way. Then we drove up to Memphis for Beale Street music festival and saw more amazing bands and more Gary Clark Jr.! lol  The exciting conclusion of the trip was for us to fly to Miami and jump aboard the 2nd 311 cruise. I had heard that the first one was pretty fun and since nobody was a 311 super fan like me (I thought), it should be a pretty nice time… The rest is history! It was the time of my life and changed everything for me moving forward.”

One of Mike’s favorite songs is “Stealing Happy Hours” or he said really anything from Transistor. One of his favorite lines from a song is, “At the end of the day the relentless always win.” “Every album is a memory and chapter of my life through those years. Like listening to Transistor for the first time after quitting my job or playing football in the parking lot at midnight waiting for Soundsystem to be released. I cherish those memories and times.”

Syracuse, New York, is where Mike comes from but he’s lived in Denver, Colorado for over 30 years. He worked his way up in his first job to owning his own Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. He had a long, successful career with his company Harman Management but then after 21 years decided he needed to move on from the corporate world, so he retired.

It was in Denver that Mike met his soon to be brother, Kevin Labella. He was walking around a Ballyhoo show and that’s where their relationship began. “Even though we’d cruised together twice and danced on the same stages we had never met. A conversation about horns and The Unity All Stars occurred and the flood gates opened for me as a musician. It had been basically 20 years since I had last played on stage but began practicing for the 2015 Las Vegas Red, White and Boom 311 afterparty. It went great! I have now been with The Unity All Stars for nearly 4 years. We’ve played 3 311 cruises and dozens of shows for 311 events. Such an honor. The connection with the hundreds off friends and 311 fans Ive made is beyond something I can describe. I literally have family everywhere I go. All of these friendships and connections Ive made in the 311 community have led me to hundreds off musicians, professional connections and opened doors for me that I never would of had a chance to pass through. Kevin and I have done multiple guest appearances with bands like Ballyhoo, Bumpin’ Uglies, Krooked Trees and many others. Currently, I play Trombone and sing for a touring band out of Atlanta, GA called The Bastard Suns. They were also one of my favorite bands back in the day and because of my connection to 311 and their fans I not only ended meeting them but then I joined the band! This is no fluke! Dozens and dozens of 311 fans have stayed at my home with my wife Cassie and I since the second cruise and the connections we’ve made grow stronger and stronger. The web grows larger and tighter everyday and it couldn’t be a greater joy than to be on this journey with all of my fellow 311 Fans.  There is no community like ours and I feel nothing but pride to be a part of it!”

Mike said that 311 and his community connections are his true guilty pleasure. “I spend more time and money on 311 and 311 related events than any other thing in my life.” We know he loves a variety of music and some of his other favorite artists include The Urge, Streetlight Manifesto, The Mad Caddies, The Interrupters, Reel Big Fish, and Less Than Jake. Something you may not know about Mike though is that he was born with a condition called ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome). “It is the cause of some of the physical problems I have with my hands and feet. If you know me you know lol.”

To 311, his message is this: “Thanks for writing the soundtrack to the chapters of my life. Somebody had to do it! The story would be far more boring without the incredible music… So Thanks!”

To his fellow fans, he has this message:

“The positivity and love from this community comes from all of us. Its not something we can teach but we can protect it. Truth is that its not something that can be given, its something thats inside of us and comes from within. We owe it to each other to share that gift just like 311 has done for us. Each of us carry the torch and responsibly to protect our community and philosophies. Stay positive and love everyones lives!”

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What a story Mike Sterling! Thanks so much for sharing this with the community. Of course, much gratitude goes out to all the readers each week. The electricity from you all is outstanding and I’m so proud to be a part of this fan community. Until we meet again…go be amazing!

Much Love – The Runt