311 Fan Spotlight #280 – 3/30/20 – Jamie Rabello!


Hello again my friends in 311 nation! It’s a new week so it’s time for a new fan spotlight! Let’s meet Jamie Rabello! 

Introduction to 311 for Jamie was thanks to her older brother. “My brother is 10 years older than me and had a huge influence on my musical tastes! I grew up being the annoying little sister and bothering him and his friends but he had no problem introducing me to grunge, alternative and reggae. 311 was one of those many bands.”

Show count for Jamie she thinks it around 70-80, she never really kept track of it. Her first show was February 19, 2011 at the Joint at Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. “I had not gotten tickets yet and I remember someone “selling” me a ticket for $5 outside the venue. Right after that, another kind human came up and offered us a free ticket. He said he refused to sell something that he had received for free. It was a “right place at the right time” situation and I was super grateful for being able to see a band I loved for next to nothing. I didn’t know it at the time but it was also an introduction to the 311 fan lifestyle! I was hooked after that show.”

Favorite event for Jamie is the 2019 cruise. “I had finally managed to make it on the boat and it was absolutely incredible. I was able to experience it with one of my favorite people and best friends Ms. Jillien Peacock! I’m so grateful to her for bringing me. The vibe, the people, the music of course – everything was perfect!” A close runner up for her was Red, White & Boom in Vegas. “I loved spending the Fourth of July with all my excitables and being at the Mandalay Bay Beach (my favorite venue in Las Vegas). I miss them! Let’s bring them back!”

Picking a favorite song was a difficult task for Jamie. She chose “Tranquility” because of the lyrics “Absolutely LOVE the lyrics to Tranquility. The song literally gives me chills every time i hear it.  Loved seeing this live at 311 day 2016 by far.” One of her favorite lines is “Don’t be afraid, it’s all part of the plan for us. All that you hold dear, it’s on the other side of that fear.” “I think a lot of people can relate to these beautiful words. You have to go through the pain and the bullshit and the fear to get to the happiness on the other side. It is always waiting for you. It won’t ever be easy but it will be worth it.”

She had a few others that mean a ton to her as well. “Homebrew because it reminds me of my best friend which always makes me smile. Freak Out, Use of Time, Mindspin, And A Ways to Go..all of these songs have an important meaning to me because of the way they make me feel, the lyrics and they remind me of someone I love.” Another favorite lyric of Jamie’s comes from “Thank Your Lucky Stars” – ““And what’s the point, we’re gonna pay.

Sorted out one way or not we all have that day. So make your choice. Ask me, I’m not blind, I can read all the signs. So many have died, so many out of their minds. Thank your lucky stars you’ve got it good it’s not hard to be what you are, thank your lucky stars!” She said that this song has always resonated with her and she is grateful for all of the big & little things in her life! “My family and friends love me, I have a roof over my head, food to eat and I have my health!”

Jamie was born and raised in Las Vegas. “I love living here and am super lucky to be close with my family and to have made friends that are like family.” She also spends a lot of time in southern California because she also has family in that area. “I need to see the ocean every few months (or more). West coast is the best coast!” She really loves being outdoors, either camping, hiking, traveling or exploring new places, it’s a natural high for her. She attended UNLV for behavioral sciences. Jamie currently bartends at a family owned bar in Summerlin and she absolutely loves it! “It definitely helps fund my 311 habit.” 

Interesting fact about Jamie is that she considers herself an outgoing introvert. “I can usually play it off in crowds or after a few drinks but I’m incredibly shy and anxious. I’m also a Gemini which kind of ties into the whole thing.” Unique attribute for her is that she’s really great at getting all kinds of different people together. “I can look at life from many different perspectives and I have friends from many different groups or times in my life. Seeing two people that I respect and love come together and create a new friendship between themselves makes me so happy.” Guilty pleasure for Jamie is simple – it’s yoga! 

As far as other musicians that Jamie loves, she said Incubus is right up there and almost as important as 311! “I remember listening to S.C.I.E.N.C.E and Make Yourself from my brothers collection and starting my own after that!” Others that she enjoys include Rebelution, Stick Figure, Less Than Jake, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. “I’m pretty eclectic with my musician preferences.” 

Jamie’s words to 311 are as follows: “#1. Thank you for caring about your fans as much as you do. The love is felt! #2. Thank you for giving me reasons to travel for the love of your music. I have experienced so many new places and made so many memories because of this band!”

We finish with her message to all the fellow 311 fans out there:

“You all are some of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and creating friendships with. I thrive off the love and positivity from this group everyday.”

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Thank you Jamie for your story! To all my readers each week, so many thanks to you for loving this project. Please stay safe and healthy, we can all get through this together! Stay positive & love your life my friends!!

Much Love – The Runt

311 Fan Spotlight #278 – 3/16/20 – Rose Baker!

In this time of the world being in state of panic and chaos,  I’m happy I can still bring something positive to universe each week with the 311 fan spotlight. I want to start this week by thanking you all for being a wonderful fan community and please remember that in times like these we need each other the most! Stay strong and know I’m here for all of you if you need me! 

So let’s take a moment to focus on the positive and meet our next fan spotlight, Rose Baker! 

The year was 1994 and Rose was stationed at The Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California learning Arabic. A fellow soldier named Stanford Storey introduced her to 311 by playing a CD. “By the time I got done with school and stationed in Germany in 96, the blue album was a daily staple of our hallway listening parties. I don’t know where that guy went but I believed he was from Omaha and that is how I he knew of them and the burned CD he gave me.”

As far as show count, Rose really doesn’t know. She’s been in and out of the show circuit depending on her situation but she said she was in triple digits when she stopped counting. While she can’t remember exactly what her first show was, she remembers the Hfstival in Washington, D.C., and the show at Nation Nightclub. “Being that I Iived in the DMV most of my life throughout my travels, I have seen most of the East Coast venues. My first time to Jones Beach was the Dirty Heads tour and was one of the final shows before my truck was totaled. The BohoRoamer was the name of the truck and the license plate was 311 JKPT.”

For favorite show/event, Rose chose this 311 Day three night event. She attended it with her bestie Shaden Zakour and many others that are like sisters and brothers to her and have supported her traveler life transition over the past decade. “So this year’s 311 day tops it all. 30 years of this music and I have been a fan from back in the days of my Army life. The music makes more sense to me now more than ever as I have grown back into loving my own skin and my original style. I had an emotional growth through this one. Two nights in the stands with various friends and musician friends and then the last night on the floor with some of my closest friends. I also was campaigning for Chad to sing, I was wearing a shirt and holding a sign up on day one. I guess he got the message.”

Song that means the most to Rose is “Use of Time.” “If I was going to make a 311 musical about my life. I would title it this and fill out the rest of the soundtrack with some other tracks that almost made the cut.” She also loves “Golden Sunlight” and says she plays it when she needs a pick me up. For lyrics, she said she usually wakes up each day with music in her head and quite often it’s “Sand Dollars.” She’s spent a lot of time actually collecting sand dollars during low tide in Venice Beach. Words from the song that she loves are as follows: “Chasing coins to fill the purse, is it really better off or worse, is it a blessing or a curse, to pass the buck. Is it a bounty or a bust, is it precious metal or just rust, well it seems it’s up to us, so wish us luck.”

As far as learning a little more about Rose, I’m going to let her tell you in her own words:

“You will have to stay tuned to my Instagram (@bohorosebaker) for a real answer to this question. I have a part one video that I have about just being. I am about to follow up that with a video discussing mental health. Specifically with my experience of bipolar, ptsd, and anxiety . I am a service connected disabled army veteran. 

This is where it’s gonna get deep. I am aware that I am an Angel and I know with mental illness and health that some might look at that and be skeptics of what I am experiencing. I talk to angels, I did all week and during the shows. In fact last night my arch angel Urial was with us and I could feel his light on my shoulders. I went through a portal after the show ended on the last night at the circle bar. My friend Krissy was there and she handed me stones to ground me. I was reassured by my quick travel of my purpose, to continue in conversation for one more night in community healing and love. 

Back to my mental health, I feel like these conditions 

Just help me now understand that it’s perspective and balance to keep healthy. I choose to travel to keep me sane from the anxiety and I love music to understand  the messages and I pick the beaches and oceans to cleanse my aura and reset my energy and the sea salt air can do that. 

I want to really talk about how my mental health balance and how I am able to live such a free life is met with inspiration and love. So I am sharing a new video on Instagram this Week that will discuss this in more detail.

As an angel, a muse I aspire to inspire before I retire and I almost died multiple times in 2019. 2020 will not kill me. I am a Fenix fox, sly quick and aware

I am also a bohemian. Ask Cody Robinson or any of my close friends and they can describe my life for you through their eyes

 I love style and color and fabric. I started coloring my hair at 12 and this past decade as a rose have kept to more rosier shades.”

Rose is a musician and is about to release her first single. “I worked with some great people to get it done, including my father in writing the music to my years of stories and poems to melody and beats.” Another fun fact is that her first name is actually Andrea but when she turned 40 she started to go by Rose and BohoRose as her entertainer name. “So I will respond to either. Also the Army/Government Intelligence background is also something I don’t hide, but it’s my rear view.”

Rose has no permanent set address and she lives in her car with her dog Doc Chill Martens. She has a Honda CRV and currently is in the area of Venice, California. “I do own a trailer in Northern California off the grid and have a few set crash pads in locations across America. I haven’t been to the Dakotas yet or Hawaii, but I aim to do that as soon as I can complete the list. I love the tropics so this is why I am a 6 time cruiser, it’s my time to feel better with no pain with people I love in a beautiful location.” Guilty pleasure for her? It’s sleep! “I am always on the road so if I have downtime, I am catching up!” 

Other music Rose loves, well she has eclectic taste so the list includes Passafire, Hirie, Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Red Hot Chili Peppers, kmfdm, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Incubus, The Doors, Cake, Miles Davis, and Prince. “I could go on and on and onnnnnn.”

To the band, Rose has these words: “Thank you gentlemen for writing such music and lyrics that are a bible for my self improvement.” 

Now her message to all the other fans:

“Keep it tropical and if you got a couch and love dogs, let’s jam! I got my uke! Spread love people!” 

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Thank you Rose for sharing your story with everyone! I hope this provided a little break from the negativity in the world for everyone. Sending so much love to everyone right now. Stay positive all! 

Much Love – The Runt

311 Fan Spotlight #277 – 3/9/20 – Mike Spalt!

Hello again 311 nation! Here we are for fan spotlight #277! Let’s get right to it and meet Mike Spalt! 

So it was originally 1995 when Mike first heard of 311. He was in a cover band and was told to learn the song, “All Mixed Up.” “With no internet to find out who this incredible drummer was that I was hearing, I knew very little of the band. But that CD stayed in my car stereo for months. I never did see them live. Transistor released a short time later and it actually turned me OFF to them!” Fast forward to the year 2007 and Mike was working in his yard when he heard a version of The Cure’s “Love Song.” He recognized Nicks voice from 10 years prior and was surprised to know that 311 was still together. “Digital music was becoming a thing and I started looking back at their catalog. Evolver and Soundsystem became regular listens and then it hit me how incredible Transistor really was! I had to see them live, and somewhere in 2008 the lyrics hit me all at once. 311 became my religion, and just at the right time. My marriage fell apart unexpectedly and 311 was there for me.”

First show for Mike was in 2007 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has been to a total of 15 shows. Favorite show for him he said always ends up being the last show he saw. In this case, it was the Mardi Gras show that just happened in New Orleans in February. 

Song that means the most to Mike is “Golden Sunlight.” “Setting your fears aside to achieve what you want in life.” As far as lyric that he loves, it’s “Stay positive and love your life.” “It was my motto through the roughest of times.” 

Mike has only lived in the state of Louisiana. He says that 311 helped him through so really difficult times and situations that he’s witnessed. “I try to pass on the positivity to those I am around.” He is married to his beautiful wife Christine, they were married on 3/11/17 in the Colorado mountains. He currently works in the medical field, has a 17 year old son and 23 year old step son, 2 dogs named Coda and Nola, and a cat named Puddy. 

Interesting fact about Mike is that despite being from Louisiana, he loves to snowboard. He also loves everything about music including playing drums, recording music, and running sound for bands. He also loves to brew beer! 

Other artists that Mike loves include The Movement, Stick Figure, Iya Terra, Kbong, Gary Dread, Johnny Cosmic, Marc Broussard, and Korn. Guilty pleasure for him is the show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “Larry David is the complete opposite of me and I find it inspiring to not be like him, but laugh at the same time.”

To 311, Mike has these words: “Thank you for saving me. Your words hit me at the right time, your music helps me shake out anything that is going on in my life that I want to get rid of. Thank you for attracting some of the best fans that have become personal friends. Life is truly different with you in it.”

His message to all the other fans out there:

“When nothing seems like it’s going right, take a step back and don’t be so hard on yourself. Start fresh and crank 311, because It’s alright, wherever you are right now. That’s who you’re suppose to be now.”

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Great story Mike and thank you for sharing it! Much gratitude to all the readers as well. Go have an amazing week and Happy 311 Day!! 

Much Love, The Runt

311 Fan Spotlight #276 – 3/2/20 – Kevin & Misty Smith!

Welcome back my excitable friends! It’s time we get to it and have a new edition of the 311 fan spotlight! This week we have edition #276 and it features the lovely Kevin & Misty Smith!

For Misty, the year was 1994  and it was her older brother that introduced her to the band when the Grassroots album came out. “He had it on repeat constantly. The next fall I went to my first show. It was just such a different sound than anything else that was out there at the time.”

Kevin was introduced to 311 the same year. He remembers hearing “Do You Right” on the local radio station 99X and he loved it from first listen. “I loved the emerging alternative/grunge sound so I was really big into Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, RHCP etc.  311 took the sound I loved & added that rap-rock feel that made it even better!  The rest of my family was & still is into country music as well, so my teenage rebellion consisted of plenty of 311, Pumpkins, Rage & anything but country!”

As far as show count, Misty is sitting at 58 which she hit last July in Atlanta. First show for her was in a small club in Tallahassee back in the fall of 1995. As for Kevin, he never really kept an exact count but believes he is somewhere in the 60’s. His first show was in 1996 at the 99X Big Day Out festival. “My parents dropped me & a friend off early, we saw a ton of great bands all day, saw the entire lawn turn into a big mudslide from a huge storm, then were blown away when 311 closed out the night!”

Kevin & Misty have both been to many different events over the years so it’s hard to choose just one as a favorite. Misty said that Pow Wow was definitely a top one for her and that the beach show on the second cruise was also another one. For Kevin, he said the last two 2 night events at the Tabernacle were special because they were hometown shows. “A lot of people travel in from around the country so it’s nice being able to catch up with friends in our city for a change.  Other highlights include the Cruise 2 beach show (self-explanatory); the Pow Wow since it was close to us, we love camping festivals & we met great people there that we’re still friends with to this day; 311Day 2008 when it was a true Excitable Takeover on Bourbon St., and 311Day 2018 since it was our first trip to Vegas.”

Favorite song for Misty is hard to choose because there are particular songs that she can relate to because of when and where she was when the song came out. “For example two drops in the ocean was played at mine and a Kevin’s wedding. All of Stereolithic brings good memories because that was the first album our daughter got into and learned most of the lyrics to.” For Kevin he chose the song “Hey You.” “Misty Calisoca Smith & I are getting ready to celebrate our 10th anniversary on 3/11/20.  We used a few of the String Quartet Tribute to 311 songs during our wedding.  And at the end, we walked out to Hey You.  The song is about love for music but the lyrics can easily be directed towards a significant other.” A few lyrics that Kevin loves include “From Tokyo Bay to the Little Five Points, keep on blazing the trail, keep on rocking the joints” because he said the Little Five is a cool counter-culture neighborhood in Atlanta. He also loves the lyrics, “You’ve got to trust your instinct & let go of regret,” “Welcome to this groove you can move right,” and “The fish who keeps on swimming is the first to chill upstream.”

Misty grew up in McDonough, Georgia, with her 3 sisters and 2 brothers. She credits her older brother for influencing the music she listened to growing up. “

 We listened to a lot of Beastie boys, Nirvana, REM, various house music and 311. 311 quickly became my favorite.” Misty & Kevin met in 2001 while working at a telemarketing company. They were friends for a long time & then bonded over their love of music and going to concerts. “Once we started dating we began going to a lot more 311 events. Our first 311 Day was in 2008 and got we got married on 3/11/10. We’ve been to four 311 Days, pow wow, 3 cruises and I have been to all of the Atlanta shows since 1996. I actually won our first cruise (cruise 2) on the local radio station, 99X!”

Kevin was born & raised right in Atlanta. His first job was as a bagger for the grocery chain Kroger, then Home Depot, the telemarketing company, and finally in 2001 he started working at a new business that his father started and has been there ever since. “

 We started out selling cleaning supplies but now we also sell office products & all sorts of other business products (www.cherokeesupplyga.com- shameless plug J)”

Kevin & Misty have 2 children, Hannah who is 7 and River who was just born in early February. They currently live just outside of Atlanta and are coming up on their 10th wedding anniversary this 311 Day! Misty said, “

We have met so many great friends through our 311 adventures, many of them have become family to us. Kevin and I enjoy running the 311Atlanta Facebook group as well and often have cookouts or gatherings so that we can all stay in touch throughout the year.”

Fun fact about Misty is that she runs an Etsy shop  called Cali Soca Crafts where she makes custom cups and decals. She also has quite the poster collection. “All of the posters we have hanging in our home we have framed ourselves!” Fun fact about Kevin is that he started playing guitar when he was 13. “I bought a Mahoney signature PRS when it was first released but don’t get to play as often as I’d like.” He is also obsessed with hot peppers! “Every year I grow somewhere around 100 plants from seed.  Everything from bell peppers to the hottest Carolina Reapers, Ghosts & Scorpions.  I hope to keep improving at making hot sauce & also make flakes, powders & seasonings with the peppers.”

Other musicians that Kevin enjoys include Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Our Lady Peace, and Stone Temple Pilots. “I’ve always been a huge fan of 90’s alternative.” Lately he’s been listening to music from Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic, plus two newer jam bands Twiddle and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. “

 I love the song segues, transitions & 15 minute jams!!” For Misty, she loves listening to Rebelution, Bjork, Incubus, Tribal Seeds, and The Green.

Guilty pleasure for Misty comes in the form of scrapbooking. “I wish I had more time for it!” For Kevin, he loves the show Naked & Afraid. “I don’t think I could survive more than 1-2 days but I enjoy watching them try to make it 21 days.”

Kevin has these words for the members of 311: “The songs you guys created have been the soundtrack to countless amazing moments with many great people over many years of my life, and for that I’m forever grateful.”

Misty’s message to them is as follows: “I’m so thankful for this band, I have some of the greatest friends in my life because we met through 311.”

Now their words to all their fellow fans out there:

“We love being a part of the Excitable Crew with you all!! If not for all the crazy adventures chasing our favorite band together we’d have boring lives!”

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Thank you Kevin & Misty for sharing your story! Also congrats on the new baby! Much thanks to all the readers out there. Now go have an amazing week!

Much Love – The Runt