Welcome one and all to the the latest edition of the 311 fan spotlight! As always, I hope you are staying healthy and well friends. Let’s get to it and read the story of Pat White! 

The year was 1995 when Pat first heard of 311. He was sitting in a car with his sister at the age of 14. “She was the coolest person I knew to that point in my life. Used to take me and my friends skateboarding. Had a real solid relationship. ‘Don’t Stay Home’ came on in that car and she asked me, do you listen to 311?… that was the song that started it all. Got the blue album the next week.” 

Pat has been to over 35 shows. First show for him was in 1996 at the new Daisy Theater in Memphis, Tennessee. “Snuck out and got in with my friends ticket. Was just gonna look for my sister. All the sudden intro to Omaha Stylee came on. Was supposed to go return the ticket. But I couldn’t leave. That was my first concert ever. My mother had just died..That show changed life absolutely.” His favorite event so far was this years 311 Day. 

As far as favorite song, its “Use of Time,” but he said that “Golden Sunlight” has gotten him through many tough times. Favorite lyrics were harder to choose because there are so many great ones. Ones that stood out to him are as follows: “At the end of the day the relentless always win,” “This moment is a gift, it’s why it’s called the present.” Plus he said pretty much all of “Golden Sunlight.” 

Pat was born in 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee. His mother passed in 1996 and he went on a downward spiral because of it. “Made the lessons of day to day life as a sober person mean that much more. Running from her death for 16 years almost took my life several times. But the recovery, the vigilance and steadfastness is what it takes to push forward.  One day at a time. She taught me all that.  And I had to trust God and instill it in myself in order to learn.”

Pat funds his 311 habit being a chef and kitchen manager at Roma Old Town wood fired pizzeria in Winchester, Virginia. He’s lived all over VA including Newport News, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach. “My addiction took me many places but I found home and sobriety in Winchester.  First place in my adult life I can actually call home.”

Finding something that most people don’t know is hard for Pat because he lives his life pretty much like an open book. Unique attribute for him is his work ethic and stamina. “I’m 38 years old and I can go harder than kids 20 years younger than me. On 4-5 hours of sleep lol. Running a kitchen even with a co kitchen manager is hard work. My passion and drive keep me alive and well.”

What really makes Pat tick is his daughter. “She makes my whole world. She is every dream I’ve ever had come true. She loves 311 and loves her Life. I had to save myself from myself.  Couldn’t get sober for her but I have to include her all over this thing, she is My Story. She is my legacy. She is all my reasons.” 

Some other artists that Pat loves include Sublime (which got him started on his reggae journey), Bob Marley, Stick Figure, Tool, Deftones, The Movement, Chris Cornell, System of a Down, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Iya Terra, and many more. Guilty pleasure? It’s John Mayer! 

Pat’s words to the members of 311 are: “Thank you for always being there. With so much fakeness in the music biz, chaos In the world, they’ve always been an Uplifting constant.  No matter what. Thank you for always staying true.”

To all the other 311 fans out there: 

“This life is what we make of it. Hold yourself accountable and be there for your brothers and sisters.  It’s more than blind positivity.  Gratitude is an action word.  We must live it everyday…love yourself and love your life and above all, To Thine Own self Be true.”

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Thank you Pat for sharing your story! Another great fan spotlight in the books. Muchas Gracias to all the readers each week as well. Go have an amazing week and please stay safe & well! 

Much Love – The Runt 

Welcome my friends in 311 nation! Hope everyone is staying healthy and well. Shall we start the week off properly with a new fan spotlight? I say yes! Let’s kick things into gear here, time to meet Tim Fisher! 

Tim was working at a pizza shop where a coworker of his was really into 311 and got Tim listening to the band. He didn’t fully become a fan until years later when a friend convinced him to go see them live and that hooked him! “The energy in that first show really opened me up to wanting to listen to all of their albums, and I started to go see them whenever they were in town.  The energy of the band mixed with the energy of the crowd, really reminded me of the Grateful Dead and their following (Which I had been a HUGE fan of for years) and it really got me to check out all of 311’s older albums and other recorded live shows.”

Show count for Tim is at 43, he and his wife just went through the show archive to calculate the number. They’ve been to 40 shows together and 3 apart. “I’ve been to four 311 days, and four cruises so far, and have traveled to multiple cities to see them play.  My first show was at The Woodlands Pavilion, September 9, 2005. They played with Papa Roach and Unwritten Law and it was the show that really got my into the band. I had heard their music before, but the live show really made me get into them.”

To pick a favorite show or event is hard for most fans, so it was no different for Tim because a lot of the shows he’s attended have big significance to his life. “My favorite event overall are the cruises, as being on a large boat with so many excitables all there for the same reason is really hard to explain to other people without sounding like I’m in a cult, haha. I proposed to my girlfriend on the 2015 cruise trip, and we got married in New Orleans for 311 day 2016 which was an extra special trip for us.  It was perfect getting to marry my beautiful wife, and then go see my favorite band 3 hours later with 15 of my friends/family from the wedding and all my 311 excitable friends.  I CAN say my favorite set list so far has to be the first set on the 2019 Cruise.  I lost my voice for 2 days after from screaming and jamming out that night.”

As for songs that Tim loves, his favorite jamming out song is “Homebrew.” “It always reminds me what it’s like to be young again. I sometimes get carried away rocking out to it that I forget I’m not 20 anymore but it’s just one of those songs you can’t help it.” Regarding song lyrics, Tim says there is one line in every song that is a favorite of his. The one he chose to share is this: “Shit like that now scares me, but I’d like to do it again.” “Now that I’m older that definitely resonates with me.  I can’t party or rock out as hard as I used to no matter how much I would like to, but the memories are always a fun thing to think about.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Tim has always had a love for baseball and all things regarding the Chicago Cubs. Music was also a big influence in his life as his parents were passionate about their music. “You would wake up EVERY Saturday morning to some Janis on the stereo while my mom cleaned house. Whether you wanted to sleep in or not.” Tim learned to be a mechanic in high school and loves working on anything with an engine. “Chicago is infamous for its awful winters so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one day it took me 2 hours to dig a piece of equipment out of the snow, and I said screw It, i’m going somewhere warm.  So I ended up transferring to Houston Texas which is where I live today.” He’s been in the Houston area for the last 16 years. “Really enjoying living farther out in the country where I can jam some tunes and not have to worry about the neighbors.”

Being really into sports since he was young, Tim has collected a lot of unique items from the teams he loves. “My favorite thing I have in my collection is a metal printing sheet from the Chicago Tribune that was used to print all the newspapers announcing the Cubs winning the world series in 2016.” We know he became a mechanic, but Tim has loved taking things apart and putting them back together since he was a child. “When I was 2 I got a hold of a screwdriver and took all the cabinet doors off the kitchen cabinets.  I had taken everything apart so much, they had to hire someone to come and replace everything back to how it was. I love to build lego sets, especially the Star Wars themed ones, and tinkering around on all my garage toys.  I have a 2011 z06 Corvette that is my baby, and I love to take her out on the weekends for a drive and take care of all the maintenance on it.”

When not listening to the tunes of 311, Tim can be found listening to The Grateful Dead as they were one of his favorite bands since he was younger. “I got to see them once before Jerry died, and have had the chance to see the Dead and Company  a couple times over the years.  I love to go to live music shows, and some of my other favorites are The Dirty Heads, Passafire, Chevelle, Guns n Roses, Motley Crue, and all the old 70’s and 80’s artists I can still get a chance to go see.” Guilty pleasure for Tim is Taylor Swift. “My wife has dragged me out to 3 Taylor Swift shows, and I surprisingly had a really good time.  She puts on a really good show, and she’s very talented-not to mention nice to look at (it’s my eye candy vs my wife’s pleasure to yell at Nick to take his shirt off).”

Words Tim would like to say to 311: “Thank you for the awesome music for the last 30 years! Your music can always put me in a good mood, and I love the fan base y’all have created!  It has brought me so many good friends, and memories over the years and I hope to have many more in the future!”

Words for all his fellow 311 fans:

“Right now with everything going on in the world, music and unity is what we really need to get through this.  Like the band says “stay positive and love your life” is a phrase that can really help us when the world is looking so bleak. I look forward to the future shows where we can all rock out to our favorite tunes and have a great time together again.”

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Great story Tim! Thanks for sharing it with everyone. Lots of love going out to all the fans who read this each week. Tim is right, music and unity are what we need right now to get through these crazy times. Stay positive, love each other, and when we all gather together again it’s going to be one hell of a party! Keep smiling all! 

Much Love – The Runt 

Hello again everyone out there in the 311 fan universe! I hope this week finds you safe & healthy still. Take a moment to read the story of our latest fan spotlight, Jana Kossow! 

In 1995, Jana moved back to Los Angeles, California, just before her 10th birthday. She heard the song “Down” and was instantly hooked. “The music was just something that hit me like no other band, my brothers had talked my dad into buying their CD for my birthday that year & from then on I waited for the next album to come out, I saved up my allowance just to buy the new CD’s.”

Show count for Jana is 6 and she said obviously she would have liked to have attended more shows at this point but she’s ok with her number. First show for her was in Irvine, California, on August 2, 2013 when G. Love and Cypress Hill opened for 311. Her favorite shows she has attended so far is her first show ever and then 311 Day 2018. 

There are many songs that mean a lot to Jana such as “Today My Love,” “What Was I Thinking,” “Homebrew,” “Use of Time,” “Hydroponic,” “Sever,” “Jupiter,” and “Beyond the Gray Sky.” 

Jana has a few lyrics that really connect with her and they are as follows:

“It’s been a wild ride, I wouldn’t change a minute. I can’t slow down inside, I guess that’s why I live it!” 

“Death I just say fuck you, the void unknown we’re thrown through, while lost in life’s psychedelic trip we take, there’s a more bizarre we have to make, world we have, nowhere beyond, take out the earth, the bass is gone, at life’s end we’ll feel the calm, how strange we should be here at all.” 

“To all my friends, it’s not the end, the earth has not swallowed me yet.” 

“My vibe is holy, my eyes closed, either I’m asleep or what I’m thinking is deep.”

Jana grew up a Navy brat with 2 older brothers. Before she was 5 years old she had already been to 26 different states. Then her parents divorced and she went with her father, having very few visits with her mom (although now there are best friends). The only states she truly remembers are Colorado because she had a lot of surgeries there, and then Minnesota, because her family is there. She now lives in L.A., but really misses Minnesota. 

Jana said she was accident prone as a child and was in the hospital often. “Starting at the age of 3 that I can remember, from my face being mangled by a dog, to my appendix bursting on my 5th birthday, to my 1st motorcycle accident with my left foot (which needed skin grafts), to my skull shattering, to breaking ribs, to my heart stopping, to my last motorcycle accident which again my heart stopped, I lost my helmet before hitting my head on asphalt, I now suffer from severe nerve damage, bone issues, fibromyalgia & trigeminal neuralgia. I also currently get steroid injections in my spine as well as my hip every 6 months due to my motorcycle accident. Though with all the downfalls in my life I refuse to give up despite all the pain. I’m allergic to opiates so can’t take anything but medical marijuana (I work in the business as well).”

Jana has a daughter Molly, who’s birthday happens to be today, May 4th! “She’s my inspiration for everything.” Jana was in the acting business for a few years before her illnesses got worse, but you will see my face on T.V., movies, and commercials every once in a while. She is now in the cannabis industry and enjoys it since it’s not strenuous on her. Jana has a surgical steel plate in her head and is also allergic to the sun. Aside from this, as she mentioned, her heart has stopped two times and she’s been declared legally dead. “Technically I’m a zombie, lol.” She has a talent for handling pain. “When I was acting I definitely had to hide the pain.” 

Interesting fact about Jana, she was supposed to get married on 311 Day 2018. “Peter Raspler sent me their camera crew to film it right before the show, until I was left at the altar, even after being left at the altar I went to the show & had an amazing time thanks to people in the familia who made sure I was okay. There’s nothing like having something that brings people together like 311 does. Since the age of 9, 311 has helped me cope with A LOT of things, their music has helped me through depression & suicide, among other things. Since the death of my father, they’ve helped with a lot of emotions. They’ve given me strength, just like my father has. I’ve come a long way & I’m still staying positive & (trying to) love my life.”

Other artists that Jana loves include Atmosphere, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd, Phil Collins, Tupac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marilyn Manson, Rolling Stones and Journey. Guilty pleasure for her she said was that she loved acting but really wanted to direct. She also collects glass pieces such as bongs, pipes, rigs, pendants, and other 420 accessories. 

To 311, Jana has these words: “I personally want to meet you all, but especially Pnut. He’s my idol, the way he plays bass is just so tranquil to me.” 

To all the other fans, here is her message:

“I may not know a lot of the fans but everyone I have met through 311 I consider family, it’s all about unity & staying positive. Special shout outs to Adrian Lopez, Jessica & Sean Pursley, JR & Casey Barnett & Shannon Conley.”

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Thanks for sharing your story Jana and a very happy birthday to your daughter Molly! Much gratitude to all the readers as well. Stay safe, stay healthy, love your life my friends! Until next time. 

Much Love – The Runt