Happy Thanksgiving week excitable fans! Shall we kick it off right by giving thanks for a new 311 fan spotlight? Let’s meet this weeks amazing fan – Megan Lynne Crucet!
Back in 1995, when Megan was around the age of 10, is where her 311 tale begins. She and her friend Alec went to after school care together at their elementary school. Alec’s dad picked them up and Megan would hang out at his house until her mom got out of work. “I have fond memories of the two of us playing Sega and listening to the blue album. I believe it was his older brother who introduced the band to him and then share it with me. Once I saw the music video for “Down” on MTV, my love for the band, especially Nick, was solidified.”
Show count is unknown for Megan but she does remember that her first show was on 3/13/2002 in Sunrise, Florida. She has been on all of the cruises and will be on the one in 2017 (with Alec and his wife). She’s also attended 311 Day in Nola in 2008 and 2014, been to Pow Wow, and was at the Halloween show in West Palm Beach back in 2003 with Alien Ant Farm. “I never ended up getting a shirt from that show which I regret to this day!” Favorite show is tied between 311 Day 2008 and the beach show from the second cruise. “311 day was the first major event I had attended and first I had to leave the state for. I remember getting chills and feeling emotional when they closed with Paradise.”
Favorite song is a three way tie between “Eons,” “Jackolantern’s Weather,” and “Electricity.” Megan loves the beat change up at the beginning of “Eons”” baffles her mind and she even had a conversation with Pnut about it. “He tried to explain to me that it actually isn’t that difficult, but I still couldn’t catch on, and I was also busy staring lol. He mentioned that Offbeat BareAss has a similar change up, but that one doesn’t confuse my brain as much.” Then there is “Jackolantern’s Weather” which is the inspiration for her tattoo (see photo further down). “My birthday is in October and Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.” Then the song “Electricity” and the line “The soul you have is electricity” hold a special place in her heart. “When my grandfather passed away several years ago, we had people over the house after the funeral, which I suppose is tradition. It was a perfectly sunny Florida afternoon and about 30 minutes into it the lights started flickering. This went on for the next few minutes and even lead to a couple people leaving. I truly believe that was his soul letting us know he was there and saying goodbye one last time…tear :(“
Megan was born and raised in South Florida and has never lived anywhere else. She has traveled though, she and her sister used to spend their summers with their grandparents in various places such as Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. Flying is something that Megan has never been particularly good with and she said 311 has become somewhat of a security blanket for her. “As long as I had my CD player and some 311 CDs I was okay. I still remember sitting there and holding the rewind button to get to the Transistor Intro. That was the coolest thing for some reason lol.” Funding her 311 habit is relatively easy – she just doesn’t go on other vacations besides 311 related ones or family related trips.
As mentioned above, Megan has a 311 tattoo relating to “Jackolantern’s Weather.” What most people don’t know is just how big the tattoo is. “Started with just the 311 star with the space theme below it. The center is my Jackolantern’s weather scene with the quote from electricity below it.” While no band besides 311 has ever come close to being as important to Megan as 311 is, she does love Sublime, Incubus and Nirvana. Plus she said her parents had a role in shaping her musical tastes as well. Guilty pleasure for Megan is “Spongebob.” Even as an adult she still stops and watches it. She’s also still obsessed with the show “Friends” and says she probably can’t make it through a day without quoting it.
The question about what makes Megan unique was difficult for her, but it was a friend who reminded her of an amazing skill she has – pumpkin carving skills. “Don’t get me wrong, I just use those stencil packs that they sell everywhere, but I guess since I pick the hard ones and am pretty accurate he thought it was worth mentioning. This friend also happens to be the first 311 friend I made via the internet before the days of Facebook and the Familia. I think it was around 2002 or 2003 in an AOL chat room. We ended up meeting in person after chatting almost daily for a few months when he lent me his ETSD VHS(I know, right) and a 311 shirt since I decided I wanted to wear a 311 shirt to school everyday that week and I only had 4. We are still friends to this day even though he moved to Alaska, and he is also coming with me on the next cruise as a first timer! So everyone be sure to say hi and give all the high fives you can!”
To 311, Megan’s message is: “And when the day is done, what you receive is the sum, of what you took out from what you put in.” I hope you guys are getting as much out of this as us fans are. I don’t think any of us would want it any other way, but please don’t ever stop!”
To all the other fans:
“I’m only outgoing and somewhat crazy around people I know, but until then I’m pretty shy and not likely to initiate conversation. So if you happen to see me at a show or on the next cruise, come say hi! High fives and hugs are also welcome. Thanks for creating a community I am proud to be a part of! PLUR.”
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Nice to meet you Megan Lynne Crucet! Thank you for being a part of the 311 fan spotlight project. Thank you to all of the other fans who keep reading. Thank you to 311 for being amazing and bringing all these positive people together. Without you, our lives would all be drastically different I believe. Now go, give thanks for the love in your life, be positive, spread the PLUR.
Much love my friends – Happy Thanksgiving!
The Runt