Welcome excitable nation! It’s that time again, the spotlight takes aim at another awesome fan. Let’s meet Julie Reid!
A co-worker introduced Julie to 311 back in 1995. It was the combination of rap, reggae and rock that made her instantly fall in love with their music. “It was a combination of everything I loved growing up.”
First show for Julie was back in 1996 and she has been to quite a few shows since then…254 to be exact! “I keep everything from all my shows. I have tickets stubs, passes, pictures, videos from free shows, posters, t-shirts. I started counting when management asked me how many shows I was at.”
Her favorite show out of the 254 is hard to narrow down, so instead she gave us her top ones out of them. First off is Omaha’s 250th Anniversary show. “It was such a great show, Grasshopper Takeover and Zack Hexum opened. It was so much fun and my first time in Omaha. I will never forget watching the sea of lights during Beyond the Grey Sky. We recorded the show. It was amazing!” Then there was the first cruise. “It was so awesome to watch my favorite band with so many other fans that were their for the same reason, to enjoy their show. It was magical Miami in the back ground as we sailed away and 311 rocking out!” Third up is Pow Wow. She said it was so hot and she hopes they don’t do that again in the summer, but it was amazing to see her favorite album in it’s entirety. Then there are the shows she was able to attend when they played Game Works in Vegas. “$25 for unlimited games, food and 311 playing on small stage amongst video games.” She also said that she was able to attend the Weenie Roast when Shaq came in on a helicopter and played “Psycho” with them. “Their faces were priceless! They were all so happy! And watching Shaq crowd surf was really entertaining. Alaska…I was also their when they played their 50th state! I’ve also been to Japan to see them and all 5 cruises. 21 years since my first show…too many memorable shows.” Song favorites are a little easier to choose, Julie loves “8:16AM” and “Do You Right.” Her favorite complete album is Transistor.
Julie was born and raised in Orange County, California, in the town of Placentia to be exact. She has one sister and had a brother until he unfortunately passed away from Leukaemia when Julie was 17. She was his bone marrow donor twice and said she would do it again if someone needed it to help save their life. She doesn’t drink or do drugs and never has. Now married, she lives in Laguna Hills with her husband and step daughter. “I been to so many states and love so much about a lot of them but can’t see myself living anywhere else but Southern California…it’s home.”
Fun fact about Julie is that Zack Hexum has played a few of her birthday parties! “I love his music and wish he would still play. There’s actually a YouTube video of one of my birthday parties at the beach. So much fun, he’s an awesome person and amazing musician!” Other musicians she loves are Remy Zero (even though they broke up), LIVE, The Offspring, Pennywise, Cage the Elephant, Mary J. Blige, Unwritten Law, and Foo Fighters.
Creativity is one of Julie’s unique attributes, she loves to get crafty and plan events. “Guess you have to be to be able to take so much time off work to attend as many shows as I have. Lol.” Guilty pleasure for Julie is shopping! “I have sooo many shoes and purses. I’ve given a lot of shoes away in the past few years but at one point I had over 300 pairs of shoes and over 150 purses. My husband had to build me a closet to store everything I just can’t live without 😉 I have the best husband!”
Julie’s message to 311 is, “Thank you for continuing to play and create amazing music for us! My life would not be the same without you and all the wonderful people I’ve met because of you and your music! Keep ROCKIN’ and we’ll keep coming!!!!”
Now to all the fans:
“You are all awesome! The stories I read on Facebook how people come together and are supportive of each other!!! It’s a beautiful thing. Hope it never changes!”
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Thanks for sharing your story Julie! It was a great one. Thanks to all for reading and the continued support of this fun project! You are all amazing people.
Much love – The Runt