Why hello there peeps out in 311 nation! Are you ready for the next edition of the fan spotlight? This week let’s meet the lovely Noelle Dion!
Growing up, Noelle remembers listening to a Boston radio station, WFNX, and it was there that she first heard the sounds of 311. “They were different than anything I had ever heard before….they had resemblances of other stuff I liked but completely unique in their own right.”
While Noelle has never really thought to get her exact show count, she believes she is somewhere in the 40 range. First show for her was in 1995 at Avalon in Boston. “Clubs were 19+ OR a college ID. I was only 17 but already in college so I could get into all the clubs, it was great!” Favorite event so far? “Cruise 2 for sure! It was my first 311 cruise. That beach show was insane! The splash party in the ocean…meeting everyone floating around, nothing could ever duplicate that!”
Song that Noelle says she’s pretty partial to is “Don’t Stay Home.” “For 7 years I was in a bad relationship and lost most of my friends, never went out, never enjoyed life. When I finally ended it and started enjoying life and going to all the concerts I wanted to, that song was LIFE!” She also loves “Can’t Fade Me,” “Homebrew,” and “Give Me A Call.” For lyrics, she loves the last lines in “Can’t Fade Me.” “Desperate the cling I make to positivity, stay getting it on til the doubt is gone. If you could be dissuaded you were dead all along, like what’s up now, you can’t fade me. Still in the same old trade of positivity.”
Salem, Massachusetts, is where Noelle grew up. She spent her summers in New Hampshire at a campground where her parents worked. At 18 she moved out and lived all around New England, then eventually moved to Colorado. From there she moved to San Diego, and then landed in Florida where she has now been for about 15 years. “My family always said I was a gypsy, always loving to move and travel around. I’m hoping to move back to Colorado in the next year or two, I miss the mountains a lot!” Noelle is a bartender at Chili’s and she loves her job. She also bartends special events such as concerts and festivals. “I am looking forward to bartending backstage on NYE for Stick Figure! I was lucky enough to be asked and even got to design a menu based on their songs, so it’s pretty exciting!”
Interesting fact about Noelle is that she used to be very shy. While she isn’t really anymore she said she does have her awkward moments where the shyness can creep back in. “Being a bartender makes me always very social so when I’m off I like to be alone and can be introverted.”
Noelle loves helping people – strangers, friends, and especially animals! “I have a rescued prairie dog named Pfife Dawg, 2 rescued pups named Chara and Falkor and a stray cat made house cat named Snaxx. I look forward to helping people and try to even on vacations. Volunteering in Mexico during CTTS was the best part of the trip. And I often collect items for donations in my county or for disaster relief around the country.”
Other musicians that Noelle loves include Jane’s Addiction, A Tribe Called Quest, Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Björk, Social Distortion, The Interrupters, Digable Planets, Operation Ivy, Beastie Boys, SOJA, G. Love, Big Data, and Faith No More. One of her guilty pleasures is Justin Timberlake. She also loves reality T.V. “I even tried out for Big Brother but froze up on camera, haha!!”
To 311 Noelle would like to say: “Thank you for breaking me out of my shell and helping me discover who I truly am, and bringing unquantifiable amounts of positivity into my life! And bringing me the bestest friends anyone could ever ask for!”
Her message to all the other fans out there:
“Always help others! Even a smile to a stranger could change their day. Always give without expectations. And in the words of my best friend….Do no harm but take no shit!
Also if you see me, I could be in shy mode, so please say hi!!!”
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Thank you Noelle Dion for sharing your story! As always, many thank you’s to all who read each week. Until next time, keep being awesome!
Much love – The Runt