Welcome again Excitables to another edition of the 311 fan spotlight! And obviously happy 311 Day week! This week we learn all about Paulo Macedo Jr.!
The year was 1997 and Paulo came to the United States as an exchange student. He lived in Norfolk, Nebraska, and 311 was blowing up the charts with the album Transistor. “I was already a fan of NOFX, Green Day, Offspring sort of knew about Sublime (I didn’t like it at the time), I was getting started on hiphop. There was some bands in Brazil doing this rap/rock/reggae at the time also like O Rappa and Planet Hemp and I was really in that scene. So it was a natural movement.”
Paulo said that show count for him is an easy one to tell – it’s two! Since he lives in Brazil, he hasn’t been able to see them live as much as he’d like. “I went to 311 Day 2006 in Memphis and went to the Unity Tour 2011 in San Diego, CA with Sublime with Rome <3. They came to brazil once, but I couldn’t get a day off. It was a festival that was going on 10 hours from where I live so I couldn’t make it.”
Since he’s only been able to attend two shows, he obviously loved them both and said 311 Day is just an amazing time to him. “The whole city breathing 311, I’ve made friends that I’m still in touch. At the time I was working with o local radio in my hometown, so I’ve got in touch with the band management and ended up meeting the guys on the day before the concert and it was awesome. Because of this I ended up on the Extra DVD that came on Uplifter and one of the episodes of the 30 years doc that is on Youtube. And once I was in a The Beautiful Girls Concert here in my hometown of Curitiba, Brazil and I saw someone with a 311 shirt, I came to talk to him and he recognized me from the DVD.”
The whole blue album means a lot to Paulo because the time he spent in Nebraska were not his best days. “I was living on a farm, sort of far from the city, no friends, just kids that I would talk to in class, so Don’t Stay Home and DLMD were life savers to get through the end and graduate.”
There are quite a few lyrics that mean a lot to Paulo, including: “You’ve got to bet on yourself now star, cuz that’s your best best,” “Stay positive and love your life,” and “I only say what I feel and that is a promise, nothing in life is above being honest.”
Paulo’s full name is Paulo Roberto Macedo, Jr., but his friends all just call him PR. He just turned 40 years old and is married with 2 boys. Married to the love of his life for 2 1/2 years, their boys are the ages 1 year 9 months and the other only a month, so he has his hands full! He lives in the city he grew up in which is Curitiba, Brazil. With a bachelors degree in Communications and Journalism, Paulo has his own video production business where he does videos and also marketing.
Paulo grew up listening to music from The Beatles and also popular Brazilian music so he showed interest in music from an early age on. “My first music tape was Guns n Roses Appetite for Destruction, I had the forbidden front art, at that time on the age of 7 or 8 my father knew that the rock bug had bitten me. I like a lot of the local alternative bands from the rock, reggae, punk and hardcore from Brazil.”
Aside from his time in Nebraska, Paulo has also lived in Montevideo, Uruguay, and also San Diego back in 2006. “I could watch so many bands that I never thought I would ever see live and took a Marketing and Media Course in San Diego State University.” Paulo loves going to concerts and seeing live music, so he’s really been missing that lately like so many of us.
Being Brazilian, Paulo is a huge soccer fan. ” I support my local team, it’s called Paraná Clube, I love going to the games with my friends, also missing that a lot!! With this Corona Crisis and two babies at home I’ve also miss having barbecue with my friends, one of my favorite things to do. Meet with some friends, have a barbecue, talk about music, listen to music. Some of my friends have/had bands, so there’s always a guitar somewhere.”
Funny story about Paulo is that right when the video for “Love Song” was released, he happened to be in a Walmart and saw the video playing on all of the T.V.’s there. “20 different TVs with Nick’s face on it. I rushed to the counter and without thinking I yelled at the guy I WANT THIS DVD, the guy wasn’t understanding. This DVD, the one that is playing on all of the TVs, how much, I WANT IT!! He replied oh… it’s just a music channel…I haven’t seen the video yet. Then I spent the time talking to the Walmart guy.”
Fun fact about Paulo is that he’s had two cars with 311 plates on them! He’s also really interested in technology, so many people are always asking him questions about it. “My mom’s friends come to me to buy TVs, smartphones and this stuff. And as expected, asking me to fix something.”
Other artists that Paulo loves include Bad Religion, NOFX, Rancid, Bouncing Souls, Social Distortion, Unwritten Law, Sublime with or without Rome, Offspring, Green Day, Dirty Heads, Mad Caddies, Beastie Boys, Wyclef Jean, The Fugees, Less Than Jake and Goldfinger. There are also some Brazilian bands he said are awesome and sing in English, including AbraSKAdabra, Lou Dog and Water Rats. Paulo’s guilty pleasure is also music related – he loves a Brazilian band from the 90’s/2000’s called Comunidade Ninjitsu. “Their sound is similar to the cheesy pop Brazilian funk but it came 20 years before and have sort of a smart ass ironic lyrics, I just love it.”
Paulo was lucky enough to have time to talk to the guys of 311 and tell him how much they mean to him in person. “I got the most impressive answer that I never expected to hear. I said to Nick that they were my heroes, he asked me back “Who else is your hero?” And that changed my whole perspective on a lot of things.” That was then…now Paulo would like to tell them: “Keep on rocking on the positivity because what you guys bring is more than just music.”
Now here are Paulo’s words to all his fellow 311 fans:
“It’s great to be a part of this community, It’s awesome the work that you do Chrissy, it is amazing. On my 311 day concert I went early to the venue, I talked to some guys that I met on the day before to get together and have some beers, I bought a pack and went to the venue, when I got there I couldn’t find them. After walking for a while I just stopped and some other guys started talking to me, I left my beer on their ice and we had a great time. This is what this community is about.
I could not finish this without saying “Stay positive and love your life.”
There you have the story of PR! Much gratitude to Paulo for sharing his story of his love for 311. To all the readers, I wouldn’t be here without you all, so THANK YOU! Have an amazing week, and an awesome 311 DAY!
Much Love friends – The Runt
