Hello again my Excitable friends! The next installment of the 311 fan spotlight has arrived. It’s time for the story of Angela Delauri Crosby!
Flash back to the 4th grade for Angela, when she was at her friends house and her brother had just purchased the blue album. “We borrowed it to listen in her bedroom while we played with Pogs. I liked the music instantly because it was different than what I was used to hearing on the radio (southern Vermont doesn’t have many stations!).”
As for show count, Angela doesn’t know the exact number, but believes it to be somewhere above 50 at this point. “I’ve never really counted them or kept track. My first show was in 2009 at the Miami Waterfront – I was in the second row and Tim gave me his guitar pick after the show!”
Favorite show/event for Angela, she chose the second cruise. “The beach show was something else… Being in the crystal clear water with so many like minded people, making friends, having drinks delivered to us while floating on a floaty, and then the splash pit – I’m not sure if that could be created again. (even though I hope for it every cruise year!) That cruise was life changing for me. Noelle Dion and I went on that cruise together not knowing ANYONE and we have both made SO MANY friends since then. I was also soooo shocked when I was walking across the pool deck and saw someone from my hometown who has known me since I was born, that I never expected to see on that boat… Lisa Parker Swane! That entire cruise experience is by far my favorite 311 memory.”
The song Angela says is her all time favorite is “Speak Easy.” “The lyrics are so powerful and meaningful.” As for favorite quote, one of her faves is, “You’ve got to bet on yourself now star, cause that’s your best bet.” “It reminds me that you have to have faith in yourself and be your own best friend. You have to love yourself and remind yourself that you’re worthy of everything and anything.”
Rutland, Vermont, is where Angela grew up. Her family still owns the house that she was born in. In 2005 she moved away from the state for the first time, traveling south to Florida. “Since then I’ve moved back to Vermont twice, once for 9 months, then returned to Florida and lived with my BFF Noelle Dion for a couple years and then again to Vermont for 4 years which is when I met my now husband, Toban who also grew up there. He is also a huge 311 fan! I couldn’t believe I met a real life 311 fan in Rutland, VT. I brought him into the Familia and his big heart and fun loving spirit truly fits in with everyone.”
For 9 months Angela’s job took her and Toban to Seattle, where they had the chance to become good friends with Christa Dohy and Aaron Kaloustian. Then it was back to Florida, Palm Beach Gardens to be precise. “We love living here! There’s so much to do, so many different cultures represented. We love that we can find a new restaurant to eat at every week if we want to! And we are really close to a few great venues like Terra Fermata and the Abacoa Amphitheater as well as West Palm Beach’s Sunfest which 311 frequents. I work in the insurance industry with workers’ compensation and auto liability claims and Toban is in food service. We love the flexibility of our jobs and that it allows us to do what we like!”
Fun fact about Angela is that back in 2005, she turned in two escaped convicts to the FBI and received a reward for doing so! “They really do give you a reward when the FBI says there is one offered!”
Guilty pleasure for Angela is that at one point she knew every single word to all the music from The Backstreet Boys. “Still do for a lot of their older music. I would still go see them perform any time!” She also loves to watch “trash” T.V. when Toban isn’t home. “The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Real Housewives, the Circle… any of those ridiculous reality TV shows LOL mindless television for the win! I’m also not very good at knitting (squares and rectangles and knit and pearl only LOL) but I love to do it every now and then, it’s very calming.”
When not listening to 311, Angela loves the sounds from other musicians like Passafire, The Movement, Ballyhoo!, Rebelution, The Skints, Dirty Heads, Dropkick Murphy’s, RDGLDGRN, Bumpin’ Uglies, Tropidelic, Pepper, Los Stellarians, and Eminem. She also LOVE’s The Weeknd. “He’s brilliant. My favorite band of all time is Sublime (the original only!) I cannot imagine how much amazing music would have been made if Bradley was still alive!”
To 311, Angela has these words: “Thank you for continuing to do this for us all after all these years – you continue to bring so much energy to your shows and positivity to your fans and it continues to bring us together; thank you for caring about us, you are loved!”
Now here are her words to all her fellow 311 fans:
“Let’s continue to have fun and be there for one another, that’s what keeps this awesome – the friendships we’ve made and the times we share together. We’ve done some really awesome stuff to support one another when it’s needed and that is what I love about our commUNITY. I’m really bad at recognizing people in person based on social media photos so PLEASE say hi to me if you see me – I love meeting my friends in real life! I know I’m not in all the groups and I’m not the 311est and you may not see me at all the major events, but I truly feel so grateful to be a part of this group of people and to be thought of as an excitable even remotely worthy of an article like this! I absolutely LOVE you all!”
Thanks Angela for sharing your story of your love for 311! Many, many thanks as always to all the readers each time. Have an amazing week friends!
Much Love – The Runt