Greetings and salutations my excitable friends! Welcome back for another edition of the 311 fan spotlight. This week we feature Mr. Evan Stern!
Does anyone remember the MTV show 120 Minutes? Well Evan Stern does because it is that show that brought 311 into his life. “Homebrew was the video and it blew my mind. I had never heard anything like that before and I was intrigued.” Shortly thereafter the Blue album was released and Evan was hooked.
Losing count of the tally of shows that you’ve attended is easy to do when you’ve been seeing them live since 1996. “I saw my first 311 show in May of 1996 at the Roseland in NYC (scalped a ticket for $20, I know right?).” Evan then saw pretty much every show in the New York area for the next decade and a half. “I think the only one I skipped was the Sprite Liquid Logic Tour with Jay-Z and Hoobastank. I am not a big fan of Jay-Z.” Evan’s favorite event he’s attended is the popular choice of 311 Day 2014 in New Orleans. “It was probably the best single performance I have ever seen…the energy, the setlist, the overall performance.” He also loved the second cruise was amazing, especially because you have to factor in the beach show. “That was an amazing experience.”
Evan has a special connection with the song “Homebrew” since it is the song that introduced him to the band. “It holds a special place in my heart.” One of his favorite quotes however comes from the song “Get Down” – “In the now is why we’re here.”
Growing up in Queens, New York, a mere 15 minutes from Shea Stadium, you can probably guess that Evan is a big Mets fan. He attended school in Manhattan, which he says is, “As awesome as you’d expect it to be.” After high school he “floundered about” until he “finally got some sort of degree that said I was good at art or something.” He now works doing research and development for new product and business ideas. “Basically somebody has an idea, we help them figure out what to do with it. I research products, draft patents, build presentations, and write copy – a regular jack-of-all-trades. On the side, I dabble in graphics.”
Evan’s dabbling and creativity have made him many peoples go-to person for graphics, which he says is humbling. “There are a lot of other great artists out there, but to repeatedly get people asking for YOUR assistance is pretty fantastic. It’s nice to have that kind of appreciation amongst your peers. I just wish I had the time and focus to say YES to every request.”
Something cool that Evan owns? A custom 311 LEGO set with a stage and all. Something cool he got to do? He was once on a game show called AOL Gold Rush. He said it was an internet show so not many people know about it, but he got to fly to Vegas and L.A. on someone else’s dime. “I was on Entertainment Tonight, The CBS Early Show, and in a few other lesser media outlets, including TV Guide. Won $100,000 and got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Also met some rad people who are still friends today.”
When asked what guilty pleasure he has, he answered, “Well, I really dig Barry Manilow. He writes the songs that make the whole world sing.” Aside from the smooth crooning of Barry, Evan says his number one band is the Beastie Boys. 311 comes in second and then The Bouncing Souls land at number three. “I also really love me some good hip hop (not that crap on the radio), punk, hardcore, ska, reggae, jazz, funk, soul, and pretty much anything except electronic and most country.”
Evan would like to tell the guys of 311, “Keep doing what you’re doing. We only get one trip through this crazy thing called life, so make the most of it. Do what you love. Unless it’s illegal…then just do it with discretion.”
His message to all of you awesome excitable fans is a simple one:
“Don’t stop believin’. Steve Perry said that. It’s good advice.”
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And so ends another 311 fan spotlight my friends. As always, thanks for reading. You keep reading, I’ll keep writing! Until we meet again…
Much love – The Runt