Welcome back friends! Happy Christmas week! As we round down the awesomeness of 2014, lets take the time to meet a new 311 fan! This week we feature Mr. Jeff Seipel!
1995 was the year Jeff was introduced to 311 when a coworker tried to have him listen to the blue album. At the time though, it wasn’t the style of music that Jeff was in to. About a year later, a friend told Jeff he had to check out a certain drummer and “his amazingly unique snare sound.” His friend played the song “Random,” and from there Jeff was hooked.
At 67 shows and counting, Jeff says he keeps track for two reasons. One, he loves music and going to concerts, and never could have imagined seeing one band this much. “There are some people who won’t attend that many concerts in their life, so I feel blessed to be able to do it. The last 4 years have been a pretty crazy string of travel and shows.” His second reason – he has a goal to eventually hear every song 311 had ever recorded live. “I believe it will happen one day. They’re the kind of band that doesn’t record filler on an album. Everything is a viable live song, and they’re not afraid to try it at some point. Hearing “Dreamland” and “Will the World” at 311 Day this year blew my mind. It just goes to show you that anything is possible with them.” Jeff is under 10 songs now that he has never heard live. When I asked him which of the 67 shows is his favorite, he said it was way too hard to choose. “That’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite kid. I can’t do it.”
Jeff isn’t a lyrics guy. Being a drummer, he focuses more on the music than the lyrics in the songs. There are songs that he knows all the words to due to repetition. But to pick one that has resonated with him, it’s not solely based on the words. “I think it would be “Time is Precious.” The live debut of that song at 311 Day 2012 came one month to the day after I lost my mom to cancer. I don’t know that the meaning of it applies to losing someone you love and I’ve never taken the time to actually read the lyrics, but that’s what I take from it.” And while not into learning the lyrics like most, Jeff says one line that stands out to him is from the song “Brodels,” simply because he thinks it’s hilarious and would never expect to hear it in a song. “I can’t hear you, like havin’ phone sex with a deaf girl.”
Columbus, Ohio is where Jeff was raised by his parents, and his father was a huge musical influence on him. “His record collection reached upwards of 4,000 at one point and his CD collection today easily tops 2,000 now.” Jeff likes to tell people he grew up on the “good stuff” – Beatles, Zeppelin, Zappa, The Doors, etc. “My parents were kinda sorta hippies. Not fully living the lifestyle, but definitely the musical and recreational aspects of it.” He was taught not to just take what music is on the radio as what he had to listen to and he looked beyond it to find different bands. At age 5 he had a guitar in his hands, but it never really stuck with him. It was Jeff’s sophomore year that he discovered the drums. “I switched to drums when the guys I was jamming with realized I was a better drummer than any of the guys we were “auditioning” for our half-assed attempt to play the talent show.” Then in his senior year he ended up with a new group of guys and they had a 6 year run in a band. While they didn’t make much noise outside of Columbus, Jeff says they, “Progressed immensely during this time and I’m really proud of the music we created.”
In 2001, Jeff moved to Southern California with his previous girlfriend. He struggled out there during the first year, but eventually landed a job at a start-up ecommerce company in Aliso Viejo. “I never could’ve imagined staying with a company this long, but it’s been 12 plus years now. I’m very blessed to have the job I do.” It’s this job that enables Jeff to travel as much as he does to all the shows. He not only has five weeks of vacation, but he can pretty much work remotely from any location and he has. “Airplanes, airports, ski lifts, concerts, hospitals, you name it. If I have internet connection, I can be online and working.”
About 16 years ago, Jeff became involved in hobby collecting the lapel pins that are sold in the merchandise shops at the Hard Rock Cafe locations. It turned into him traveling worldwide visiting locations and accumulating a collection of close to 6,000 unique pins. He’s been to about 80 different locations around the globe. He even met his previous girlfriend through collecting. Jeff says the community of collectors is somewhat similar to the community of 311 fans, but much more spread out around the world. Jeff says the pin collecting is really the foundation of his efforts and why he’s able to do what he does for the groups regarding merchandise. “I already have a system for handling stuff in volume like this, it’s just changed from pins to t-shirts and posters.”
When Jeff was a kid he was a huge LEGO fan, and he still is now and then posts photos of sets he buys now and then builds. “I used to build all kinds of weird stuff, including life-sized guitars that I would string with kite string to make them look more realistic.” He was also really into video games as well. His parents bought an Atari 2600 not long after it debuted, so he’s been gaming most of his life. His guilty pleasure though he says is snowboarding. As a kid he was really into skateboarding but never transitioned into snowboarding because of his location in Ohio. It wasn’t until he moved to California that he had the opportunity with mountains nearby. “I had a coworker who went up to Mammoth all the time, but despite my best, subtle (or not so subtle) hints that I wanted to go, he never invited me up. Thankfully Gloria was a boarder and soon after we started dating, she took me up to the local mountains for my birthday. All it took was one trip and I was hooked.”
Apart from 311, Dream Theater is Jeff’s other long time favorite band. “I’ve been a fan of them since the fall of 1992 when “Images & Words” hit. Amazing musicians.” His other musical loves fall all over the map and include bands like The Urge, The Cure, Dirty Heads, Meshuggah, Faith No More, Breaking Benjamin, and Steve Vai, just to name a few. As Jeff says, “I could do this all day.”
Jeff has been lucky to meet 311 and say these simple words to them. “Thank you.” He said it may sound cheesy and simple, but it’s all he can really say. “Their music has been a part of my life for almost 19 years now, and I have some incredible memories, people and experiences in my life because of it. I was an aspiring musician at one time and looking at the way they’ve done things over the years, the fan base they’ve built, the lengths they go to to give their fans an amazing live experience, etc. its the model I would love to follow to build a successful music career.”
Now to all the fans out there in the 311 community, Jeff’s words are this:
“I think it would definitely to not be afraid to ask for something you want, need or think of. Just go for it. The worst someone can say is no, right? So just ask. You never know, the answer just might be yes, or open an unexpected door. You never know whats on the other side…”
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There you have Jeff’s story my friends! I trust it entertained you and truly thank you all for reading these week to week. If you celebrate it, Merry Christmas to you. I’m sending every one in this awesome community much love & positive vibes this holiday season.
Much love! – The Runt