Hello again my friends out there in the 311 universe! Our next fan spotlight has arrived. Let’s get the story from April DeManss!
It was in her early teens that April first became a fan of 311. “I actually sang Down with a band that my parents followed around locally. It was SO bad but I rocked all the lyrics. LOL!”
Show count? Well this last cruise was her first 311 show ever! It was also her first cruise. So obviously, the sets on the ship were her favorites! She said she is going to totally be on the next one.
Song that means the most to April is “Beautiful Disaster.” “Because that’s what my husband calls me—his beautiful disaster!” As for lyrics, her favorites come from “Amber:” “Nothing good comes easily, sometimes you’ve got to fight.”
Outside Baltimore, Maryland, is where April grew up. She has lived in Maryland her whole life. She worked in the prosecutors office for 20 years and only left after her breast cancer treatment to work for a non-profit for prosecutors and law enforcement. “I’m also a personal trainer and focus on empowering women to be their strongest self! I also have 2 non-profits promoting awareness about animal cruelty and am an adjunct faculty for the Veterinary Forensics masters program at University of Florida. I also volunteer on a small, family farm taking care of all the animals and ensuring they are raised and harvested humanely. That’s a lot of “also’s….” but I live life hard and love it even more!”
Earlier this year, April’s breast cancer metastasized to her brain. “We named my tumor Earl: because Earl had to die. My now husband and I went to the courthouse on March 4th, got married, and went to the emergency room for my brain surgery. We had already planned the cruise, and that was my biggest question to the neurosurgeon, “can I go on our honeymoon?!” lol. I’m so grateful that I made it and especially the other amazing 311 members that are also breast cancer thrivers! I see you ladies!”
Fun fact about April, she’s very stubborn! “I had brain surgery and brain radiation and I’m here to tell about it. I’m doing everything to live, survive, and thrive with cancer again, because I found the love of my life and I don’t want to break his heart ever!”
April said that there are many things that make her a unique person. “I’m quite well known for my ridiculous laugh. There’s no other ape that’s a hot mess (or beautiful disaster if you will—I love you Julius!) like me. I love giving to others and sharing love! I want to ensure that you leave my presence with a smile or laugh!” Guilty pleasure for her is food! “Ice cream, pizza, coffee. Good stuff!”
As for other artists that April can be found listening to, she said she’s a very eclectic listener. “I used to teach cycling classes so I love going from anything like country to pop, punk rock, and 80’s hair bands!”
To the band, April would love to say these words: “Thank you! Thank you for an incredible honeymoon that will forever be embedded in my heart! I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to make it. But staples came out the Friday before we left, and I couldn’t be happier with these memories!”
Now here is her message to all the other 311 fans out there:
“Love every day in the present moment, and share love with others! None of us are promised tomorrow!”
Wow what an amazing story April! Thank you so much for sharing it with us all. Thanks, as always, to all the readers each post. In the spirit of April, go out there and kick some butt this week with a smile on your face!
What is up my friends in the 311 universe! Hope everyone is doing well. Shall we get to the latest fan spotlight? Let’s meet Nadia Rushing!
In 1995, Nadia needed a ride home from marching band practice. She was unaware of the musical journey she was about to go on. “A guy named Tony was kind enough to drive me home and he introduced me to Music and Grassroots and I was instantly hooked. I had never heard anything like them before. I believe Blue had just recently come out too. Being I wasn’t yet able to drive, I begged to get to the record store and spent most of the money I had to buy the albums. I spent hours upon hours lying on my bedroom floor listening to the CDs, reading song lyric after lyric and singing my heart out. And yet, after hours of studying, I still sing what I hear!”
For show count, Nadia said she sadly isn’t one of those fans that keep accurate track. She believes it’s around 30. First show for her was in 1996, at the Omni in Atlanta, when No Doubt was the opener. “Besides my infatuation with 311, Gwen Stefani was my female role model so this show was amazing.”
Picking a favorite show can be difficult for most 311 fans. Nadia has been fortunate enough to attend a few 311 Day events, 2 cruises, and a show at Red Rocks. Of all of these, she said her first cruise was an experience like no other. “While this was my favorite event, I must share my favorite experience. While in college, 311 was playing in Jacksonville, FL with Jimmy’s Chicken Shack as the opener I believe. My friend I didn’t have a tickets to the show but the venue told us we could buy at the door. So we drove 3 hours only to find out it was sold out. (This was before the days of internet sales). We were bummed and didn’t just want to drive home for nothing so we wandered into a nearby tattoo parlor. There we ran into one of the road-crew guys for 311. We told him our heartbreak and he told us where to go to see their tour bus and hopefully catch a glimpse of the guys. We took his advice and hung around the tour buses, taking with other fans, etc. and wouldn’t you know, I looked over my shoulder and there stood miT, talking with the fans. We got his autograph and were lucky enough to meet Chad as well. P-nut then came out and one of the fans told him our story and asked if there was any way for us to see the show. He said “of course! Write your names down for me and I’ll turn it in at the gate”. We were in complete disbelief and never thought it would have actually happened. But sure enough, we went to the gate a while later, acting like complete fan-girls and we were on the list! It was an amazing show and we had a blast. Post-show we went back to the busses and were lucky enough to meet all 5 members and get all their autographs, I still have the shirt they signed all those years ago!”
For a favorite song, right now it’s “Persimmon” that holds some weight for Nadia. “Recent current life events led me down some dark roads and this song has helped me in ways I can’t explain. One thing I can say for sure, there is a 311 song and album for each part of life and I’m so thankful to have them all when I need them. In good times, happy times, sad times and angry. 311’s catalogue never disappoints.” Nadia also said that “The Happy Slam Dance Song” a.k.a. “Do You Right” will always be a favorite of hers! As for a lyric, she doesn’t have one in particular. “But I know I can always count on 311 to have the words I’m looking for. To have an ounce of the lyrical talent of SA would be a gift.”
South of Atlanta, Georgia, is where Nadia grew up, in a small town known as the bubble or gold cart capital. Others may know it as Peachtree City. She has very supportive parents and two sisters, one of whom has been the fan spotlight before (Jenna Kimlinger)! “I had no idea then, but she used to sneak into my room, find my diary and listen to 311 when I wasn’t home. She became a bigger fan than I can ever claim to be because of this.”
Nadia attended college in South Georgia, at Georgia Southern University. Radio and CD’s were her only music options. “There weren’t many non-country options so I didn’t keep up with 311 much after DTOM. (Thankfully my sister brought me back into the light a few years later and am thankful for that every day!) I graduated with my BSN, worked as a nurse and got married; we stayed in south GA for some time and I became a mom to 2 amazing kiddos. I am happy to report that I’m turning my youngest into a 311 fan as we speak! I can’t seem to get my oldest into them but can appreciate my love for 311. I’m now divorced and living back up near the ATL area with my kids.”
Nadia still works as a nurse, in a role that has allowed her to have an amazing work/life balance. “While my sister Jenna and I share the 311 love, our older sister never got into them. She has come to show here and there so we can spend sister time together. We keep trying to convert her and maybe one day we will be successful. While she may not be a fan, she did share with me how she sees the roll that 311 and the connections made through this band have had such a positive impact on my sister and I. We’ve been lucky to have our amazing 311 family jump into action when we needed it most. These friends will never know how much we love them and appreciate the amazing humans that they are. And of course, I can’t even begin to say how much my sister from another mister, Tish Morgan means to me. Jenna, Tish and I all got matching 311 tattoos recently and life is all about who you have matching tattoos with. I would not be the person I am today, without those who matter most.”
Interesting fact about Nadia, she said the older she gets, the more introverted she is becoming. “But I wish I could be more extroverted and have the guts to talk to more people.” A talent for her, she was stumped, so she asked her sister. “Interestingly enough, she said that I am a great gift giver and have a knack for picking out just the perfect Christmas gifts for others! Who knew. 😉” Guilty pleasure for her? It’s the show “Gilmore Girls.” “It’s always on in the background and I can recite most of it by heart. I usually have to have some kind of noise in the background so it’s either music or Gilmore Girls. I also have to admit, I like Ed Sheeran!”
When not listening to 311…or Ed Sheeran, Nadia is a huge 90’s rock alternative fan. She listens to it often. She’s also currently loving Little Stranger, Dirty Heads, Tropidelic, The Elovators, and most recently, Sitting on Saturn.
To 311, Nadia has these words: “Because of this band, going to shows, and the love, positivity and support of the Unity that is 311, I will always be thankful to 311 for the amazing friends I have the pleasure to call my 311 family.”
Now here are her words to all of the other fans out there: “Thank you to everyone who makes each event an amazing experience. There is nothing better than a 311 show and I will never be able to explain how each event fills my soul. IYKYK!”
Thank you tons to Nadia for sharing her story with us all! Of course, my love and gratitude to everyone who reads these. Sending you all good vibes and nothing but happiness.
Hello my friends! It’s been a minute but we are back with a brand new 311 fan spotlight! Let’s get the story from Samantha Westbrook-Gomez!
Samantha was the type of person that never really paid attention to who sang the songs she listened to, she just knew she liked it or she didn’t. So she was a fan of the blue album when she was young, but didn’t really know who 311 was. “The love I have now for 311 and their music comes from my Husband Justin. He is my own personal DJ.”
Show count for Samantha is around 13-14. First show for her was in Reno, Nevada, about 8 years ago, with her husband. Favorite of the shows she’s been to? ” I have had the amazing opportunity to enjoy 2 cruises (2023 and 2025). The 2023 cruise on 311 Day has to be my favorite.”
A song that means the most to Samantha, she says changes. “Right now Inside Our Home has been on repeat. Mountain Top off the new album is another. Down was my first love however. Followed by Champagne and then Strong All Along.” Favorite lyrics for Samantha? She said those are “Stay positive & love your life,” and “Fuck the bullshit.”
Samantha grew up in a small town in California, that only had about 10,000 people. “My parents separated when I was very young, so I’ve had 4 parents for as long as I can remember. I’m also blessed with a lot of siblings, 11, not counting ones that aren’t blood but still family.” In her 20’s, she realized that college wasn’t working for her, so she went to work as a server full-time, also training to become a bartender. “Along that journey I moved to Maine for 6 months to work in Acadia National Park at the only restaurant in the park called the Jordan Pond House. I got to learn a lot of old English traditions and serve tea and popovers and a tone of great fresh Lobster.”
After Maine, Samantha moved to Arizona for a bit, then back to Maine for a second summer season, and then decided she was headed to Alaska for a summer. “Flew all my stuff over for the summer, fell in love with the area & had an amazing summer, then decided to go back and be a little closer to home. So “close to home” for me meant a 5 hour drive. I found myself working for then Squaw Valley resort, at a top of the mountain restaurant. Before the season started I agreed to pick up extra hours at another spot in the mountain just for money, and the 2nd day I was volunteering for that they told me 3 guys from the banquet department are coming in and I was to show them how things are done. One of the 3 men is my now husband Justin. We spent the winter together, I was very apparent about my plans for the summer. Told him I have a truck and camper and I was going to be driving it to Alaska for my 2nd summer and I would love for him to join me, well he actually did! We spent the summer there, came back to Tahoe and Covid hit so we have decided to try and make a home and family here where we found one another. What’s great is we were from rival high school in the same small town areas, great up living maybe an hour or so apart and never met until our 20’s up in Tahoe!”
Interesting fact about Samantha, she started playing the clarinet when she was in middle school, all because her grandfather loved to play. “I eventually learned to play 4 different types of clarinet.” Something that makes her unique is her creative problem solving skills. “I feel like I tend to find solutions sometimes where there seems none at first. I’m also the person to call to put together IKEA furniture I love challenges! 🤣” Guilty pleasure for Samantha? “Harry Potter, and fantasy book reading. Literally could disappear for days.”
Other music Samantha likes she said is crazy and all over the map. The list includes Metallica, Turnstile, Fever 333, Blink-182, HIRIE, Little Stranger, Ballyhoo!, Living Legends and Shania Twain.
Samantha’s message to 311 is this: “I would thank the whole of the band, the message of positivity and love they spread is so empowering and strong.”
Now here are her words to all the other 311 fans out there:
“To all the other Excitables out there, you are a huge part of why this band is so great and we love going to live shows. It’s the community and friends we see time and time again at shows and on cruises that makes the love for the band that much deeper. Stay Positive and Love your Lives!”
Thank you so much Samantha for sharing your story with everyone! As always, my love to all that read each week. Hope you are all having an excellent day/week/month!
