311 Fan Spotlight – 4/10/17 – JP Chilicki!

Another week and that means another fan spotlight! Welcome back everyone. It’s time to meet JP Chilicki!

It was a very young age, around 9 or so, when JP discovered 311. Growing up with an older brother, JP always wanted to be around him and his friends. It was during one of these times that his brother and friend happened to be playing the 311 blue album. “I had no idea what I was listening too but I was BLOWN AWAY. I didn’t ask any questions I just sat in my spot and listened. Again this was around 1996 id say, and only being in the third grade all I had really ever heard before was like Will smith and Brittany Spears and Nsync and boy bands like that. So this was pretty much my first time listening to rock and roll. Ever since that night in our basement I was hooked!” After that JP would listen to the album repeatedly, for pretty much two years straight. He said the other kids just didn’t get it, they looked at him like he shouldn’t be listening to it. “I don’t think as a third grader you are really prepared for something like that, but I was hooked!” He said it was the intensity of the album and the adrenaline it gave him that really drew him into their music. “I just couldn’t stop moving to the music, it was just so heavy to me! I just couldn’t get enough!”

It was around 1996 that JP first heard them, and he’s been attending live shows for over 17 years, more than half of his life. He tries to keep a collection of his ticket stubs and makes a point to always get a hard copy of his tickets instead of the e-ticket. Exact show count he is unsure of, but believes he is around 80 to 90. First show he ever went to was June 14, 2000 at The Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. “Probably the best day of my life of the short life I had lived at that time. I was 12 years old.”  Favorite event or show so far was hard to choose, so he named off three: Sail away show on cruise number one, his first show in 2000, or the Transistor set at Powwow. “Each amazing in its own way.”

For one song that means the most, JP can’t say there is one in particular. He has his favorite songs and top ten list, as well as ones that hit him on an emotional level but can’t narrow it to one song that means the most. “I know that “Use of Time” when played live brings me to a different place mentally, and “Hive” brings me to a different place physically. Lol. It’s hard to explain.” Favorite lyrics, he went with the popular one, “Stay positive and love your life” as well as “The fish that keep on swimming are the first to chill upstream.”  “I got a koi fish tattooed years ago not for this quote but for the Japanese meaning and just felt that it went along well with the 311 quote I had loved for so long. Every song and its lyrics hits me in a different way on a different day constantly. It’s a constant reminder to stay positive and not give up and just keep trekking.”

Jonathan P. Chilicki (JP for short obviously) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, raised in South Windsor, and has been in C.T. his whole life. Grew up in the Hartford suburb, raised by amazing parents, Carmen-Rosa Delgado and Jozef P Chilicki. His mother grew up in Peru and his dad in Poland. “Both overseas and built their own future to better themselves as well as their families. As a result my brother and I are first generation Americans and are proud to be so and carry on the Chilicki name.”

To fund his 311 addiction, JP works three different jobs. He’s worked at a dry cleaner for more than 9 years. He works security at The Webster Theater in Hartford and also at the Worcester Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts and has done so for the last 6 years. Third job is door/bouncer at a moonshine bar in Ellington, C.T. called The Hidden Still. “All jobs fun to me in a very different way and all to fund my 311 addiction. With 5 more stops on this summer’s Unity Tour I’m going to need as much income as I can get. I try to get on a plane at least twice a year to travel the world and see my favorite people, friends and family, and see my favorite band in the entire world. Nothing compares to it, I’ve literally planned every single vacation I’ve ever had since 2008 with a main focus on seeing 311. Every trip I’ve been on since then was to see 1 or multiple 311 shows. I find the back to back nights are key nowadays to catch 2 shows on a row and check out a new city. I love it!”

Interesting fact about JP: He is a black belt in Kempo Karate. “I got it at a young age. I trained hard in karate from age 7 to about 13 id say. Earning my way up through the ranks and eventually earning my adult black belt, First Degree. It was an important day in my life I would say. I will definitely never forget it. I worked extremely hard to achieve it. The test took about 8 hours to complete, it was an all day thing.” This isn’t his only talent. He loves playing sports and is a huge sport junkie. He’s played soccer, baseball, basketball and football. He even played cricket for a couple of summers! JP also likes to play bass guitar. “I originally started back in high school and mostly covered my favorite 311 songs. PNUT was my inspiration 100%. Then I would branch out a little and play some incubus (Dirk Lance), rage against the machine (Tim Commerford), Red hot chili peppers (Flea), and much more. As those were all my favorite bass players. Well so was Les Claypool of Primus but those bass lines were a little to advance for me at the time.” As if this wasn’t enough, he’s also really good at math. “I can do crazy math in my head.”

Guilty pleasure for JP is that he “kinda likes the EDM (Electronic dance music) crap lol.” He said it’s definitely a different scene but the shows are fun to work. He also said since he’s been getting to work all these shows he’s gotten into the local hardcore scene. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of kids in the bands, and just in the scene in general, and they all know me. It’s a fun DIY movement and cool to see the up and coming bands start to get there name out there and get booked to bigger shows or even book a solid tour. It’s cool being behind the scenes in the music business.”

JP’s message to 311 is what he always ends up telling them when he see’s them in person: “THANK YOU! Thank you for being in my life, thank you for changing my life and many positive ways and just thank you for being the band and the people you are. You have changed so many people’s lives for the better the people I have met in the 311 community are some people that I now call my best friends. It is so crazy how this band has brought so many people together to celebrate positivity. THANK YOU SO MUCH 311!”

His personal message to all the other fans:

“I don’t think that I can say it much better than “stay positive and love your life” It is words I live by every day. Keep moving forward, always try to better yourself, never stop learning, be kind to others, be courteous, try and lend a helping hand when in need. Here’s a good quote. “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” ~Seneca.”

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Thank you JP for sharing your amazing tale of how you found 311! I hope everyone enjoyed his story and thank you as always for reading about your fellow fans in the 311 community. You are all rock stars in my eyes! See you next week!

Much Love – The Runt