Hello again Excitable nation! Another week is upon us and that means new fan spotlight time. This week we learn all about Terri Sapp Page!
Fall of 1992, Terri was just starting college at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. She instantly made friends with the theatre, art, and music crowd, and it was a friend from within that group that randomly gave Terri a cassette one day and said, “Terri, I think you will like this…particularly the ‘Latino rapper’ (his words, and she did).” The cassette was Music and it was Terri’s first exposure to 311. She was immediately blown away and as each song played she became more hooked. “ Growing up, I had (and still do) Bob Marley and the Wailers, Joni Mitchell, Jamaican music, beach music, rock, industrial, and particularly rap music in heavy rotation, so I was drawn to the genre f@&k that 311 brought. When living, working, and partying in Macon, I was regularly (and to this day with my friends) known as the 311 fanatic. People actually associated me with 311!!! I worked at a restaurant during the Mercer days called Music City Grill that was decorated with Capricorn Records memorabilia, with regular visits from members of associated bands and the Walden family. Alan Walden in particular took note, due to my excitable nature, and would sometimes just give me trinkets here and there related to 311 (thanks, still!). During this time, I did the majority of my US travel to see the band. After I moved to Atlanta, I had to scale down the amount of travel, leaving most of my 311 shows in Atlanta (until revisiting the bucket list in the last 5 years). Anyone who knows can imagine that there are no complaints here, because The City of Atlanta is and always has been on fire in the concert world! I am really thankful to have been in the middle/north GA area when discovering 311!”
As far as show count, when things first started, it was hard for Terri to keep track. “Most of my cross country and multiple tours up and down the East Coast were from 1994 to 1998. From 1999 (around the time I met my “311 buddy” Damon Eleuterius-though we found out later that I was at his first show, which was SA’s 1995 birthday in Tallahassee at the Moon where they premiered “Gap” and The Urge opened…small world) through 2013 when I started on the bucket list items, most of my shows have been in GA. After the 2017 Tabernacle shows (which I made it to despite a short term ban from the venue for a recording incident at a Dave Chappelle show in June), I have experienced approximately 75 shows with 311 over the last 23 years. Some of my college friends invited me to go to the Sonic Sunday festival in Atlanta in 1994 at the Masquerade Music Park, which sadly has recently been demolished in order to build condos or some crap. This festival is the first time I saw 311 and The Urge live!!! HOOKED!”
It was hard to pin down an exact event as Terri’s favorite, because there have been so many awesome experiences. So she narrowed it down to all of the events that one of her alter egos, Rasta Raggedy Ann (born in 1995), has attended: “Halloween, 1995, Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA; Halloween, 1997, Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA; Halloween, 1999, Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA; Halloween, 2000, Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA; Halloween, 2010, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA; and 2015 Soundsystem Jamaica Cruise.”
The song that means a lot to Terri is off of her favorite record Transistor. From the first time she heard it, it has always been “Running.” It, along with the rest of Transistor, just struck a chord with her as something different. “Then, I realized that my main man, Tim Mahoney, wrote the music! Ever since then, I have begged for plays at shows. “Running” is even subconsciously my song. I know this, because after returning home from the motion sickness induced-dehydrated-couldn’t keep anything down-ICU coma I ended up in between the last two shows of the 2017 Cozumel Cruise, it was the only song I recorded video the entire cruise. I didn’t even remember them playing it until I saw it on my phone!” As far as favorite lyrics, she has two tattooed on her legs: “I have no fear of death and no fear of life” and “The continuous life, there is no end.”
Georgia has always been home for Terri. She was born on the southeast coast in the Golden Isles of Glynn County, which includes the islands of Jekyll (her favorite), St. Simons, Blythe, and Sea Island. During her younger years she trained for 11 of them in many forms of dance, she was a majorette in middle school and even a drum major leading the marching band in parades for a short time. She was also on the cheerleading squad in high school and was co-captain for JV during her sophomore year, then varsity for senior year. It should come as no surprise that Terri was voted Most Spirited in the senior superlatives at the end of her time in high school. “I have always owned my quirkiness, and had the perfect family for cultivating it. We enjoyed family time watching In Living Color, Twin Peaks, and other fun shows, then I would sneak off to listen to Dr. Demento on the radio, and 120 Minutes on MTV.”
Terri and her family also enjoyed music together. Her Mama leaned more toward music like ABBA, The Beatles, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Earth, Wind & Fire, while dad was more of the good old timey country type, mixing in all of the many Motown artists, Prince, and Gladys Knight, who I’m told he wanted to marry until the day he died. Living on the southeast coast of Georgia allowed Terri to see many concerts in Orlando and Jacksonville, like the early Lollapalooza tours, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Reverend Horton Heat, Primus, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and many others. The festivals also introduced her to new, great bands that became regular concerts for her over the years, like Rage, Tool, and Fishbone to name a few.
High school wasn’t the only place Terri participated in extracurricular activities. She was very busy in college and said she is still busy to this day! “I was a graphics editor for our High School literary magazine-The Rising Surf-which was fun because computers were very new, so I got to spend many days in the dark room bumping the tunes of Primus, Tori Amos, Ministry, RHCP, The Cure, and all of my favorites of that time. It was also a treat to print on an actual printing press. I also spent a great amount of time in the library researching many countries to represent in the Model UN. My favorite thing to participate in was our Production Company and Theatre Department, because we were always working on developing live performances. We worked on many shows that pushed boundaries for a high school group. Skating all the while! My all-star flute playing auditions, cheerleading camp one year, and a theatre competition all either took place at Mercer, or were judged by the Theatre Director from Mercer University. This is how I ended up targeting Mercer as my next step in life.”
At Mercer, Terri was able to take a variety of courses that took her “off guard in a wonderful way.” She spent much of her time studying communications, great books, the nature and manifestations of prejudice, women’s studies, art history, and theatre, with a focus on directing, costuming, assisting in set construction, and also acting. She had a brief stint away from Mercer at Valdosta State University. There she was a DJ at the college radio station. She returned to Mercer and graduated in 1997. During her summers back home she would work as a lifeguard on Jekyll Island. “Some of my most beloved times while at home during summers was following around and stalking “the turtle girls!” They were (are) a group on Jekyll that tracked and marked the laying eggs and hatching of the Sea Turtles. What a beautiful reason to get in trouble for staying out all night when your parents don’t know what you are doing!!!”
After college graduation, Terri followed her Mama to Atlanta. It was then that she started seeing a ton of shows and realized that Atlanta is a favorite stop for many bands and musicians. “Since music is my life and my medicine for the soul, there are so many more concerts that the crew goes to.” The job that funds the concert and 311 habits – she started as an office/billing manager and Paralegal when she moved to Atlanta but now has her own business as a Contract Paralegal, for extra income and to help local attorneys who can’t hire a full time one. She also followed in her mother’s footsteps and started working at Georgia Power 7 years ago. “I started as a 9001:2008 ISO Lead Internal Auditor for the State of Georgia and Support Representative for the Geographic Solutions and Services Department. Currently, I am one of two Support Representatives for the Georgia Power Transmission Control Center who operates the infrastructure of electricity for the State of Georgia. The most rewarding part of working with Georgia Power is the Volunteer opportunities with the Citizens of Georgia Power. We support many local charities. Since I started with the Company, I have been on The Board of Directors, and have also served as an Officer every year in one way or another leading as President for both chapters that I have been involved in. Giving back to the community (and an extensive iTunes library) makes the mostly awful traffic somewhat tolerable.”
An interesting fact about Terri is that she taught herself how to read music and play the flute as a child, and then ended up as an all-star concert player! She has also been skating since the 70’s and has a bit of an obsession with it. She has been a skate ref since 2012, under the name of Bunni Wailer, for the Marietta/Peach State (home league) and Macon (for fun) roller derby leagues. Unique attribute is that she can twirl fire batons and is also an animal whisperer who prefers animals to people most of the time! As far as guilty pleasures, well she says she owns the ones she has because she is, “pretty much obsessed with the art of live performance-good or bad, music, well made TV, movies, books, and my insane oddball doll collection. I guess in the true sense of the word, my guilty pleasure would have to be tattoos, since I am a Mama’s girl, and she never wanted me to get any. I still do.”
One thing Terri wants to say to, and about 311 is this: “I LOVE TIM MAHONEY, I love Tim Mahoney hugs, and I love Tim Mahoney’s world class guitar dance moves! Also, for fun, check out the 2012 Page “Do You Right” wedding video here: https://youtu.be/w1IC0tBGPz0”
Now to all the other 311 fans:
“Since the time I was awakened to the “ginormous” crowds of Excitables, my 311 experience has been heightened and even further elevated into the cosmic trip that is and has always been my 311 life. To quote one of my favorite director’s choices, (Twin Peaks, S2, E1) “Oooooohhhh, Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey. A kiddley divey, too, wooden shoe! If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey, sing ‘Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy’!” Until next time, Deers!!!”
There you have the interesting and entertaining story of Terri Sapp Page! Thanks Terri for being a part of the spotlight and thanks to all who are reading! Now go be awesome, I know you will!
Much love – The Runt