311 Fan Spotlight – 3/12/18 – Jennifer Keane!

Happy belated 311 Day to all! Let’s say hello to our next fan spotlight, Jennifer Keane!

The mid 90’s is when Jennifer became a fan. The blue album came out and she recorded “Down” and “All Mixed Up” on a cassette tape with her first stereo. “I was in high school and 311 was at the height of their popularity. All of my friends were fans back then, some of them still are. Hometown Excitables!”

Jennifer hasn’t kept track of her show count but she knows her very first show was the summer of 1997 at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York. “De La Soul was the opener. I need to sit down and figure out my show count one day lol. If I had to guess maybe 25-30.” Favorite show for her is a toss up between the second cruise and the March 2016 Indio show. The cruise was great for her because it was her first vacation with her brother and best friends, without her family. “The island beach show with the splash pit was so epic and unforgettable!” Then the Indio show she was lucky enough to be back stage. “I was standing next to Nick Hexum’s dad and stepmom. Deanna was dancing while Terry sang along to the songs. He was beaming from ear to ear. I’ll never forget that proud look on his face.”

So many songs are special to Jen for different reasons. “Don’t Stay Home” reminds her of getting ready to go on her first cruise ever. Then “Beyond the Gray Sky” she said “hits her with all the feels.” She also mentioned “Beautiful Disaster” and said, “What slinky girl can’t identify with that song.” As far as favorite lyrics, some of hers include, “It’s alright wherever you are right now. That’s where you’re supposed to be now,” and “Trust your instincts and let go of regret.” She loves the last lyric because she said that those are two things she struggles with and thinks a lot of people do.

Jennifer was born in New York on Long Island, but she’s lived many places including Germany, North Carolina, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, and upstate New York. She is the oldest of 5 siblings. Her brother, Wil Kilcommons, is a fellow excitable and her younger sister Alli just started to get into 311. “I’m hoping she will start joining us at events and shows.” Jennifer went back to school to finish her degree and is hoping to continue on to her Bachelor degree. She is also debating taking a semester off so she can go back to Mexico to teach English while exploring the country. “I’m also hoping I can improve my Spanish speaking abilities.”

Jennifer struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, something she says makes relationships of any kind very difficult for her, and makes her family relationships VERY difficult. “There’s also such a negative stigma attached to having BPD. I struggle daily but I’ve learned to cope over the years.” Special talent for her is that she is really great at speaking other languages with the correct pronunciation and she can mimic foreign accents very well. “My friends and I spend hours and sometimes days doing different accents.”

Guilty pleasure for Jennifer is the show “Project Runway.” “I used to dream of being on the show. I would loveeeee to do an unconventional challenge. I just think it would be fun to take unexpected materials and create a wearable outfit. I’s like combining art, sculpture, crafting, and fashion. Those are just a few of my favorite things in life so it’s definitely in my wheelhouse.” Other music that Jennifer can be found listening to includes Ballyhoo!, Passafire, Bumpin Uglies, Dirty Heads, The Hip Abduction, and most recently The Joey Harkum Band. “Broken Thing really hits home.”

Jennifer has this to say to 311: “Thank you for all your hard work and for bringing such wonderful and inspiring people into my life.”

To the fans:

“It’s never too late to follow your dreams and become the person you want to be. Keep striving to be the best person you can. Pics and hugs are ALWAYS welcome.”

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That’s Jennifer’s story of her love for 311! Happy to share it with you all and thanks for your continued support.

Much love to you all! – The Runt