Hey there 311 nation! Who’s ready for the new fan spotlight? Take a break to read all about Joe Young!
It was on a local radio station in Denver, Colorado, where Joe first heard the sounds of 311. They were playing the song “Homebrew” and it instantly caught his attention, so much that the next day he went out and purchased Grassroots and was hooked from there. “It was a few days later when I was filling out my birth date on a form that I made the connection that my new favorite band had the same name as my birthday March 11th. I knew it was meant to be!”
As far as show count, Joe really hasn’t kept track but knows he is somewhere in the 50-60 range. First show was in 1999 at the Ogden Theater in Denver. “After seeing their energy on-stage, I knew it wouldn’t be my last show. Seeing “Freeze Time” played live blew my mind at the time.”
While there are several events that Joe has attended and that are all unique, he said one that stands out to him is 311 Day 2016. It was there that he met his now fiancé and they spent the show together. Since then they’ve seen 311 together 15 times. “Now not only is 311 Day extra special to me because it’s my birthday, but it’s also our anniversary as well.”
Picking a song that means the most is tricky for Joe because he said they are always rotating. A few that stand out to him though are “Homebrew,” “Eons,” “Welcome,” “Light Years,” and “Uncalm.” As far as a lyric that stands out to him, one of his favorites is, “The songs I sing, they don’t mean a thing if you’re not there to hear it. But then soon is the time, you’ll be by my side.”
Estes Park, Colorado, is where Joe was born and he’s lived in various places throughout the state all of his life. He says he really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and currently lives in Aurora. He works as a produce clerk at King Soopers.
Joe loves music and seeing live shows. Going to concerts has always been one of his favorite hobbies. “Starting from when I was young, my mom took me to see classic bands like, The Four Tops, Johnny Rivers, and The Beach Boys. Then later, while I was still young, going to see others like MC Hammer, LL Cool J, TLC, and Naughty by Nature. By the time I was a teenager, I was going to a few concerts every month ranging from classics, to metal and hip-hop. By now, I’ve been to quite a few hundred shows, but still have a few bucket listers out there. Other than 311, some of the other memorable bands I’ve seen live are: Muse, Stone Temple Pilots, Pantera, Faith No More, Beck, Beastie Boys, and Redman and Method Man(my 2 favorite MCs).” Joe said he really will listen to just about any type of music and some of his other favorite artists include Run the Jewels, Grouplove, Snot, Gogol Bordello, Duran Duran, Garbage, The Offspring, Weezer, Tool, N.W.A, George Michael, Korn, and Die Antwoord.
Fun fact about Joe – he loves dressing up and making his own costumes whenever he can! “Whether it be for Halloween, Comic-Con or the cruise. One of the most memorable costumes I’ve made is Mugatu from Zoolander. This Halloween, I was The Vision from the Avengers, and my fiancé Mandee, was the Scarlet Witch. It makes it even funner now to have someone who loves making costumes as much as me!”
Joe has a few other hobbies that he loves including sculpture, painting and cooking. For unique talent though, Joe is famous for doing the dance move “The Worm” whenever he’s at an event where the DJ plays “It Takes Two” by Rob Base. “I once got into a “worm-off” in the smoking section at the Salt N Peppa/Vanilla Ice concert and was declared champion by all spectators.” Joe said guilty pleasure is complicated because there’s not much he is ashamed of or gets embarrassed by. He did say that people usually cringe when he mentions that he enjoys trashy VH1 reality shows like “Flavor of Love.” “The trashier, the better.”
To 311, Joe has one request: “Can you guys PLEASE play Reggae Got Soul?”
To all the other fans out there:
“I love that in our Familia we have people from many different backgrounds that love all different types of music but the one thing that brings us together is our love for 311 and that’s what makes us all brothers and sisters. If you ever see me around at a 311 event (or any event) come give this ginger a high-five or hug because I’m always passing them out!”
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Thank you to Joe Young for sharing his story! That was a fun one to write and kick off the cruise week with. Much gratitude to all who read each week. Next post will be on the wonderful 311 Day…stay tuned!
Much Love – The Runt