Welcome back friends! We are back with a fresh new fan spotlight. Let’s kick the week off and learn the story of Adrian Lopez!
When Adrian was a teenager, he and his father had a ritual of cruising around San Diego on the weekends, hitting every comic book store that they came across. “I always had my head in comic books as a kid and that passion has continued to this very day. But in those days, it was our way of bonding. We would drive everywhere while rocking out to our favorite local radio station, 91x.” In late 1999, the station started playing songs from Soundsystem. “I remember the day my dad and I were heading around town looking for a particular issue of the X-Men when I heard the beautiful echoing sound of the Flowing intro for the first time and my jaw dropped. That sound followed by the explosion of guitar, bass, and drums that came after hooked me instantly. I remember looking at my dad saying, who was that?!”
Adrian was still in high school at the time and wasn’t working, so he didn’t have a ton of extra money to go buy 311 albums. “But it was the good ole days when the Wherehouse still existed and they accepted trade in CDs for store credit. I took some of the old pop CDs I had that I wasn’t listening to anymore and traded them in to grab my first 311 CD, Soundsystem. To this day, it holds the biggest place in my heart. I wore the hell out of that CD to the point where it developed so many holes it couldn’t be played anymore.” What really attracted him to the band was their ability to weave in and out of different genres of music. “I love that they can make some harder songs, yet they still maintain the positive demeanor and chill sound. They are versatile musicians and songwriters who have an innate ability to compose songs that appeal to many people. Within their catalog, there is something for every kind of music listener. And I love their energy!! They are capable of helping me to unwind, but they can simultaneously get me pumped and ready to dance and jump.”
Current show count for Adrian stands at 40. He just hit this number at the Salt Lake City show. “I had the chance to spend time with some of my absolute favorite people in the world. It was such a great time and a fantastic experience for my 40th show.” Between 2004 and 2015, he had seen 311 occasionally, when they played in or near San Diego. His first show was in 2004 at the RIMAC Arena at UCSD. “The first show was mind-blowing! I reflect on that setlist sometimes and realize how incredible of a first show it was and how happy I was to finally see them.” His love for them was growing so much though that he started traveling to see them so he could see new places, meet new people, and stretch out beyond his comfort zone. “A very big moment came when I decided to travel to Chicago in 2017 and ended up at a barbecue thrown by some amazing friends whom I had never met in person. I walked out of that night forging lifelong friendships. As I have met more and more people, my love and fandom of the band have only intensified.”
Choosing a favorite event or show was a tough question to answer because Adrian said he has been to some amazing events. He loved 311 Day 2016 in New Orleans because it’s where he got to meet the band for the first time. Then he also loved this year’s cruise, even though he suffered a broken foot on day 3 and had to power through the rest of the trip on it! His absolute favorite event though, he chose Red, White & Boom in Las Vegas in 2016. “I almost didn’t go because I’m an introverted person and a little shy, so I didn’t meet a lot of people in New Orleans that same year, so I was hesitant to make the trek to Vegas. But I am very glad I did! It led me to meeting one of my best friends and it became the first real event where I made many new friends and truly felt the love and unity. Not to mention, I fell in love with the Mandalay Bay Beach venue. It is very much one of my all-time favorite places to see 311. Those two shows were so much fun!!!”
A song that means a lot to Adrian is “Flowing,” as it’s the reason he was introduced to 311. “If I had never heard that song play on that fateful day, who knows if I ever would have gotten into them? That one song caused a domino effect that would change my life forever.” He also feels a very strong connection to “Beyond the Grey Sky.” “It is a song that means quite a bit to me having been through some tough times both in my own personal life, battling depression and anxiety along with having seen friends attempt to take their own lives.” He also really loves “Use of Time” because he loves the guitar solos the Tim Mahoney does in that song. “I feel those in my soul.” New song that he fell in love with is “Born to Live.”
As far as lyrics, he loves this one from the song “Don’t Dwell” – “Set you free, break the shell, to your demons farewell, I tell you, don’t dwell.” Another one is from “Strong All Along”: “You could make a mean hand out of what you’re being dealt.” A couple other lines he loves from other songs include, “This moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present,” and “No I’ll not renounce my views do what others do, I’d rather drink the hemlock than be like you, to my soul untrue.”
San Diego, California, is where Adrian was born, and he was raised in the Chula Vista area. He has lived there most of his life but also briefly lived in Wisconsin and Colorado. He’s lived in San Diego for 36 out of the 37 years of his life and he grew up in the same house for 23 of those years. “My family has always been a very musical family, so I had the pleasure of growing up in a house where great music was often being played particularly classic rock of the 60s and 70s. My parents raised me on a steady diet of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, and so on. And this love of music from my parents manifested in both of them playing instruments. My father played the guitar and my mom played the piano so I would say music is in my genetics as I myself learned to play the violin at a young age as well as the cello and the drums.”
Adrian had a lot of hobbies growing up including playing football, baseball and hockey. He was also a member of the drama club because of his love for movies. Then he began playing drums in high school as a reserve member of the marching band. “I have been actively playing drums for about 19 years.”
Over the years, Adrian has had quite a few jobs in both telemarketing and retail. “I have worked for a research company called Luth Research, Longs Drugs Stores, a few gas station attendant jobs, as a Department Manager for Target, as a Manager for Hollywood Video, and most recently as a Manager for Walgreens. Out of High School, I enrolled in Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista and was going to school for Film-Making. It was always my fondest dream to become a great Film Director, but I ended up dropping out of college in 2004 and just decided to work. I got laid off from my job in 2010 and took the opportunity to return to school and re-enrolled in that same college where I would graduate with honors with an Associate’s Degree in Philosophy and would transfer to San Diego State University where I would graduate Summa Cum Laude in 2016 and earn my Bachelor’s in Philosophy with a minor in Religious Studies. While I have not gone on to teach as I had wanted, graduating from college is something I am immensely proud of as I did it more for myself. To say that I finished something.”
Something cool that Adrian enjoys doing and provides him some extra funds for 311 fun is putting his skills in graphic design to good use. “I self-taught myself Adobe Photoshop many years ago, having had the privilege of designing a campaign poster for the local offices of the second Obama campaign. I now use them to design and create custom merchandise such as wristbands, shirts, and stickers. It is a lot of fun for me to do as I love showing off my creativity and it makes people happy which is something I love doing. I have created 11 wristbands and plan on doing more as they are so much fun to pass out at shows or send to people online. The designs get people excited and they tend to be really good icebreakers for meeting new people. I love that my wristbands were recently worn on stage by Nick’s daughters during their performance on the cruise.” When Adrian has some free time, he loves to spend it volunteering in his community for various causes such as homelessness, animal care, and domestic abuse/violence. “I had the privilege of being a volunteer for the San Diego Humane Society for a year where I had the chance to feed and wash so many animals. I got to feed cats, dogs, and they even had a piglet that I got to take care of. It was one of the best experiences of my life as I am a huge lover of animals. Animals are one of my favorite things about being alive.”
Fun fact about Adrian is he’s a former 6th grade California state spelling bee champion! “I began competing in local spelling competitions when I was in 6th grade and found out I have a talent for it, particularly the memorization. I was gifted with a near photographic memory so spelling came easy to me. I went on to compete on a national level and placed in the top 10 spellers in the country.” Another talent that Adrian has is his gift for writing poetry. He’s been published in numerous poetry anthologies across the country and won three amateur poet of the year awards. “It comes natural to me to transfer what I feel onto paper. And it goes hand-in-hand with another talent I have actually become quite known for throughout the 311 community, which is my talent for handwriting. If you ask anyone who has received Excitable Mail from me, they would say that the handwriting is gorgeous. Some of my friends find themselves unable to throw away the envelope! Ha-ha! That is a talent that was cultivated at an early age by my mother, who herself has beautiful handwriting, and was furthered developed by my interest and study of Calligraphy.”
Aside from 311, Adrian is also into music genres such as punk rock, ska, reggae, hard rock and some metal. He loves most music with the exception of country and most current popular music. “I can actually handle some old school country like Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline as my parents listened to it.” Some other bands he loves include The Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Save Ferris, Bad Religion, Stick Figure, and Papa Roach. Lately he’s really been listening to an old favorite metal band of his called Nonpoint. “I have been listening to them almost as long as I have 311 and they are among my top 3 favorite acts.” A guilty pleasure for Adrian is also a band – he loves The Spice Girls! “I can’t help it! I have just always found their songs so damn catchy and fun! I know the lyrics to many of their songs and can actually be seen singing along in bars. I always had a crush on Baby Spice!” Another guilty pleasure for him is the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. He also is a huge fan of karaoke! “This is no secret to some of my friends as I often post karaoke videos of me singing along to 311 songs. I am super passionate about my karaoke! I even had the chance to perform live band karaoke with the Unity All-Stars on the last cruise, which was so much fun!”
To 311, Adrian has these words: “We love you guys so much for all the great vibes you have brought to our lives and for the unity you have achieved through the message in your music. Thank you for bringing us all together!”
Now his message to all his fellow 311 fans:
“I could have never imagined that I would know so many wonderful people that I now call family. I would have to say thank you to all the friends I have made in the 311 community. Many of you have helped me through rough times, when I felt the world crumbling around me. You have helped pull me from the brink time and time again. And for that, I can never thank you enough. I feel so grateful for the opportunity to know every single one of you. In the moments that I have spent with you guys, please know that my heart has never been happier. Go out into the world and change it for the better. Live with integrity, strength, love in your heart, and no regrets!
“Be excellent to each other… and… PARTY ON, DUDES!”
——————–
There you have the awesome story of Adrian Lopez! I hope you all enjoyed his words and I can’t thank you all enough for supporting the blog! Thank you to Adrian for sharing his story to the world. Now go have an awesome week and don’t forget to keep being amazing!
Much Love – The Runt