Hello my friends! Welcome again to the next edition of the 311 fan spotlight. This week let us meet Daniel Schrader!
A random set of events is how Daniel found the tunes of 311. First off, he actually first saw them on February 1, 1992. “I went to Wayne State College in Wayne, NE and friends of mine that I met at Wayne had a band and some of the band members were from Omaha. A bunch of us piled into a few cars one day and drove down to Omaha that Saturday to go see some of their friends play in a band at Peony Park (it was 311!) I dug the sound and had a blast (at least from what I can remember) but didn’t ever see or hear anything about them again until 1993.” At that time Daniel was working in Des Moines, Iowa, on a construction crew. One of the guys on the crew showed him a tape that was 311 and asked if he knew the band since Daniel is from Nebraska. “I didn’t put 2 and 2 together until I listened to it. It was Music and I was hooked for life.”
For show count, Daniel’s exact number is uncertain. We know his first show was in 1992 at Peony Park, but he didn’t really keep count after that. He believes is somewhere between 30-40. Favorite of those though is 311 Day 2018. “That was my 1st 311 day and when I actually connected with the 311 community. I had been wandering around for my whole 311 experience basically by myself. Once I connected with the community, it opened up the world for me.”
While it’s hard to pick just one song that means the most to him, Daniels has a list of favorites that really stand out to him. “Paradise is always in my top 5, usually #1, Beyond the Grey Sky honestly has saved me more than once. Too Late hit me hard at just the right time in my life. Honestly, in my opinion, Voyager is one of 311’s best albums lyrically. Not their best, but that album is so well written and the lyrics so poignant, many tracks have moved into my rolling top 10. With Stainless being one of my favorites.”
A couple of lyrics that stand out to Daniel as favorites include: “”A shortcut’s a self-defeating means. If you cannot do it clean, you’ll never reach your reward.”; “Not for the faint of heart. It will not be painless. You’ll take your licks and you’ll never come out stainless.”
Daniel grew up in “The Middle of Nowhere” Nebraska. He’s an only child. His parents were always listening to music, including artists like The Beach Boys, The Ventures, and Dick Dale. “Some of my earliest memories were when they took me to concerts at the Nebraska State Fair every year as far back as I can remember. I’m sure that’s where my love for music came from.” Daniel stayed in Nebraska until his early 20’s and then found himself doing construction work for a few years. Then in 1996 he went to work for a door to door sales company on the west coast. “We lived in shady ass hotels and basically traveled up and down the West Coast. I lived in Palm Springs, Anaheim, L.A., San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Spokane. It was a legit company and taught me so much about myself and was actually the 1st time in my life that I was exposed to personal development. Something that would set my life in motion in a way that I never even imagined.”
In 1998 Daniel moved to Colorado, where he lived in Vail for about 4 years and was a ski bum. “I was a snowmaker and drove snowcats. In the summer I worked on the mountain building trails and operating heavy equipment on various projects.” Then in 2002 he moved to Denver, which is where he would meet his wife. “We’ve been together for almost 16 years (our 11 year anniversary is actually on September 20th). We have two children. Our 1st son Felix would be 9 this year. He was only with us for six days due to some very unfortunate, and completely unnecessary complications at his birth. This was my “Master Reset” and was the darkest time in my life. I’m fully convinced that without 311, I might not have made it through. When I was having a super shitty day, the perfect 311 song would always come on my iPod and lift me back up. Sometimes, just enough to get through that day. Fast forward 15 months after we lost Felix and our 2nd son, Simon was born. He’s in 2nd grade and will be 8 this year and keeps us very, very busy. He’s starting to really enjoy, appreciate, and understand 311 and that makes my heart sing! He actually asked me a month or so ago when we could go see a 311 show together. Queue heart melt.”
For work, Daniel owns a couple of businesses. The first is one in the tech space with a software company for real estate. The second is an entrepreneurial coaching space. “Both are just slightly past start-up and are taking up a lot of my time (and money) right now. I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole life and with the exception of a few different periods in my life I’ve mostly been responsible for my own well-being with my own businesses. I love this lifestyle and wouldn’t be able to make it any other way. My soul is too free. And, I just can’t do the 9-5 grind.”
Interesting fact about Daniel is that he wanted to join the military, for as far back as he can remember. “Both of my grandfathers served, my Dad served and almost all of the men in my extended family have served or continue to serve. When I was in high school I was already well on my way to going active duty basically the day that I graduated but I broke my ankle skateboarding. I broke it in such a way that it permanently disqualified me from being able to fly helicopters, specifically the AH-64 Apache, which is what I had all of my hopes and dreams in the military set on. It still bothers me to this day that I didn’t get to serve but at the same time, I’m grateful for being right here, right now. There is no other place I want to be (obscure 90’s one-hit-wonder reference).”
Unique attribute for Daniel is that he’s a beast on the racetrack! “I’m talking road racing not Nascar or drag racing. I started auto racing about 6 years ago and immediately was very, very good at it. Maybe it was all of those years of go-kart tracks and playing Gran Turismo on Play Station? The 1st race that I drove in I had the fastest lap on our team, having never competed in a wheel to wheel race before or driven that car before. Most races since that I’ve raced in I’ve had our teams’ fastest lap or damn close to it. I love racing and love that community. Such amazing people with pure passion. Much like another group of people that I know!”
Guilty pleasure for Daniel is the 311 merch exchange, or the MX and waffles. “I LOVE me a good waffle and absolutely love collecting 311 stuff. Prints, hats, stickers, picks, whatever! I’ve got well over a hundred prints (I don’t really know how many) and want them ALL!!!” When not listening to 311, other artists he loves include: Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, Jurassic 5, Old school West Coast Gangster Rap, old Metal, etc. “I’m loving all of the new music that I’ve been exposed to from 311 over the years with RDGLDGRN, Iration, and Bumpin’ Uglies at the top of that list. My approach with music is that if it’s done well, with great musicians (not just performers), then I’ll add it to my playlist.”
Daniel has these words for the guys in 311: “Thank you! Thank you for never giving up and for always continuing to explore yourselves to give us this amazing gift of MUSIC!!!”
Now his message to all the other fans out there:
“Embrace the community. Embrace every bit of it! Share the music with everyone that you meet. You never know who needs to hear that one song, that one lyric, that one note. You just might change the world! And, seriously Fuck the Naysayers, cuz they don’t mean a thing! We live our lives worrying so damn much about what other people think and quite frankly, that’s none of our business! Stay POSITIVE and Love YOUR Life!!!”
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Thank you Daniel for sharing your story of your love for 311! All my friends who read each week, many thanks to you as well for the continued support. Until next time, have an amazing week & go spread the positivity!
Much love – The Runt