Hello again excitable friends! Happy Thanksgiving week to all my U.S. peeps! Let’s kick this day off the right way with our next fan spotlight. Let’s meet Alison Haertjens!
The year was 1993 and a friend of Alison’s, who has gotten her into metal back in 1990, put on the Music album for her. “I was instantly hooked! I could never put my finger on what I liked about it. I just knew I loved the sound.”
Alison just hit her 40th show back in August in Chula Vista. Her very first show was February 23, 1996, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. “My ex-husband wasn’t a 311 fan and going to shows just wasn’t a priority for me when my kids were little, and I didn’t go to another 311 show until 2011! I didn’t even go to a single concert from 2001 until then. I have been making up for lost time over the last few years.”
Favorite show was hard for Alison to decide because like many, she’s had amazing experiences at multiple shows like 311 Day, the cruise, Red Rocks, and club shows at House of Blues or The Roxy. “One of the best experiences was at the Stone Pony in 2015 – I had my first 311 photo pass, for a show in my home state, where I first fell in love with them, despite living almost 3000 miles away in San Diego. P-Nut used one of the photos I took of him as his Twitter profile pic for a long time, and it made me so happy! But this last cruise was nearly perfection in so many ways. I am really fortunate to have had these experiences.”
Song that means the most to her was another hard choice, but if forced to chose she would pick “FTBS.” “The story is far too long and boring to get into here, but it involves 2 people I care about very much and singing it in a motel parking lot at 3am after my 40th birthday party.”
One of her favorite lyrics is “You’re all up in my mix like fuckin’ Betty Crocker.”
Readington, New Jersey, is where Alison grew up. She also lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, for 2 years. She attended The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also lived in Houston for 3 years before finally ending up in San Diego in 2001. “I was a stay at home mom for 13 years, but am finishing a degree in Library and Information Technology in May and have worked part-time in a college library for almost a year. I also have a temporary job doing data management at a small company.”
Alison has a 14 year old son and a 10 year old daughter. “They are truly awesome kids.” Her daughter has attended four 311 shows and was able to shake Tim’s hand briefly after her second show. “My son is not at all interested in anything I listen to, but I kind of like that he is following his own lead on that. Hopefully he will come around to 311 some day, but I can’t make him!”
While Alison said she is pretty much an open book, it might surprise some people to know that she was a cheerleader from 8th to 10th grade, plus she was in a sorority in college. Another fun fact is that she was a concert photographer for awhile and was lucky enough to have met and photographed many of her longtime favorite bands and artists. “I honed my concert photography skills at Brick By Brick, a metal club in San Diego, and after photographing shows there for almost a year, became friends with the co-owner who books the bands – who happens to be a longtime excitable. I have rocked out beside her at metal shows and 311 (including night 2 of 311 Day 2018). And the way I started photographing live music was because of a friend I met through the 311 Familia who invited me to a local Pantera tribute show, which I photographed, and everything kind of took off from there. That was 5 years ago and my life has been transformed for the better because of these music families. I have met the most amazing people through our mutual love of music, and I am infinitely grateful.”
Alison has been a metalhead for almost 30 years and she said her top 5 favorite bands have been the same since high school: 311, Pantera, Slayer, Prong, and Pro-Pain. “The rest of what I listen to tends to be pretty random and mostly rock or pop of the 70s-90s, but 90% of the time I am listening to 311 or metal.”
As for guilty pleasures, Alison said she really doesn’t feel guilt over harmless things that make life fun. “I will sing along just as loudly to Hall and Oates as I will to 311 or Pantera. My kids hate grocery shopping with me because I cannot refrain from singing along to the Muzak sometimes. Foreigner? Whitney Houston? Billy Joel? DON’T MIND IF I DO!”
Alison has these words for 311: “Thank you for this beautiful thing you have given so many of us that transcends music.” She also said, “I honestly don’t know what my life would be like without my 311 family and the incredible experiences we share.”
Here is her message to all her fellow 311 fans:
“This 311 thing we have is so unique and special, but it is what you make of it. Enjoy it!”
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There you have it my friends, the story of Alison Haertjens! Thank you so much Alison for sharing your story and many, many thanks to those who read each week. During this week of gratitude, I’m thankful for being a part of this amazing, positive community! Until next time, keep being awesome!
Much Love – The Runt