Hello all out there in 311 nation! Another fan spotlight is here. Time for the story of Walter Vining!
Like many 311 fans, Walter’s story starts with hearing “Down” play on his local radio station. “I was instantly hooked. From there, I heard ‘All Mixed Up’ and fell further in love. Took my next several paychecks from work and went back and bought Music and Grassroots.”
First show for Walter was in 2014 at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas. “I was a SUPER late bloomer to 311 shows. I tweeted the band for WEEKS asking them to play Visit at the show, Visit being my favorite song of all time.” Total show count for him now is at 12.
Favorite show for Walter is 311 Day 2016, day 2. “The vibe was amazing, the music was amazing. Got to see the live WORLD DEBUT of Island Sun, what an amazing tune.”
Mentioned earlier, “Visit” is Walter’s all time favorite song, but other than that there isn’t one single song that means the most to him. ” I have often told my kids that 311 has saved my life, to which I expand upon and let them know that they have drug me out of some of my deepest lows. That being said, ‘Large In The Margin’ has been one of my best songs to help bring me out of lows, and now I have both ‘Dodging Raindrops’ and ‘Lucid Dreams’ to add to that.”
As for favorite lyrics, Walter chose a few that really strike a chord with him: “There’s no way to avoid listening, you’ll always end up listening. Here’s hoping the voices aren’t too unkind, here’s hoping the voices are benign. It’s easier when you hear it, there’s no reason to fear it;” “All mixed up, don’t know what to do, next thing you turn around and find the person is you. Thought a freak might be the thing, but the first could be the last, so just get off of your ass. All mixed up, you don’t know what to do;” and “Life is not quite the way it seems, I don’t feel like I did in my lucid dreams.”
Aubrey, Texas, is the small town U.S.A. where Walter grew up. After that he lived in Houston for 3 years before moving back to North Texas around 2001. He has roamed around the Denton and Dallas area for the “last infinity.” “I work for a bank, where I update correspondence that we send to homeowners. As a hobby I race RC Cars, and for a while I had a stash of stickers with numbers on them where I would cut out the numbers 3 and 11 and put them on my car!”
Interesting fact about Walter is that he has a unique set of scars on his chest from when he played junior high football, he got stepped on by a player. “Their foot got stuck under my shoulder pads and left a few spots from their cleats.” Something that makes Walter unique is that he tries to stay low key. ” I don’t really like getting called out for things publicly. Private acknowledgement means more to me than being publicly known, so I guess being humble?”
Other musical loves for Walter, he said he used to be really heavily into Korn and Limp Bizkit. Now though he mostly just listens to 311 and The Toadies. “Smatter in mostly 90s music and some new alternative stuff, as well as some old school hip hop and other random stuff that makes me move.”
Guilty pleasure for Walter is the movie Poooty Tang! “What a terrible movie, but IT’S SO GOOD!”
Walter would like to send this message to 311: “Thank you so much for all of the music, the positivity, the energy, the fun, and most of all the indirect support that you have given me for most of my life.”
Now his message to all the other 311 fans out there:
“No matter the struggle you are going through, remember you have been strong all along. There is light beyond the grey skies, and there are always enjoyable sunsets in July. When things seem bad, sometimes you just need to go on a visit and get some island sun. If you ever feel like you need a reset, don’t be blue, go back to your grassroots, get some music, find your universal pulse and replace the transistors in your mind.”
Many thanks to Walter for those lovely words and sharing your story! Much gratitude per the usual to all the readers each week. Go be awesome and spread some positive light into the world!
Much Love – The Runt