Hello again my Excitable friends! Who is ready for a new fan spotlight? Let’s meet Carlton Matthews!
It was right before Carlton’s freshman year of high school when he first heard 311. He was in drum line and one of the older guys drove him home after practice, blasting 311 as they drove. “After hearing Amber and Come Original, I was hooked and had to know more. I was drawn to their music because they fused all of the genres of music I love and made their own sound. They immediately had my attention and respect.”
Show count for Carlton is at 44. His first show was August 1, 2006, in St. Louis, Missouri, at The Pageant. As for favorite event, he said it’s the cruises, especially the one in 2019. “. I had my best friends from STL with me, and I loved seeing The Urge bring a bit of home on board as well!”
For favorite song, Carlton said it often changes for him. Currently it’s the song “Lose.” Some of his favorite lyrics include “Nothing in life is above being honest” and and “Life’s not a race.”
Carlton grew up in O’Fallon, Illinois, which is just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. Music was a big part of his childhood. His parents play instruments, his mother sang in the church choir, and his godfather’s son was the church drummer. “I grew up listening to mostly gospel music (shoutout to Fred Hammond!) and Hip Hop, but my mom would also play a lot of Prince and Lauryn Hill in the car. With so many musical influences around, I started expressing myself by mimicking my godfather’s son and drumming on everything around the house. To my mother’s relief, I finally started band at school in 5th grade and kept with it throughout high school, which led me to Murray State University.”
At Murray State, Carlton taught percussion at Murray middle and high school. “I’m incredibly thankful for all of the experiences that music’s given me, I can’t live without it. Although music was a big focus for me in college, I have an equal passion for politics and history. I ended up double majoring in Political Science and History and graduated in 2013.” After college, Carlton moved to Indianapolis for 2 years to work for his fraternity headquarters. Then in 2016 he moved back to St. Louis to become a fundraiser for a private university there. “Traveling for work provided ample opportunities to get southwest points for more 311 shows 😀.”
Fun fact about Carlton is that he comes from a huge family. “My mom is one of 12 and my dad is one of 18.” Guilty pleasure for him is that he’s a massive Arsenal fan! “I watch every game and hope to make it to North London this fall for a Premier League match day.”
While 311 is Carlton’s favorite rock band, his all time favorite band is Steel Pulse. “I’m really into reggae music and enjoy listening to Burning Spear, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Dennis Brown, Aswad, Protoje, Kabaka Pyramid, Lila Ike, Stephen Marley, and Damian Marley. Outside of Reggae, I also enjoy a lot of Rap/Hip Hop. Big shoutout to Nas!”
To 311, Carlton would like to send this message:
“Thank you for the memories and for helping me find some of the best friends out there.”
Now here are his words to all the other fans out there:
“To the fans I’ve met over the years: Thank you for all of the crazy nights and memories I’ll hold on to for a lifetime. To all fans: Empathy is the way to unity.”
Thank you Carlton for sharing your story with us all! Of course, thanks to all the readers out there each week. Hope you are all staying well and keep on sharing the unity with the world!
Much Love – The Runt