Hello again all of my excitable friends. It’s time for the next edition of the 311 fan spotlight! Here we are with #400 – let’s meet Vickie Vaden!
The year was 1995 when Vickie first heard the sounds of 311 and she was instantly hooked. “I really liked the way they mixed in the reggae vibes with the heavy rock. They had such a fresh and unique sound and it drew me in!”
First live show for Vickie was at the HORDE Festival in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1996. “They had such awesome stage presence, I couldn’t wait to see them again!… and that is where the obsession began…lol! Oh man, I haven’t counted how many shows I have been to but I would say definitely in the hundreds!”
As for favorite event, Vickie said the cruises just can’t be beat. “I have been on all 7 and met some great friends over the years! The 2nd cruise was my favorite! That island show was surreal and I will never forget it! 2nd place from the cruises I would say the Pow Wow festival was super cool! The whole 311 community is so friendly and incredible!”
Some of Vickie’s favorite songs include “I’ll Be Here A While,” “Sunset in July,” and “Beyond the Gray Sky.” ” Beyond the gray sky is so beautiful to see live when Nick ask everyone bust out the lights to honor those that have passed. It makes me think of my mom (she passed away in 2018), I miss her so much! My mom was so proud of my photography accomplishments that I had made with 311.”
Born and raised in South Florida, Vickie has been there her whole life. She has two older brothers that molded her into a big fan of rock and live music. “My oldest brother took me to my first concert when I was 13, Ratt and Poison.. LOL! Hair metal was big time then! I have been to countless concerts since then.”
It was around the same age that her mother handed Vickie her first camera and she has been hooked on photography since then. “The summer before I started high school, I was in the photography class and that is where my love of photography started. Throughout high school I really got into photographing local bands, Marilyn Manson was real big down here back then before he got signed. I would hit the clubs and photograph shows and then go to school the next day and couldn’t wait to develop my film! Looking back it is kinda crazy that my parents let me stay out so late on school nights to see all these bands..lol! I think my older brothers had broken them in so they were pretty lenient with me. At the same time, they knew they could trust me to not do anything too dumb. With all the photos I shot I started to gain a lot of experience and making a portfolio for myself. I don’t even know how but my friend managed to get me photo passes for big shows around that time period. She had a tiny little home made magazine and knew how to talk the talk I guess. Lol! I was able to photography Lenny Kravitz, pearl jam and Anthrax to name a few. It was so exciting for me!!”
After high school Vickie was still going to concerts but not really getting involved with photographing many of the bands. Then in 2009 her interest sparked again. “I have been able to connect with a lot of band mangers and shoot some of my all time favorites, including 311! I have taken shots on all of the cruises. Most of you would recognize me for my cruise “Fisheye shots” I love that lens! Lol! I started lifting my camera on a monopod with a shutter release to get a higher angle, The way it captures the volume of the crowds is awesome! I have definitely captured some of my favorite shots over the years of 311 on the cruises. My favorite moment was being able to give meet the band and give them a canvas of a cruise photo and get them to sign mine as pictured. My biggest accomplishment was to have 311 use some of my photos in their archive box set. To be a fan all these years, buying all their CDs and then have my photos IN one is mind blowing and I am so grateful! (Thank you Peter Raspler! )”
Vickie is a single mom of 3 kids and has been raising them all by herself for the last 14 years. They are now ages 20, 18 & 16. “They have been to more concerts than most adults! lol! I started them super young! My 2 girls are now 311 fans and also really like dirty heads, sublime etc. They are my built in concert buddies. :)”
Fun fact about Vickie is she works at the police station as their photographer and photo tech. “I am on my 22nd year there. Luckily I only do their “pretty photography”.. Team photos, portraits and what not. I never had to photograph crime scenes, but I did have to process all the photos and have seen anything you can imagine! Crazy, crazy stuff!”
Aside from photography, Vickie also knows how to decorate cakes and make candy and goodies. “
My mom owned a cake business when I was growing up so I learned how to make everything and would help her fill orders as a kid. That also really helped me become an entrepreneur with a ton of side hustles over the years. The last 8 years or so I have been doing art festivals and selling my work on ETSY of my photography. I hope to pursue it a little more when I have more time. Everyone can check out my work on instagram at @retroseashoredecorfl also facebook I have this page for my business: https://www.facebook.com/RetroseashoredecorMore importantly for most, you can find my band photographs on my facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057585063579“
Guilty pleasure for Vickie is the band Twenty One Pilots. “Those guys put on one heck of a show!” When not listening to them or 311, she can be found jamming tunes by Rebelution, Lenny Kravitz, Dirty Heads, A tribe called quest, Sublime and Sublime with Rome, Amy Winehouse, Beach Boys, Mr. Bungle, Hirie, Bob Marley, Pearl Jam, Lumineers, Buddy Holly, Glass Animals, Matisyahu and most of the reggae rock that’s out there. “I have a pretty broad range of music that I listen to.”
Vickie would like to send this message to 311: “Please hire me full time and pay me to be your personal photographer! Lol! Until then, I guess I have to keep working my real job and side hustles.”
Now here are her words to all the other 311 fans out there:
“Thank you all for being so kind to me as I made my way around you at shows with all my big ass photo gear! Y’all are some of the most positive, friendly, awesome people! <3”
Thank you so much to Vickie for sharing her 311 story with us all! As always, many thanks to all the readers and supporters out there. Hope you all have an amazing week friends! Stay cool.
Much Love – The Runt