Hello again to all my friends out in 311 nation! It’s that time, to introduce a new fan to you all. This week let’s meet Eric Tate!
In the summer of 1993 Eric and his wife decided to part ways and she ended up with the car, meaning Eric had to bum rides from various co-workers. ” A friend of mine that worked with me serving tables at Bennigans offered to take me home one day but he had to swing by his house to shower real quick as he was heading to his girlfriend’s house after he dropped me off. Before he jumped in the shower he asked me if I ever heard of 311….I said no, so he put on a song called “Hydroponic” off of their “Music” album. At first I really dug how the song opened with that heavy badass bsssline …then the drums and guitars kicked in…I was like “WOW… Whaaaaat???!” So soon after the song ended my buddy was out of the shower at that point and asked me if I liked it? I said “Hellyeah!!! I loved it!”. He asked what I loved about it and I told him just mainly the sound of it. He then asked me if I paid any attention to the lyrics and I said “No, not really”, so he played it again and told me to listen to the words this time and holy shit….OMG! That’s when it dawned on me that there were 2 dudes singing…and the lyrics “resonated” with me I guess you could say (pun intended).”
There was a line in that song that really stuck with Eric and it’s “I’m not going to waste life being hateful.” “At the time I was pretty pissed at/hated just about everything about my life; my failed marriage, no car and having to bum rides to and from work/everywhere, me horribly missing my 3 young daughters (ex took them about 6 hours away so that REALLY sucked not seeing them everyday for like a very long time)…pretty much my sucky ass shituation overall. So by the 2nd time listening to the songs AND the lyrics/message, I became an Excitable before the song even ended and I didn’t even know what that was yet!?”
For show count, Eric said he lost track awhile ago. If he had to guess he believes it’s around 70. First show for him was May 28, 2020, at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA, when 311 was touring with Incubus. As for favorite show/event for him, Eric said 311 Day 2008 takes the top prize. “My cousin Jason (aka “Jake” or “DJ 1 Piece”) scored backstage VIP passes as he had been friends with Chad for several years at that point. Watching, singing and dancing my ass off for that marathon of a concert was unlike anything I have ever experienced at a live show! (63 songs I believe?) We somehow ended up on Chad and Tim’s bus right after the show, and Chad had to bail as he was super sick with like a fever of 102 or something crazy?! He apologized and said he hoped we had fun and that he needed to go get some fluids in him and get some rest.”
Song that means the most to Eric is “Visit” because he just loves the lyrics. As for a favorite line from a song, he loves one from the song “Full Ride:” “The only thing that never gets old is honesty.”
Eric was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, then at the age of 10 he moved to Canfield, Ohio. He wasn’t there long as right after his 11th birthday they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida and he pretty much lived in that area until he graduated high school. “I joined the Marine Corps and lived on base at Cherry Point, NC while in the USMC, then moved back to Florida after I got out. Moved to Missouri for about 9 months and hated it, so we moved back to Florida, once again. In the mid 90’s I met a girl in the “Marijuana Debate” chat room on AOL and fell in love and moved to Castro Valley, CA (Her screen name was “A4TwentyGirl” and mine was “SemperHigh” so you can guess what side of that debate we were on! 🤣). We eventually realized we were better off as friends so we never ended up getting married (she’s still one of my best friends to this day). I lived in NorCal until the middle of lockdown in 2020 when I decided to once again move back to Florida! To fund my 311 habit, I do retail insights working remotely as a data analyst!”
When asked what is an interesting fact about himself, Eric said, “I just recently went to the gym the other day and I seen this idiot who put a water bottle on the treadmill… right where the Pringles can goes!!! 🤟🤣🤘.” That leads us to what Eric believes makes him different is that he loves to tell jokes, do magic tricks, and act silly. “Pretty much anything to make people smile and/or laugh everyday!” Guilty pleasure for him is his dogs Luna and Coco, plus spending time with his insanely funny niece and three amazing grandkids!
When not listening to 311, some other artists that Eric loves include Dirty Heads, RDGLDGRN, Tropidelic, Stick Figure, Little Stranger, Bumpin Uglies, Katastro, Nothing But Thieves & Depeche Mode!
To 311, Eric would like to send this message: “Just a very special THANK YOU to all the guys for making this crazy life THIS much more Excitable! Following you guys over the past 30 years (70+ shows/8 311 Days/ last 4 cruises) has allowed me to meet some of the most amazing lifelong friends & the coolest people I never would have met if it weren’t for you guys and your music! Oh…and can we please hear “Crossfire” just once live please! 🙏😆”
Now here are Eric’s words going out to all the other awesome 311 fans:
“Just always be kind… try to make someone/anyone smile everyday as you never know what life could be throwing at them at any given moment. And of course…. STAY POSITIVE AND LOVE YOUR LIFE!!!!”
Thank you to Eric for sharing your story with us! Of course, my eternal gratitude to all the readers each blog post. Have an amazing week and sending you all good vibes.
Much Love – The Runt