Hello my friends in 311 nation! Hope you all have been well and are ready for the next fan spotlight. This week, let’s meet Adam Strachan!
For Adam, his 311 journey started with the song “Down” but it was really the song “Jack O’Lanterns Weather” that really hooked him. “It was 95, we go for the hive! The entire Blue album was such a cornucopia of styles, meshed together with catchy lyrics, that captured a wide variety of emotions. Since then, I’ve always been DOWN.”
In summer of 1996, Adam was working at Darien Lake theme park. He hasn’t been to many live shows at that young age, but when he saw 311 was going to be playing, he knew he had to be there. “Of course, they rocked my face off and afterwards I wouldn’t miss a show when they came within 100 miles of Buffalo. To this point I’ve been to 50+ shows, including 311 day twice, and 4 cruises.”
As for favorite show or event, the Soundsystem cruise is the one that he holds near and dear to his heart. “It was a Friday afternoon at precisely 3:11pm. The boat was docked at Ocho Rios. My wife and I exchanged vows in the Jamaican Jungle on one of the excursions. Fellow Excitibles witnessed our ceremony and we all celebrated afterwards to the band playing the “Sound System,” album in its entirety. Ironically they played “Friday Afternoon” and I still get goosebumps when I hear the lyrics, “going to our secret spot and no one else knows how to get there.”
As for favorite song, Adam said that their songs are fluid with his life and he finds that his “favorite bounces around like Excitables at shows.” If he had to choose just one that embodies his relationship with their music, he would pick “Inner Light Spectrum.” “When the kind consciousness, yes, comes unto you, you will know, and it won’t stop.”
Adam has always lived in the Western New York/Buffalo area. “I was raised in the sticks, on top of a hill, and we heated our home with a firewood stove. Every summer my father would task me with splitting blocks of wood, then stack wood in the early autumn. It would be no surprise that after high school I made it a point to get out of my parents house, and so I went to work.”
Adam tried many career paths and settled into working as a construction foreman for a Union glazing company. “Which means I work with glass, heights, and heavy lifting. I’m a Dad to 2 amazing children. My oldest, the boy, has now been to 3 shows with us and can pick out Nicks voice on any obscure track I play for him.”
Adam also plays music in a couple of bands local to Buffalo. “I playa da bass in, Idiots of Idealism, a grunge act that just released its first EP this year, “Stranded in Tomorrow,” streaming on all platforms. In the other band, Bighorn Sheep, I play guitar and drums. Bighorn Sheep has a 5 song EP that’s been out since 2018. It’s mostly a hobby, but we play out when we can and have even hosted our very own 3 day music festival outside the city of Buffalo.”
The local 311 family in the Buffalo area is a pretty big group and they make it a point to gather regularly. “Shout out to the WNY Excitible Crew, 😘 . 311 fans are some of my favorite people to be around. Them and Buffalo Bills fans, my mother sentenced me to life with this team. I have bled the red, white, and blue, since 88’. You will always now how to find me at a 311 show if you yell out a, “Hey Ey Ey Ey” 😉 It’s a Bills Mafia thing ha ha ha!”
Many people don’t know that Adam is a black belt martial artist. “Trained in American Kenpo Karate International (A.K.K.I.). It’s a ballistic fighting style focused on striking and self defense. I tested for my Black Belt in front of Grand Master Paul Mills in Las Vegas, NV. It was an absolute honor to meet one of Ed Parker’s (The father of American Kenpo), star pupils.”
Adam says something unique about him is that he’s a dreamer. “I always imagine grandiose scenarios with very little caution to the direction of the wind. Perhaps it isn’t a strength, but I have learned in life, that even the most trivial talents can lead to success.” He’s also been told he is a great writer. “I’ve even ghost written a story for a friend that he wasn’t too keen on writing. I don’t practice much anymore, but someday I hope to write my own book.”
When not listening to 311, there are a variety of musicians that Adam can be found tuning into. “I’m a sucker for a good lyricist. Anything that Maynard James Keenan has been a part of is in my catalog. I love Bumping Uglies (both the band and the action). 😈 My punk rock roots stem from Bad Religion, Zebrahead, and Sublime. All the 90’s grunge; Nirvana, NIN, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, Helmet, etc… The metal; Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Type O Negative, Megadeth, Korn. I could go on and on. I LOVE MUSIC and rarely am uninterested in absorbing a new album that someone suggests.”
As for words Adam would like to say to 311, he’s said it to them before and he will say it again: “Thank you for all the years of wonderful music and taking us on these incredible adventures. I am truly grateful for every moment.”
Now here is Adams message to all the other fans out there:
“To my fellow Excitibles: Keep shining like the star that you are! Half the reason I’ve continued to see 311 is because of the community. You all raise the vibration. To those I’ve touched, know that I have love for you. To those I have not, “if I ever didn’t thank you, then just let me do it now!”
Thank you so much Adam for sharing your story with all of us! As always. my eternal gratitude to all the readers each week. Hope you all have an amazing week!
Much Love – The Runt