Welcome one and all to another 311 fan spotlight! I hope you all had an amazing weekend and let us begin the new week off right by meeting Lynette Jardine!

It was way back in 1994 when Lynette happened to hear the song “Do You Right” on the radio, when she was just 13 years old. “I think it was my older brothers friend who had it. I really liked the song but I didn’t hear anything again at all until the next year when “Down” came out.”  That year Lynette when to visit her aunt and uncle in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska which borders the glorious city of Omaha. Her cousin had the blue album and she listened to in pretty much non-stop while there! Her cousin then told her that the guys were from Omaha and that she had friends who knew them. Lynette was hooked from there on out! “I would print pictures off the internet on a color printer at my local library! Then I would cut them out and had 311 collages in my locker in high school. I bought shirts and CD’s but didn’t get to see them live until after high school.”

Lynette saw her first show April 1, 2000 and has been to a total of 7 shows so far. She explained that she really would have loved to have attended more but the circumstances and funds didn’t always allow it. She’ll be hitting shows 8 and 9 this summer and can’t wait for them! She also has started saving money for the next cruise since she hasn’t been on one yet. Of the concerts she has been able to go to she said the best one was the free show in Omaha back in 2004. Since her aunt and uncle lived close to Omaha she asked them if her and a few friends could stay there so they could go see the show, and they said yes! “Me and four of my friends got in a car and drove 311 miles to the show (yes it was exactly 311 miles from her house to Omaha!). My aunt and uncles house was out in the country and they had horses. We found tons of marijuana growing there! The plants averaged about 8 feet tall and while my aunt and uncle were ‘in town’ we were outside filling as many plastic bags as we could, hahaha!”  That same day Lynette and her friends went to the park to see the show. She said it was an absolutely beautiful day and all the bands were great, but 311 was of course the best! “It was a very up close and personal vibe. We had so much fun. The whole trip was amazing. Then we came home and made THC oil with the weed we had and baked tons of brownies. It was good times, good weed too!”

Davenport, Iowa is where Lynette was born but she grew up in Port Byron, Illinois (she said to think I-80 and the Mississippi River). After high school she moved to Provo, Utah for a year and that is where she first was able to see 311 live. She saw them twice in two months and mentioned she really had the time of her life there. Then when she was scheduled to move back to Illinois her mother booked a train ticket for her the same day as a 311 show. “I told her I wouldn’t be on the train because I had tickets to see 311. She was so mad at me! So she changed the reservation. I was a real brat!”

For the majority of her life Lynette has resided in the Quad City area. Just before she turned 27 she moved to Quincy, Illinois where she still resides to this day. It’s only 150 miles down river from where she grew up. She currently is in school working on obtaining her medical office technology degree and is hoping to move out west to Oregon in 2015 once that is completed. She is a bit torn about the career she has chosen because it isn’t really what she wants to do with life, but she knows it will provide her with skills she can use in other areas. Plus it will allow her to work from home and set her own schedule, and that she likes!

Lynette currently tutors and works odd jobs while in school to help her out financially. While she may not have hit a ton of shows like some, she said she buys all of 311’s albums and some she has bought numerous times! “Back in the day that’s how you had to replace stuff. I’ve also watched  both ETSD’s numerous times along with the 311 Day DVD. I plan on hitting a lot more shows since the money gods have started smiling on me more!”

One thing all that medical training taught Lynette is how to conduct every exam that uses xray. Pretty cool skill to have! She has also been called the cat whisperer by some thanks to her ability to “herd cats.” (I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would LOVE to see this!)  Lynette’s guilty pleasure? “I totally love watching Teen Wolf.”  And when she isn’t listening to 311 you can find her jamming out to tunes by Queen, The Beatles, Pixies, No Doubt, Weezer, RHCP, Wookiefoot, Beastie Boys, Sia, and Green Day (just to name a few).

Lynette knows that the guys in 311 have blessed her life and for that she would just like to say to them, “Thank you for your help in navigating this life.”  They’ve given her the song “Jupiter” which she says means a lot to her because it came out when she was 16 and was her “go to” song, and still is sometimes! And while that might be one of her all time favorite songs, the favorite quote she picked comes from “Applied Science.” She said the lyrics sum it up pretty nicely – “I met some weirdos and had myself a good time.”

So with that, her message to all of the fans out in the 311 universe is:

“You guys are all awesome! I can’t wait to meet some of you in person this summer and to meet some totally new people. I’ll be at the St. Louis and Chillicothe shows, so come say hi if you see me. I’m not shy. Shine on  with your positivity fam, it’s always just what I need.”

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Thanks to Lynette for sharing her story and love for 311! And thanks to everyone who reads these! You all rock! Keep the positivity flowing always.

Much love – The Runt