Hello again excitable people! Happy Monday! November is rolling right along and we have a new 311 fan to introduce! You met his best friend Tony last week. This week the spotlight aims at Charles “Wafer” Haskin!
Chuck’s love for 311 begins the same way that Tony’s did. It was the 89X Festival on September 5, 1994. Their friend Dan M. told them they had to see this band 311, so they did. “They played a 8 song set, we ripped out a street light cause it was in the way of the pit, Tony ended up with a bloody nose, and it was the first time I heard FTBS as they closed with it. I was hooked.”
How many shows has Chuck been to? “July 6th, 2014 in Detroit was my 50th show since that first one in 1994.” He keeps a spreadsheet so he can keep track of the shows he’s attended and the songs that he’s heard. He’s tracked all but 4 of the 50 shows. Out of the 50 shows, he’s been to all of the cruises (and will be on the next) and five 311 Days. Forced to pick a favorite, Charles says that the Lido deck show on the first cruise is up high on the list. “Met a lot of good people. 311 Day 2008 holds a lot of importance for me in my life. November 23, 1999, 311 at the Orbital Room in Grand Rapids, MI is up there as well. Tiny venue, lots of energy.”
It was tough for Chuck to pick one song that means the most to him. His all time favorite live song is FTBS. “As evident in my 311 Day 2014 video when they played it, I may have lost my mind a little.” To pick a favorite studio recorded song, he’s going with “Come Original.” He also added that every time he hears “Rub A Dub” he thinks of the first cruise. Some favorite lyrics of his are, “From chaos comes clarity,” “Fuck the naysayers,” and the popular lyrical motto of most fans, “Stay positive and love your life.”
Michigan is where Chuck was born and raised and he said the first eleven years he was living off of 8 mile, “Just the nicer part of it.” He moved to Indiana for four years, then back to Michigan for another seventeen. In 2006 he hit rock bottom, ending up unemployed, in a rocky relationship, and battling with depression. Then in 2007 he packed his bags and took off to Sweden. He went there to work for SAAB and the next fifteen months he was there he turned his life around. “I found myself, ended that bad 9 year relationship, sold my house in Michigan, cut out any negative in my life and became closer to my true friends and family. I flew from Sweden to New Orleans for 311 day 2008, and regardless of jet lag, that was one hell of a weekend trip.”
After Sweden, Chuck ended up in Arizona for a few years and then transitioned to Maryland where he still resides today. He funds his 311 fun by working as a CAD Designer. “For the last 2 & 1/2 years I have been design support for unmanned drones.” He says one question he constantly gets asked is why he sees 311 so much and doesn’t it get old. His reply is, “Never. Every show is different. Yes there are the handful of staple songs that will get played almost every night, but until you are there at the show and feel the energy of the crowd as they are playing you just will not understand, and most recently I am getting watch my girlfriend experience these things for the first time. 311 Day 2014 was her 2nd 311 show, before we met she knew of 311 briefly but Dave Matthews Band is her obsession. I am reminded how I felt when I first saw them 20ish years ago.”
While his job is mainly sitting at a desk all day, Charles mentioned he loves working with his hands. Most recently he built a 320 linear foot fence around his yard! He’s also in the process of converting the attic into a livable space. If you don’t know Chuck, you may not get his sense of humor at first. “Very quick witted and can turn any comment into something dirty. Your mom jokes are also still very funny. Very blunt and honest, I do not have the ability to sugar coat anything.
Chuck loves listening to the Eminem Pandora station, watching NCIS and CSI, and he collects a ton of 311 merchandise. “I have over one hundred 311 shirts, which were featured last 311 Day when 311 tweeted my pictures of all of them on my bed. Posters, so many posters. Last Christmas my girlfriend said to me, ‘I looked to get something 311 for you but it seems you already have everything.”
311 is actually not Chucks number one musical artist. That spot goes to Suzanne Vega. 311 is second and Ani DiFranco comes in third. “I have seen Vega live in Norway, Germany, Sweden, west and east coast, and in the midwest about 16 times. Yes she is still touring and releasing new music, and yes she knows me on sight and we talk after every show I have been to.”
Chucks’ message to the band is simple: “Thank you. Thank you for everything you do and the messages within the music, it gets people through things. Personally the music got me through a very dark place and time in my life and I probably wouldn’t be here or who I am if not partly because of your music.”
His message to all in the 311 universe: “Don’t forget to have a good time, it’s a Ani Difranco lyric (one that will be added to my tattoo soon). People get worked up over things and you just have to step back, find the good in your life and focus on that. Dwelling on the past or holding onto the bad is no way to live, I was like that for half my life, now I live with no regrets.”
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There you have the story of Charles Haskin! I hope you were entertained and it helped pass this Monday by a little quicker. Until we meet again my friends, have a kick ass week!
Much love – The Runt