Welcome back to another edition of the 311 fan spotlight my friends! It’s time to kick this Monday off right, so without further ado I introduce you to the infamous Mr. Josh “Puffyhands” Hurley!
The college years were the time that Josh was introduced to the awesomeness of 311. A friend of his picked him up from English class, and had brought along a bag of mushrooms and the 311 Day 2004 DVD. “I had barely heard a couple of songs but couldn’t tell you anything about the band. Needless to say that DVD changed my life.” Josh and his friend Matty K became obsessed with 311 after that day. “Anytime we found a new song or b-side, we immersed ourselves in it. I remember we use to do a song of the week and we would debate ourselves trying to decide which song it was gonna be that week. We basically lived 311 (and still do).”
Josh says what drew him in was the combination of the music genres that the band embodied. “It was all of my favorite genres of music jam packed into one electric sound. I had never experienced anything as awesome as that before. Sometimes you can’t help but to just jump up and down (cuz that’s the 311 sound).”
It’s now ten years later and Josh loves the band just as much as he did from day one. He is still as excitable now as he was that first day. He doesn’t keep track of the number of shows he attends (the only numbers he wants to be defined by are 3 and 11) but he thinks it’s probably somewhere in the upper 60’s or low 70’s. Since 2005 he has attended five 311 Day’s, four cruises, Pow Wow and Halloween 2010. Which event or show is his favorite he said will more than likely change if you ask him each year. “I would change my answer to the most recent 311 Day or cruise. The Jamaica cruise really stands out right now because I was up front for Soundsystem and I was on the best acid I have ever done in my life. Magical, to say the least.”
There isn’t one song in particular that means the most to Josh, there are multiple ones. Here they are in no particular order: “Sever” (which he says no song has probably gotten him through more than this one), “Right Now,” Trouble” (which he says describes him in a nutshell), “Freak Out,” “Lose,” and “Boom Shanka” (to which he added AF). Some favorite quotes are, “I do, I don’t, whatever,” “Just think of all the good times, instead of wish we could times, so much better that way,” and “This too shall pass.”
Josh is from Nashville, Tennessee but wants to move west soon, hopefully by the end of 2015. “I’ve set a personal goal of moving out of here by the end of this year. I’m thinking either Portland or Denver (or wherever I can get legal weed).” He has a Bachelors degree and a Masters in accounting, so he funds his 311 addiction by being an accountant. He says it helps funds his 311/Puffyhand adventures.
Which leads us to the story of the origin of the Puffyhands. It was Halloween 2009. He and Matty K went to a STS9 show and part of Matty’s costume were Puffyhands. The ended up doing mushrooms and LSD that night, and the Puffyhands became the most fun aspect of the night. “Puffyhands just kinda made complete sense to us.” A week later they went on a 311 road trip and the Puffyhands were still in the car, so they took them into the shows with them and they were a huge hit. “Matty K and I have always rocked out hard together, but once we started rocking out to 311 with Puffyhands, everything just seemed different. There’s something magical about rocking out with Puffyhands (especially to 311) that I can’t explain. Sometimes P-Nut feeds off of their powers and you can just feel it.” Puffyhands has become huge (I’m the proud owner of one!) and Josh even has a wholesale distributor based out of China, so he usually wears a fresh pair to every show. “Gotta stay fresh!” He also dressed up as a giant puffy hand for the Halloween show in Atlanta in 2010.
Many of you may think Josh’s last name is Hurley…but it actually isn’t. “It was a nickname I got in college and it has just sorta stuck. Now everybody knows me by that. It also helps keeping my coworkers and bosses from finding me online hehe.” His guilty pleasure he said is “tobacco water pipes.” When not rocking out to 311 he can be found listening to Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, or STS9.
Josh has this puffy message to send out to 311: “Thank you – you’ve gotten me through so many ups and downs, that I am forever grateful. I wholeheartedly believe that music is the language of the universe and I’ve never felt more alive or at peace that when listening to 311.”
And now his puffy message to all of the amazing fans:
“311 fans are the most positive group of people I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve met some of the coolest people ever through 311 and I just wanna say thanks. Also a special puffy shout out to Matty K, Billy/Dave, Brett, Suzanne, Cathie, McGuire and Felicia, Jackie, Sharky, and Matt and Heidi. Thanks for rocking out with me.”
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That’s the story of Mr. Puffyhands himself, Josh Hurley! I hope you enjoyed reading about his journey of love for 311. I know I did! Make sure to say a big puffy hello if you ever meet him in person! Thanks as always for reading. Until next time my friends, keep on spreading the message of love, unity, and positivity!
Much love – The Runt