This month’s Featured Fan is Scott! He’s from Orange County and a roller coaster maniac. Read his full story below!
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Tell us a little bit about yourself:
My name is Scott. I’m an actor. I have a cat named Milo Cornelius who is the most badass pimp alive. I’m a roller coaster aficionado. I love cartoons and black and white television. I have a secret desire to do card tricks for a living. I’m far too into drive thru food. Oh, and I happen to be a decades-long fan of this little band called No Doubt. Maybe you’ve hearda them??
How did you become a fan?
I grew up in Orange County. When I was 11 years old, I was coming home from a trip to Riverside with some family friends. We stopped to use a payphone that night and we were across from this place called Spanky’s. It was a small little place and I just remember lots of noise and cheering and what I called “cartoony” music. I wanted to go in but was scared to ask permission. I remember there was a flyer in the dirt/gravel driveway our car was parked in that had this cartoony looking logo that visually matched the music I was hearing. Fast forward to being with some friends and their aunt at Cal State Fullerton. There was this CHAOS happening. People running in circles, moshing. It reminded me of a cartoon! (Did I mention I love cartoons??) Then I saw, taped to a wall, a similar looking cartoony-logo, advertising a free show in the Cal State Fullerton quad by a band called No Doubt. It all connected at that point- there was this cartoony ball of epic epicness floating around SoCal that I casually and randomly kept encountering by chance, and I dug it. I was now in junior high, and I had a single mom, and we had no car, so the ND “sightings” were few and far between. But then I started hearing about this local band from my neighbors and people who could drive and go to shows. When I kept hearing their description (typically “they’re a hard core band but with a girl lead singer”), I KNEW who it was, so when Tragic Kingdom hit while I was in high school, it ALL came together. The album wasn’t a hit at first. I distinctly remember trying to hype it up but NO ONE CARED! Music was very dark and heavy at that time, total grunge. But at some point, the Gods intervened and everyone took note. It was awesome. One of my favorite memories was flunking chemistry class and having to take summer school to make it up, and all my friends who had cars were my rides and they were all cranking Tragic Kingdom with the windows down. Amazing.
Do you have a Favorite No Doubt Memory?
Do babies like breast milk?? Uuuuum. Making that aforementioned connection down the road that this sound I heard when I was younger was the same sound I was hearing later on due to their flyers is one. Being at the taping of Live in the Tragic Kingdom. Being at the taping of Rock Steady Live. A few backstage experiences. Bumping into the gang solo at various OC and LA eateries and clubs. Mostly Tony. (We both used to go to this inCREDible cafe called Rutebagorz. Amazing food with a hippy atmosphere, you should ALL go there sometime!) Sitting directly next to Eric (Stefani) and (Rock Steady Executive Producer/genius/countless Grammy winner) Glen Ballard at a Return of Saturn tour show at Irvine Meadows. Having Gabe come into my work the day after the Kennedy Center Honors. (We were packed. I worked at AT&T in Venice at the time. 90 minute wait. And Gabe was trying to pay his bill at the pay station. He had his baby in his arms and the machine is pretty annoying and so I went over to him and brought him over to my computer. I said, “Come with me.” All these customers were like, “Hey! I’ve been waiting an hour!” and I yelled “I’M ON MY LUNCH BREAK!” and helped him out. We talked for about 15 minutes about all kinds of stuff. He told me that the new music was coming along very slowly but it was coming along. So that was a cool thing. One of the nicest people on Earth. Just like they all are.) Adrian paying at Yard House. (We were at Yard House across from the Long Beach arena before a Rock Steady show. Adrian was there with family and I yelled across the room “No Doubt!” He did a thumbs up and then yelled, “Who here is going to the show tonight?” People raised hands and he said, “Keep ‘em up!” And he told the server to give him our checks. Amazing how kind and generous the band all are.) And of COURSE- The Seven Night Stand. Got to be at the opening night show and it was ridiculously off the hook. And I don’t even use the term ‘off the hook.’ That’s how off the damn hook it was. Tony’s sent me a few tweets recently too. That was pretty memorable as well. (Tweet me people! @meetscottyb)
What about your Favorite Era?
I’m an unabashedly avid supporter of the Rock Steady era. Obviously there’s no way to pick and choose, there are reasons for any and all ND eras. But. There was something about the Rock Steady phase that felt care free and effortless. I know it’s because the Saturn phase was such a period of PROVING themselves. PROVING their talent. Proving they deserved the success and acclaim. Saturn contains some of their best musicianship ever, and I just feel like they did what they needed to do at that time, and they followed their natural revolution (like they ALWAYS have- one of the main admirable traits of the band, which is follow the flow, do what feels right- have no doubt, basically- which sounds cheesy, I know. Also- another ND mantra- EVERYTHING IN TIME! ahem). Rock Steady happened SO EFFING FAST. Barely over a year after Saturn, BOOM- Hey Baby debuted on KROQ. And it was unlike ANYthing on radio at that time, let alone ANYthing the band had done. It was so experimental, so new, so many different flavors. Incredible. It IS my favorite No Doubt album. It was a big EFF YOU to rules, to the record industry, to expectations. Effortless. And I feel like Push and Shove (which happens to contain SEVERAL career highs of the band’s, in my personal opinion) is sort of like Saturn 2: they had something to prove. Even MORE so than with Saturn. NO ONE can go a few years, let alone ELEVEN without releasing new music and have it garner any attention. Yet they did. P&S debuted much higher than Rock Steady, and in today’s digital world, and with all the years absent from the charts and radio, even more impressive. BUT- I DO feel that this album had a lot to prove. To the band AND fans AND the industry. I think it did its job (JUST like Saturn did), BUT- – – No Doubt is all about spontaneity I feel. And I think the fact that the band jumped RIGHT back into the studio RIGHT after the release of the album, RIGHT after they released long awaited new music, RIGHT after the promo tour, RIGHT after the Gibson shows, proves that they clicked back into that Rock Steady groove again, if you will. I posted all over my social media right after hearing Push and Shove, “This is Return of Saturn 2, which means Rock Steady 2 will follow.” I’m pretty sure I’m right, based on the GENIUS people we know are working with them on the new material. No matter WHAT happens- every No Doubt era is arguably the best.
If you had to choose Your Favorite No Doubt Song, what would it be?
You should be arrested for asking such a criminal question. How dare you. Too many answers for too many different reasons. It’s like asking someone what color they see when using a kaleidoscope. I’m gonna say though that there is one song in particular that just kind of encompasses all my various No Doubt feelings into one. I feel like it represents all their sounds and vibes into one song, and that’s Different People. And it’s just so goddamn good live. I will say though: Push and Shove? I truly listen to t at least 10 times a day. Incredible audio adrenaline. (Hey ND- that’s your next album name, k? NO DOUBT – AUDIO ADRENALINE! Heheheheh)
What is your most prized No Doubt possession?
I can’t say I’m a huge fan because I own a bunch of stuff. I’m generally pretty broke! I have far too many posters, that’s for sure. I still have some stuff in a storage unit, come to think of it. But I DO seriously carry in my wallet my Hard Rock Hotel and Casino ND poker chip. I got it in Vegas when they were doing shows at The Joint and that was my first time meeting them backstage. I also still have a red ND baseball hat I still rock from that time. I unfortunately don’t have any photos with them. I’m not the star struck type and I just feel like asking people for photos is kinda blah. That’s just me. If it’s like a meet and greet or if it’s some specific type of situation, sure. But I’ve never had it in me to go up to people on the street and be like, Let’s take a picture! I’ve had the chance many times but I really respect them and I’ve never wanted to intrude. We all know how gracious and willing to take pics they are, but. I’d really rather pick their brains in an interview or watch them rehearse or something where I’m not being a stalker groupie, haha.
What is one thing that you want to achieve during this new No Doubt Era, a No Doubt Dream if you will?
I am in the midst of designing the gnarliest concert sign man has ever seen to ensure I get brought up onstage. I started thinking about it months ago and I have a couple of friends helping me. I WILL be brought on stage, dammit!!! I also have a years long dream of being able to sit in on a writing/recording session. I would just love to see their process unfold. Can you freakin’ imagine?
Two more questions. If there was something that you wanted No Doubt to do during this tour, what would that be?
Aside from pull me up on stage?? haha. Well, I’m just dying for a tour. I lost my job two years ago and I literally ran out of all my savings I was living off when the Gibson shows were announced. I did get pit tickets for one show but i had to sell them to pay rent that month. Luckily I have great friends who had tickets so I got to go see a show. I wasn’t able to get any merchandise though so I am REALLY looking forward to a tour next year, now that I’m working again and can go and get some killer ND goodies. So, I would just like them to tour basically, haha. I also have a tradition of taking ND virgins to shows with me to bring them into the light. OH- and I’ve always ALWAYS wanted to hear ‘You Can Do It’ off TK live too. THAT is an amazing track!
Last question. Is there anything you would like to say to the band, you know if they happen to read this?
Thank you. Thank you for being different than the norm in conservative Orange County, cuz I’m an actor from conservative Orange County and I’m different from the norm! Thank you for paving your own path and confidently going down it. Thank you for being genuine and authentic and humble and gracious. Thank you for being so HONEST. When things are tough, you say they’re tough. You don’t bullshit the good OR the bad. A favorite quote from an interview is “Everything has to happen.” I love that. I quote it all the time, actually. It’s not looking at the past or predicting the future, it’s commenting on the present moment. It’s awesome. So thank you for being you and no one and nothing else. You have been the soundtrack to pretty much every saga of my life. Congratulations on your talent, on your success, your families, and your happiness. You really are a freakin’ gift. See ya on tour. And bring my sorry ass on stage!!! =)