311
Feb 16, 2014
For the first time ever, 311 will be releasing an album on March 11th or rather 3/11 and to kick it off, the band has premiered the first single titled "Five Of Everything". The new album is called Stereolithic via 311 Records/INgrooves. The track is full of guitar melodies intermingled with heavy, crunchy notes and a rhythm that keeps things moving. This is the group's 11th album and features 15 new songs which is far more than previous albums. Lead singer, Nick Hexum explained that the band fell into a very productive groove.
"On this current album it really felt like a well-oiled machine. Our previous one was just eight. But this time we just kinda got into this creative flow and we just can't wait for people to hear it. There's a lot of new sounds, it's very eclectic."
Formed in Nebraska in 1988 by vocalist/guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson (who would later be replaced by Tim Mahoney), bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton. In 1992, Doug "SA" Martinez joined to sing and provide turntables for 311's later albums, rounding out the current line-up. After a series of independent releases, 311 was signed to Capricorn Records in 1992 and released the albums Music (1993) and Grassroots (1994) to moderate success. They achieved greater success with their 1995 triple platinum self-titled album, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the singles "Down" and "All Mixed Up", the former of which topped the Alternative chart in 1996.
The band's next three albums, Transistor (1997), Soundsystem (1999) and From Chaos (2001), did not achieve the massive success of the self-titled album, though they were still successful, with the first going platinum and the last two going gold. Their 2004 compilation album Greatest Hits '93-'03 was also certified gold. The band's most recent studio album is 2011's Universal Pulse. To date, 311 has released ten studio albums, one live album, four compilation albums, four EPs and four DVDs. As of 2011, 311 has sold over 8.5 million records in the US.
After more than two decades, the band has maintained a rabid fanbase by staying true to some simple values.
Hexum explained, "I think a couple of the keys are put the music first, put everything you've got into the show, and when it comes to the inner workings of a band, be ready to not get your way and realize that they collective of what we have is bigger than the sum of all the parts. It's a special chemistry. And most importantly, we just keep an attitude of gratitude."