Mainstream Success Is Easy Going
After five years of lukewarm record sales and little attention from the media, 311 seemed destined to remain in the shadows despite a solid grassroots following. They basically made a living as a touring band with relatively little airplay and even less critical respect. When they introduced their rap/rock/reggae/jazz fusion on 1991's "Music," grunge reigned supreme, and the music world revolved around Seattle, not Omaha, Nebraska--a city where easy-going agrarians are a hell of a lot more likely to praise the beloved Cornhuskers on Saturday than give a rat's ass about a band like 311. That's all changed, however, with the release of the band's third full-length record, simply titled "311," and a video for the first single, "Down" that landed in MTV's Buzz Bin. The last year has been good to the band: a platinum record, a No. 1 video and even a slot at Madison Square Garden in New York supporting Kiss. At his new home in Los Angeles, lead singer Nick Hexum recently spoke with ROLLING STONE.COM'S Kevin Raub about his recent purchases, the next record, and the bands spiritual connection with four old guys that wear makeup.
ROLLING STONE.COM: You just finished a relentless touring schedule. What've you been doing with your free time?
NICK HEXUM: I moved into a house and got a couple of puppies--two Dobermans but one's a Min Pin [Miniature Pincher]. They're the exact same color but one of them is tiny.
RS.COM: You guys seem to finally be getting some critical attention. Why do you think it took so long?
NH: Well, I think the world wasn't really ready for us. When "Music" came out, everyone was still really into grunge, and now I think people are moving away from straight rock and getting into bands like No Doubt, Goldfinger and Korn. They are hybrid bands such as ourselves with either ska or hip-hop elements. I just think it's time that people are appreciating cross-genre stuff.
RS.COM: "Down" is a shout out to your grassroots fans, thanking them for always being there. It's ironic that it's the song that broke you.
NH: Yeah, I had a real good feeling about the song because it had that hook that I kept singing and then everyone else started singing it. But it is ironic that it would be a grassroots message that would bring us to the mainstream. It's kind of funny, we finally had gotten to a place where we really didn't need MTV and everything because we could make a living though touring. And I always kind of thought that when we didn't need them, they would come to the plate. And it happened.
RS.COM: What was it like opening for Kiss at the Garden?
NH: It was a gig.
RS.COM: You aren't a big Kiss fan?
NH: Not really, but there are some parallels between our band and theirs. They never had much critical acclaim or acceptance but they still made a really good career out of it. We've been snubbed in our careers as far as critically and we figured we would be like that forever.
RS.COM: How'd the crowd treat you?
NH: I heard that we did really well because we got booed the least of any band that opened for Kiss. The show was already sold-out by the time we got put on the bill so there weren't a lot of 311 fans, but they gave it up. But there was some booing. It was different, not having a pit and stuff.
RS.COM: What can we expect from your next record?
NH: I think we're going to go more in the direction of our first album. We did a lot more production, we used samples, and a lot of percussion and trippy dub-style effects. We're going back to more psychedelic. We're just going to really try to get out there as far as some ambient stuff. I've also been trying to learn the old jazz standards. I'm not listening to that much rap right now. The De La Soul record is amazing but other than that I don't have much rap going through my CD player.
ROLLING STONE.COM: You just finished a relentless touring schedule. What've you been doing with your free time?
NICK HEXUM: I moved into a house and got a couple of puppies--two Dobermans but one's a Min Pin [Miniature Pincher]. They're the exact same color but one of them is tiny.
RS.COM: You guys seem to finally be getting some critical attention. Why do you think it took so long?
NH: Well, I think the world wasn't really ready for us. When "Music" came out, everyone was still really into grunge, and now I think people are moving away from straight rock and getting into bands like No Doubt, Goldfinger and Korn. They are hybrid bands such as ourselves with either ska or hip-hop elements. I just think it's time that people are appreciating cross-genre stuff.
RS.COM: "Down" is a shout out to your grassroots fans, thanking them for always being there. It's ironic that it's the song that broke you.
NH: Yeah, I had a real good feeling about the song because it had that hook that I kept singing and then everyone else started singing it. But it is ironic that it would be a grassroots message that would bring us to the mainstream. It's kind of funny, we finally had gotten to a place where we really didn't need MTV and everything because we could make a living though touring. And I always kind of thought that when we didn't need them, they would come to the plate. And it happened.
RS.COM: What was it like opening for Kiss at the Garden?
NH: It was a gig.
RS.COM: You aren't a big Kiss fan?
NH: Not really, but there are some parallels between our band and theirs. They never had much critical acclaim or acceptance but they still made a really good career out of it. We've been snubbed in our careers as far as critically and we figured we would be like that forever.
RS.COM: How'd the crowd treat you?
NH: I heard that we did really well because we got booed the least of any band that opened for Kiss. The show was already sold-out by the time we got put on the bill so there weren't a lot of 311 fans, but they gave it up. But there was some booing. It was different, not having a pit and stuff.
RS.COM: What can we expect from your next record?
NH: I think we're going to go more in the direction of our first album. We did a lot more production, we used samples, and a lot of percussion and trippy dub-style effects. We're going back to more psychedelic. We're just going to really try to get out there as far as some ambient stuff. I've also been trying to learn the old jazz standards. I'm not listening to that much rap right now. The De La Soul record is amazing but other than that I don't have much rap going through my CD player.
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