Saturday, December 14, 2002

311's Nick Hexum plans 'Beautiful Departures' for Next Album

Despite the somewhat unexpected success of 311's latest single, "Amber" -- a reggae-frosted love ballad that stands out from nearly every song on the charts these days -- the band has already begun work on the follow-up album to last year's From Chaos, with an eye on releasing the new collection sometime early next year.

The quintet has been demo-ing new material over the last couple months, and are now rebuilding its L.A. recording studio, with plans to lay down new tracks for what will be the group's seventh studio album after the completion of its upcoming summer tour with Jay-Z (allstar, June 14).

311 has always strived to challenge itself and its fans with a variety of moods and styles on each of its albums, and the band's newest material will certainly follow that tradition, with a new emphasis on capturing the emotion of the song.

"For us it's always a balance between wanting to make songs that are breaking through to new territory, and making songs that are straight-ahead rockers that are good for the live setting," says singer-guitarist Nick Hexum during an exclusive interview this week at 311's Hive studio.

"We've always tried to play new styles, and to play very tightly," Hexum says. "But as for emotional release, that's not something that has always been a priority for us. Now we want to make some really beautiful departures. I just think as we play more that we're expanding our musical vocabulary."

As previously reported, 311 will co-headline the upcoming Sprite Liquid Mix Tour with Jay-Z, beginning August 20 at Jones Beach outside of New York. The tour will also feature N.E.R.D., Hoobastank, Nappy Roots, Talib Kweli, Ozomatli, Quarashi, De La Soul, Mos Def's Black Jack Johnson Project, and more.

311 will also embark on a week's worth of headlining club dates as a warm-up for the Sprite tour, beginning Aug. 10 in Fresno, Calif.

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