The world might not have expected 311 to have lasted for nearly 20 years, but it isn't a surprise to the band members.
"We've focused on longevity for most of our career," says 311 bassist Aaron Wills, better known as P-Nut. "We've taken a record budget and we've put it into real estate and made our own studio where we rehearse and store our equipment. We have meetings there. We can write songs there and we've recorded our albums there for at least 10 years. Why spend all of your record budget on things that won't last?" The Nebraska-born band became college favorites in the early 1990s with an eclectic blend of rock, pop, rap and reggae. The group was one of the successes of the newly revived Capricorn Records, which had also signed Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Widespread Panic, Cake and an aspiring country artist named Kenny Chesney.
The roots of the band stretch back to two Omaha high schools. Future 311 members Nick Hexum, Tim Mahoney and Chad Sexton all went to Westside High School, and Wills and Doug "SA" Martinez knew each other from attending Bryan High School. Hexum, Mahoney and Sexton played together in Westside's jazz band and Hexum and Mahoney also played together in a rock band called the Ed's, and later the three performed in a group called Unity.
After most of Unity returned from an unsuccessful bid at making it in Los Angeles, members began jamming with Wills and guitarist Jim Watson. On June 10, 1990, the group opened for Fugazi. It was Watson who was responsible for the group's name: He had been arrested for skinny dipping, and the Omaha police code for indecent exposure was 311.
When Watson left the group in 1991, Mahoney was brought in on lead guitar and Martinez was added on vocals and turntables.
The group created produced self-released albums before signing with Capricorn in 1992. It was the group's third disc (self-titled) with Capricorn that made 311 college-radio stars. The song "Down" began a string of modern-rock hits that continued through the decade. The group also began touring incessantly, although in the past few years 311 has cut back.
"We've done it enough times so that it feels like home to be on the road to a certain degree," says Wills. "We've made it a very comfortable situation. We're not loading up our own equipment. We're not struggling just to get chicken and light beer, which we were probably doing the first time we came to Knoxville. Then it was like, 'It would be nice to get a good meal, but we'll go for chicken and light beer, because that's what they're offering' or 'It would be nice to put some money in our pockets, but we've got to put gas in the van.' It makes for iron-clad memories and we'll never forget how we came up as a touring band." The group will release a new album in June. Wills says it's the product of a band with a new attitude.
"The last two albums, we had just gotten into a routine and we weren't always thrilled with how things were going. We sort of said, 'Well this is as good as it's going to get.' " Producer Bob Rock helped the band communicate better, and Wills says the result can be heard on the album.
"Even in a positive band things can be tough," says Wills. "In the present tense we're just thrilled about working together and what we came up with. ... This album is called 'Uplifter,' and we're going to take everyone along with us."
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