311: A Band For The Fans (Real Detroit Weekly)

Nick Hexum, the vocalist and rhythm guitar player for 311, is just waking up after devouring some breakfast. “It’s very surreal,” explains Hexum, his sleepy tone seeping through the phone, “because even though it’s noon [in Seattle], it’s totally dark out.” And even though Uplifter is 311’s 14th studio release, the group is still shining a light through the darkness of banal mainstream sounds with crunchy choruses and their classic one-two vocal delivery, funky bass lines (courtesy of P-Nut) and “uplifting messages.” Real Detroit recently spoke with Hexum about the live tightness of 311 and the growing family of fans they've acquired throughout the years.

How have you seen the live show progress from when you guys were just starting out to having clocked in nearly 19 years as a band?
In the past few years, the set is turning more into a real show because the communication of the band has been really good, and we talk about making sure we have a lot of exciting moments in the show … the drums being one of them. We always put at least one extended improv section to kind of show off the jam band side of what we do, which is one of many sides, but it is something that we enjoy even though we are more rockers at heart. We also have other memorable moments, which might be a bass solo, or a drum solo. We’ve changed the drum line to have a bunch of new parts in it for this year. We just really talk a lot about if we were in the audience, what we would want to see. We are there for the audience — not that the audience is there for us. We keep the goal of being entertaining whereas some other musicians get lost in their own desires and the show becomes too indulgent.

And, in that same regard, are you witnessing a fanbase that is growing up with the band or one that is perpetually high school and college aged?
There definitely is somewhat of a turnover. We keep a certain amount of the fans that are our age, but you need younger people because no one is going to go as completely nuts like someone high school or collegiate aged. It’s just that your brain is open, you know? We always have a special place for the bands that we went crazy for when we were in our teens.