Uplifter is the ninth studio album by American rock band 311, released on June 2, 2009 by Volcano Records. It is the band’s first album in nearly four years, the longest gap between albums in 311′s career. Uplifter was produced by Bob Rock, famous for working with other bands such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, their highest position to date. Below is a little Q & A session before the album’s release.
1. Uplifter marks the release of 311’s 9th studio album. What has enabled 311 to thrive, achieve such longevity as a band and now celebrate a 9th studio album?
NICK: I think we’ve had such longevity for a few reasons. First, we’ve always put music ahead of lifestyle. People get sick of artists who put style above substance. Second, we enjoy the process of music-making so much. We’re always interested in bettering ourselves as players and writers. And I think the personal growth we’ve all been going through definitely shows in the quality of the new album. And…lastly, we feel we’ve stumbled upon a special chemistry of people in the band. We know we’re better together than we would be apart so we try to keep the inner-band workings healthy.
TIM: I enjoy playing music more now than ever. As time passes playing music becomes more spiritual and about love and transmitting positive vibes. About learning and growing and about getting out of the way. And it seems the band is continuing to grow as a unit, and each of us individually. I’m blessed to have found four brothers to play music with, who I can relate to and enjoy their musical styles. It’s a glorious science experiment getting to play music with the same four brothers over these 19 years.
P-NUT: We’ve lasted this long because of our fans and their ability to ride our diverse wave of influences and come out to the shows.
CHAD: We all have a love and appreciation for music and what it can accomplish. We’ve been fortunate enough to have good communication, dedication, hard work, perseverance, will, and luck to survive with the same members after 19 years.
SA: It’s really hard to pinpoint to one thing and say “this is the key to longevity”. It’s obviously a combination of many things and sometimes it just comes down to what is meant to be is meant to be. No rhyme nor reason but simply what is is and what isn’t isn’t.
2. Was the approach to writing and recording this album any different from your past experiences?
NICK: Yes. There was a feeling of going back to the drawing board. We decided to take our time to somewhat reinvent ourselves this time around. The addition of Bob Rock provided a fresh approach. He got in there and had us really hash things out. We would try any idea no matter how crazy. Another way this session was different is because we broke up the recording in two halves with a tour in between. We thought we had ten keepers in the first batch then we went on tour. While on tour we wrote eight more songs which kicked the first batch’s ass! All eight of the second batch made it and only three or four of the first. We absorbed energy from our fans when touring and put that energy into the second batch. Also, we used a chant that our fans spontaneously do before shows as the intro to one song. That’s a unique thing to have the fans write a part. (Thanks y’all!) This recording cycle has been our most enjoyable for me since the blue album in ’94.
P-NUT: On this album, I think we were all more open to eachother’s ideas, so a good idea was further developed through open-minded discussion and experimentation.
SA: The biggest difference on this record is the collaborative effort we shared with Bob Rock. Every record is different as much as every day, every moment is different. The musical stew that is Uplifter was just enhanced with the seasoning of Bob Rock. I mean when your last name is Rock, well, that’s just a lot of minerals.
TIM: Working with Bob was great. I enjoyed the process of making this record and feel he really pushed us and got the most potential out of us.
3. How does Uplifter stand apart musically from your previous releases?
NICK: We made an effort to make the music flow. Rather than having music that comes from intellect we tried to make it a bit more primitive. It’s more danceable and simple. It’s more from the gut and heart than the head. There is a joy in the music on Uplifter that was missing on Don’t Tread On Me. The title really fits the uplifting nature of the new music. To me, the music is positive and fun. It reflects the mind state we were in when we made it. We were in a good place. There are themes of personal struggle in the songs, but as always with 311, there is a resolution. No wallowing in self-pity for us. There are songs about relationships. Straight from the heart. There is a trio of songs on the album that are about what it’s like to be in this band. There’s a balls-to-the-wall burner about the fun of touring. It’s a thank you to the fans that is destined to be an anthem. There’s a heavy song about the magic of creativity. One song is an ode to music itself. Music is our constant companion and personally, I’d be fucked without it. I’m so excited for you all to hear the album and to rock the songs live this spring & summer!
CHAD: The main difference is the ratio of rock songs to other songs. We have not had this many rock songs on a record since the Blue record.
TIM: It’s a good representation of where we’re at right now as a band.
4. Are you pleased with the final results?
NICK: Happy as a clam. Clams are always smiling.
P-NUT: The final results are undeniable, yes, I am thrilled with our work, and our collaboration with Bob Rock. I couldn’t be more pleased. We really pushed ourselves to a new place (as I know our fans would want us too). We have reached a new level in creativity, openness, variety, and I believe skills.
SA: Very much so. You never know what to expect honestly.
TIM: Hell yeah, GUITORCHESTRA!!! I can’t remember having as much fun making a record. We’ve really grown as a band, and hopefully it shows on this album. Oh hell yeah!
5. What can listeners expect to hear? And what will listeners be surprised to hear?
NICK: To me, it sounds simply like 311 taken to the next level. The reggae, rock, and hip hop are there, but there is new guitar textures and tones that will surprise people. There is a funkiness to our reggae that I love and a danceable-ness to our rock that is new. Space in the riffs make you want to move your body. There is also a new creativity in the overdub phase. Bob and I would have keyboard days where we would set up and make up parts on the spot. We’d drop in counter-melodies and flourishes that give the tunes more emotional impact. Bob would also do that with Tim on the guitar. This recording session felt like we were letting go. It didn’t have to be planned or rehearsed. Our playing is to the point that we can “throw and go.” Set up and see what comes out. The level of creativity was much like the early days because we were not self-conscious. In the early days we had so much creative spunk in us we would explode on tape. The challenge back then was to attempt to tidy it up because our playing was not at this level. Now we’ve learned to trust ourselves and just let our unique vision unfold. Now we know who we are. There is a confidence to this album that is new. It was exciting to see the whole thing unfold.
P-NUT: Listeners can expect to hear a fully realized and operational 311 machine. Throughout this collection of songs you are going to hear inspiration, invention and power.
SA: Well, it sounds like 311 I think it’s safe to say. This might be our most balanced record. Above all listeners will hear a deepening and a refinement of our sound.
TIM: I think all the songs sound like 311. It’s been years since our last record, so hopefully folks will dig where we’re at now.
6. How was working with Bob Rock? What did Bob bring to the table for this album?
NICK: Bob was a perfect fit for 311. He’s a full serve guy. He’s a true song guy, an amazing engineer, and a great mixer. He introduced us to a lot of techniques and equipment as well as bringing in a new approach. He was a unifying force because everyone likes and respects him so much. We’d say, “Let Bob be Bob.” He would help us take our original ideas to a new level. He made no attempt to change us, but he helped us bring out our 311-ness. Bob is a pro and a gentlemen and it was a real pleasure. I’m looking forward to working with him again.
P-NUT: Bob brought freshness to our routine of making an album, and his experience and communication led us to great musical feats. I believe together we’ve actualized the best album we are capable of. This has been a super-fun recording experience. I can’t wait to play these new songs for all.
SA: Bob doesn’t bullshit. Not to say we’ve worked with anyone who does, but it’s more of a style and approach. Bob was the wise elder in this endeavour. Let’s face it, he has years of experience of working with a wide variety of acts. He’s a maestro when it comes to teasing out what will work in a song and what won’t. He was a calm and reassuring presence and it was a real pleasure working with him.
TIM: It was a great experience working with Bob Rock. We have a lot in common when it comes to music, guitar tones, favorite guitars and guitar heroes, gear, etc. I really enjoyed working on guitars with him. I learned a lot. He’s a very creative guy.
7. Any interesting stories behind the making of Uplifter?
NICK: The making of the Guitar Hero spoof video was a blast and very out of the ordinary. I think P-Nut and our manager, Adam, came up with the concept. We’ve never really done any kind of acting before so the real challenge was keeping a straight face. We made up the dialogue on the spot. Director Joe Lynch was great to work with. We kept suggesting different funny things and Joe was like, “Hilarious! Use it!” I was happy to be able to keep a straight face though and stay in character. . One of my only other attempts at acting was playing one-on-one with Shaq for the “You Wouldn’t Believe” video. I couldn’t get the huge grin off my face and it was supposed to be a big mean showdown so all of my hoops footage had to be cut. I think we’ll do some more humorous videos because we like taking the piss out of ourselves.
P-NUT: We crafted a song from a bass line that I wrote at Bootsy’s house (Bootsy Collins) over the summer of ’08, I played it for Bob at our show in Maui, and he said, “remember that”, I told him not to worry. When we got back together after the touring we worked out verses and the structure, making what I believe is one of the many highlights on the album. The original bass line inspiration is now the bridge which turned out to be along the lines of Graceland by Paul Simon, which still surpirses me to this day. I love not planning things out and basking in the results, 311 is capable of almost anything in those moments.
8. Do you have any favorite songs or favorite moments on the album?
NICK: The bridge on the first single, “Hey You” is a fav of mine. It goes into a whole new world. The song is an ode to music itself and how it can be a friend and take you to different places. So, to me, that bridge is an illustration of that. Everyone kicked ass on that track. SA’s bridge to “Golden Sunlight” is another highlight. He pulled it out of thin air. The way he poignantly envisions his future life over Tim’s hippy-turned-heavy riff is something special.
P-NUT: Working in the studio with Bob was a real lesson in listening, he kept telling me that I wasn’t, hehe. Which was true, I have up to this point more just played my part while keeping time with Chad. But during the Uplifter sessions, I really, really listened to what was going on, I was forced too, and reacted accordingly. The outcome is a real air-tight locking in with the beats. We are in a new era of musicallity and cooperation, which the fans who have been with us for years will hear right away and be thrilled with, I do believe.
SA: This is a strong album. There is something for everyone, from the rockers to the ballads, to what’s in between. I have many favorites and I’m just going to leave it at that. Trust me.
TIM: Right now I’m into the album as a whole. I really enjoyed the process of making this album, and I’m proud of the way we all worked together.
9. The band continues to draw huge crowds, many shows drawing in excess of 10,000 fans…and it seems the shows are getting bigger over the past few years. What do you attribute such touring success to? How does the 311 touring machine continue to get bigger and stronger over the years?
NICK: I think that we maintain an attitude of gratitude and that comes through in our playing and performance. We’re happy to be there and that’s something you can’t fake. I get wound up before the show in anticipation and just un-bottle it in a punk rock explosion.
P-NUT: I attribute our continued success for larger shows in the fact that we bring a positive message and we play our asses off every night. And the truth that can only come from word of mouth. We are still a grassroots machine depending on our fans to support our touring and albums.
CHAD: About 4 years ago we wanted to get back to our roots of playing music together. Playing music is the reason we started a rock band. We thought we should make that our focus since sometimes in the industry, the reasons
to go on tour are based around selling/releasing records. I think we needed to “hit a reset button” to get back and understand that playing live is one of the most important events in a society, always. We want to be a positive influence on the people of the world and one of the ways people understand our vibe and celebration of life, is to play our music in front of them.
SA: I think our success on the road can be attributed to what it’s always been – our show. The consistency from night to night, the energy level, the songs etc. I strongly feel we deliver the biggest bang for the buck in comparison to other tours out there. Plus we’re extremely lovable.
10. Are you excited for the upcoming tours? What can people expect from the shows?
NICK: We are very excited. It’s a new era, in my opinion. We have not had new material we were this excited to play live in quite a long time. The excitement will translate into our performances. What to expect? Crazy ass-shaking, sing-along rock music!
P-NUT: I can’t wait to play some shows, people can expect to feel our excitement in bringing new tunes to the stage for the first time in some three years.
SA: I’m so excited for the shows coming up, to present these new songs, it’s truly going to be an experience. Of course our production will be unique. More than anything I’m excited to reconnect with our fans / friends again.
TIM: I can’t wait to get out and play. Just want to keep on growing.
11. Summer 2009, 311 celebrated 19 years of existence. What do you see for the future of 311?
NICK: I predict we our entering a new era of prolificness. I would imagine we will stay productive and not wait so long between albums. I’ve already started a couple new songs and this record isn’t even yet out. Music is a never ending journey. There is no finish line. The goal is to enjoy the process and remain teachable and curious. I think we’ll be going for a long time.
P-NUT: I see more of the same for 311, I do think that Uplifter has a chance to bring in new fans, but, I love that we are as consistent as we are, so, I am thankful for what we have.
SA: This summer will mark a generation of our existence as a band. That is truly something to contemplate. Of course it doesn’t feel like that much time has elapsed since we began this journey. But that’s the nature of time isn’t it? It just keeps slipping away. Therein lies a key component to our strength. To remain intact over such a duration when so many trivial things pop up along the road that upend relationships. That just says to me it’s always been about the music, it’s the music that brings us along and is the happiness in our souls.
CHAD: I believe 311 will make music for a long time.
TIM: Continuing our evolution. I’m enjoying making and playing music now more than ever.
12. Any words to your fans?
NICK: We never forget why we are here and that we have a great debt of gratitude to our fans. 311 shows have turned into a big positive gathering. A celebration. It has gone beyond just the music. I think we’ve tapped into an energy that wants to come out in everyone. We are as entertained watching the crowd as they are watching us. We want to take this thing as far as it can go and take it all in with eyes wide open. This is a privilege to get to do this for a living and for that we are very grateful.
P-NUT: I can’t wait to hear the fans thoughts on all of our hard work and to see the excitable ones out on the road, nationally and internationally. We are out to make the world feel us, be our foot soldiers, tell them we’re coming!
SA: Much love to all of you and again thank you. For everything. We’ve just finished what is perhaps our finest album yet. I can’t believe more than three years have passed since our last record and that we are on the verge of releasing our NINTH album. Wow. What a ride it’s been and it’s all possible from the support we receive from the best fans in the cosmos. That’s right. I’m going to include any and all civilizations that are out there. Honestly though, thank you. It is a true symbiotic relationship we share. On the touring front – well, you know how we do. We’re going to bring it and rock and continue to refine. Transforming as always with substance AND style because it is REAL and there is no way to stop it. Sharing music and celebrating this thing called life. Sounds like a 311 show to me. Who’s in?
CHAD: Turn off the TV.
TIM: I’m very proud and thankful to our fans for making it possible for us to play music. Muchas gracias hermanas y hermanos.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
311 still vibrant, evolving on the verge of 20th anniversary (Consquence of Sound)
311 formed in the late 1980’s in Omaha, NE and played their first live show as a band back in 1990. The group secured a record deal shortly after moving to Los Angeles, and achieved mainstream success in the mid-90’s with the hits “Down” and “All Mixed Up” from their self-titled, triple-platinum album 311. Although they don’t receive as much mainstream media fanfare as other alternative rock bands from the same era, 311 continues to enjoy a highly successful career spanning a total of nine studio albums (most of which have been certified gold or platinum), a Greatest Hits album, a Live album, multiple DVDs, and a number of songs featured in major motion pictures. Additionally, the band continues to tour relentlessly, and have likely become best known for their intense live show. Even when they have no new material to promote, 311 consistently packs amphitheaters summer after summer across the U.S.
311 recently hit the road for their first fall tour since 2005, following up a successful Summer Unity Tour which focused heavily on promoting their highest-charting album to date and ninth studio record, Uplifter. The fall tour kicked off November 11 in Temecula, CA, and the format of the shows is already noticeably different in comparison to the Uplifter-heavy sets of the summer tour. Although the band is sticking to a similar setlist night to night, fans of Uplifter won’t hear quite as much from the album this time around; in fact, fall setlists seem to be focused on material from the band’s earlier releases. Singer and guitarist Nick Hexum said from Kansas City earlier this week:
“Well, honestly I think that the first couple shows are light on Uplifter, and we’re gonna add some back in, so that’s a work in progress. We keep adjusting our setlists to make a great show, and I think we’re gonna rotate a couple different setlists. But definitely, on the summer tour, our hardcore fans were so stoked to hear the new stuff — but then there’s also some people that want to hear more of the classics. You can’t please everybody, but I think we were pretty excited to dig in to the crate and get some more older songs in, and there’s a lot of early stuff on this tour just because we want it to be a really high energy show.”
The band has ventured out for small spring tours centered around 311 Day in 2006 and 2008, though the bulk of their shows over the past few years have taken place in large outdoor amphitheaters during the Summer Unity Tours. When asked if he prefers large or smaller venues, Hexum doesn’t seem to have a strong preference, as long as the house is full:
“It really just comes down to a percentage full…if we play an amphitheatre that’s meant to hold 15,000 people and there’s, you know, 12 or 13,000, it’s awesome. If it’s over 75% full, then I’m totally stoked. But if there’s a lot of dead space, then you just don’t have that intensity and energy. As long as the room is full of people rockin’, then I’m cool with whatever…I mean, I guess probably the more the merrier! More energy in the room, more bodies moving…but I love both [types of venues].”
The Detroit show at the Fillmore on November 19th was just what Hexum was looking for: high intensity and energy. The Fillmore was an excellent venue for 311, featuring a fairly small general admission floor area, with plenty of seating above in the ornate theatre. The vintage feel of the venue lent itself well to this show, as over half of the songs played were from the band’s first three studio albums.
After an opening set from Orange County natives Kottonmouth Kings, 311 began their action-packed set with the forceful rap-rock track “Sick Tight”, which had the entire floor of fans jumping, moshing and crowd surfing. Fan favorite and setlist rarity “Jackolantern’s Weather” kept the energy level high, followed by the popular classic “All Mixed Up.” Another rap-rock selection from the album From Chaos, titled “Wake Your Mind Up”, featured lively vocal delivery from Hexum and DJ/vocalist SA Martinez; Tim Mahoney contributed an electrifying guitar solo, making the crowd swell.
Next up was Evolver’s “Other Side of Things”, allowing Martinez to take the lead. On point as usual, Martinez worked the stage while the rest of the band carried the track strongly and with great precision.
From Chaos‘ title track pounded the airwaves next, with four songs from 311’s first few albums to follow. An extended intro led by Mahoney served as a creative and welcomed gateway for Music’s “Plain”. This jam was one of the highlights of the show, as it was impossible to ignore the passion and intensity in Hexum’s eyes, emanated also in his movements and demeanor. This performance was quite unique in Detroit, creating a very comforting vibe of an older era of 311 come back to life.
“Freak Out” and “Down” took the crowd by storm, and the pit was on fire for about eight minutes straight. The band was feeding off the crowd as much as the crowd was from the band, and it didn’t stop when Hexum introduced Music’s “Applied Science”. More jumping and crowd surfing abounded, but the theater paused to marvel at Chad Sexton’s drum solo about halfway through the song. Sexton showed off his brilliant ability for a good few minutes, then welcomed the rest of the band on stage for a tribal group drum featurette.
The band pushed forward with “India Ink,” the first track of the night from the band’s latest release, Uplifter. The song is an interesting mix of heavy guitars and slight rapping mixed with a melodic chorus. “Prisoner” and “Daisy Cutter” lightened the mood, but it was back to vintage 311 with the angsty, moody verses of Music’s “Visit.” Similar to “Plain,” this was one of the best-performed songs of the evening with the entire band digging deep and taking us back in time to the rawness of the early 90’s.
Bassist P-Nut wowed the crowd with an authoritative yet thoughtful bass solo, doing two of the things he does best — displaying his enormous talent while interacting generously and sincerely with the fans.
Hexum dedicated the next song to “all the beautiful disasters in the house,” and Hexum and Mahoney quickly paired up to complement each other on guitar for the opening melody of Transistor’s “Beautiful Disaster”.
“Nutsymtom”, from the group’s second studio album Grassroots, was up next, which again created an air of early 90’s vulnerability and vitality. Both Martinez and Hexum delivered the pounding lyrics with maximum vigor, but the jam at the end is where the magic lies — check out the video below!
One of 311’s most successful singles to date, “Amber”, was performed without a hitch, and was accompanied by an impressive light show. 311 amped up the crowd with well-received Uplifter rocker “Jackpot”, and not a single body didn’t move in the Fillmore as the band cranked out “Lucky”, “Creatures (For A While)”, and “Unity”.
Everyone got a short break while the band prepared for the encore, a “mash-up” of the songs “Don’t Stay Home”, “Do You Right”, and “Hive”. The band played portions of each song, moving almost seamlessly from one to the next for a power-packed medley of great older gems. 311 closed out the show with Music’s “Feels So Good”, leaving the crowd satisfied, but ever-hungry for more. The band took extra time to bond with the first few rows of fans once the show ended – it was definitely a special night.
Since he has played thousands of live shows throughout his career, I was interested to know what the single best thing is about touring for Hexum, now — even after all these years. He said:
“The satisfaction of a show well done, and you know that you did your best and that everybody had a great time. I have a great feeling afterwards…it’s kind of a natural high that carries you through – it’s like a positive, natural hangover or something.”
This is the first tour that both Hexum and Martinez are leaving newborn children at home while they hit the road. I asked Hexum if he thought touring might slow down, now that he and Martinez have very young children. His response was touching:
“I would imagine there will be some adjustment, because I’ve never left so much at home. But I think we’ll definitely find a nice balance between home time and on the road time. My daughter was visiting and was at her first concert [in Omaha]…I basically looked over and saw her on the side of the stage and kinda got a little choked up and overwhelmed – something of that size is pretty hard to describe.”
While Hexum has a new daughter to dote on, he also remains very animated while talking about Uplifter, which he views as a great success. I asked him which song(s) he considers the most progressive on the album, or which song(s) he thinks pushed the band’s creativity the furthest. He sees the record as more of a collective progression for the band:
“I just really enjoy the diversity, I mean, take a song that’s kind of a bouncy power-pop like “Too Much Too Fast” — that to me was a new accomplishment in that direction. And then the combining of the heavy rock with the hip hop beats, and the kind of semi-rapping in “India Ink” and “Something Out of Nothing” — I think we accomplished new frontiers in both directions, with the hard and the melodic on this record. I’m really happy with it, and there’s more where that came from.”
I was excited to hear Hexum touch on the track “Too Much Too Fast”, as I consider it easily the most progressive, new sound from the band in many years. I asked Hexum about the inspiration behind the music, and he was eager to discuss:
“I think the original way, the genesis of it, was that me and Chad were talking about music we liked, and the song “I’m Only Sleeping” by the Beatles had such a nice sort of lilting shuffle mount to it. And we were like, ‘let’s do something like that.’ And that was kind of just kicking around in the back of my mind for 6 or 8 months, and we came up with that opening melody and it just grew from there. But it was a combination of a bunch of influences – I also started getting in to the band 10CC, like rare 70’s pop and stuff, and also some cool early Bee Gees records which kind of pick up where the Beatles left off. So…being influenced by stuff that people might not expect….there’s always more stuff to go and dig through and find new influences. That’s what’s great about music — the infinite journey.”
Uplifter was released as a standard edition with 12 studio tracks, and also as a deluxe edition with two bonus tracks. Two additional tracks, “How Long Has It Been?” and “Sun Come Through” were also released as exclusives on iTunes and Amazon.com, respectively. I asked Hexum if there were any remaining songs from the Uplifter sessions that may become available, and he said:
“There are definitely two [that no one has heard] — and we haven’t talked about it lately. I’m sure they’ll see the light of day somehow — but we’re looking forward to being able to do whatever we want now that we’ve finished out our record deal with Jive.”
Hexum sounds excited about the opportunity to release music and operate independently from a record label:
“We’ve been thinking strongly about it, and it’s exciting — there are so many opportunities there. We’ve always felt frustrated — basically, once you deliver an album to a label, they can do whatever they want. There is no guarantee what they’re going to do promotion-wise, or how many singles they’re going to do. So with a band like ours, that has a built-in following, we think we might be able to do a better job of it.”
The prospect of going independent could provide 311 with more creative freedom and control, and foster a closer relationship with the fans:
“Basically, we could go in a million different directions as far as having a direct relationship with our fans. I mean, everybody’s got a computer now, so we can distribute our music that way. We’ve been brainstorming, and taking meetings, and trying to figure out exactly what that’s gonna look like. But we’re looking forward to, rather than being tied in to the whole 14 songs at a time thing, now that we’re free, we could go spend six weeks recording six songs and then just put them out. You could hear what we’re into more immediately, having quicker cycles or smaller batches, like an EP, for example — I think that’ll help our creativity and let our fans hear what we’re into sooner. So it’s gonna be interesting.”
Hexum mentioned recently via Twitter that the band was already beginning to write new material, and he promised the next album wouldn’t take nearly as long to create (there were four years between the release of 2005’s Don’t Tread On Me and 2009’s Uplifter). I asked Hexum when he expected the next album to come together, and I must say I was pleased but quite surprised by his response: “Our goal would be to have something out within a year of when Uplifter came out. I would say there’s a strong possibility that you’ll hear new 311 music by summer.”
So what else is next for 311? The band will most likely construct a brief spring tour around 311 Day 2010, which will be held in Las Vegas for the first time next year. Logistical difficulties made 311 Day’s home city of New Orleans unavailable for 2010, but Hexum is optimistic about holding 311 Day in Vegas:
“My attitude, and the same thing that I ask of our fans, is let’s just go and be as open-minded and positive as possible about it; there’s a chance that it could be the greatest 311 Day ever. The facilities are definitely set up for having everybody in a centralized area with the fan parties, and the three hotels that are all connected in the Mandalay Bay area. It could be a really amazing experience. Our management went and checked out the venue and said it’s going to be an amazing show, so, who knows, it could be the best yet!”
311 and their management have indeed done a superb job of ensuring fans will have a spectacular time at 311 Day 2010, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas strip. In addition to the special extended show on March 11th (which sold out in a matter of hours to fans from all 50 states and 9 countries), a 311 Fan Party will be held the night of March 10th at JET nightclub at the Mirage hotel. Also, the day after the show, the Wailers will play a special show/private party at Mandalay Bay’s beach and wave pool. For more information on 311 Day 2010, please visit 311.com/311day2010.
All in all, 311 remains remarkably successful with a large following of extremely dedicated and loyal fans. The band is constantly growing, evolving, and offering something new and different for the fans, making them top priority and treating them with the utmost respect. They have managed to stay true to themselves and the music as they celebrate their 20th anniversary next summer, which is a feat not many bands have the honor of acknowledging. 311 works hard and attains their success with style, creativity, and most importantly, gratuity. They deserve all they have accomplished, and all they dream of for the future.
311 recently hit the road for their first fall tour since 2005, following up a successful Summer Unity Tour which focused heavily on promoting their highest-charting album to date and ninth studio record, Uplifter. The fall tour kicked off November 11 in Temecula, CA, and the format of the shows is already noticeably different in comparison to the Uplifter-heavy sets of the summer tour. Although the band is sticking to a similar setlist night to night, fans of Uplifter won’t hear quite as much from the album this time around; in fact, fall setlists seem to be focused on material from the band’s earlier releases. Singer and guitarist Nick Hexum said from Kansas City earlier this week:
“Well, honestly I think that the first couple shows are light on Uplifter, and we’re gonna add some back in, so that’s a work in progress. We keep adjusting our setlists to make a great show, and I think we’re gonna rotate a couple different setlists. But definitely, on the summer tour, our hardcore fans were so stoked to hear the new stuff — but then there’s also some people that want to hear more of the classics. You can’t please everybody, but I think we were pretty excited to dig in to the crate and get some more older songs in, and there’s a lot of early stuff on this tour just because we want it to be a really high energy show.”
The band has ventured out for small spring tours centered around 311 Day in 2006 and 2008, though the bulk of their shows over the past few years have taken place in large outdoor amphitheaters during the Summer Unity Tours. When asked if he prefers large or smaller venues, Hexum doesn’t seem to have a strong preference, as long as the house is full:
“It really just comes down to a percentage full…if we play an amphitheatre that’s meant to hold 15,000 people and there’s, you know, 12 or 13,000, it’s awesome. If it’s over 75% full, then I’m totally stoked. But if there’s a lot of dead space, then you just don’t have that intensity and energy. As long as the room is full of people rockin’, then I’m cool with whatever…I mean, I guess probably the more the merrier! More energy in the room, more bodies moving…but I love both [types of venues].”
The Detroit show at the Fillmore on November 19th was just what Hexum was looking for: high intensity and energy. The Fillmore was an excellent venue for 311, featuring a fairly small general admission floor area, with plenty of seating above in the ornate theatre. The vintage feel of the venue lent itself well to this show, as over half of the songs played were from the band’s first three studio albums.
After an opening set from Orange County natives Kottonmouth Kings, 311 began their action-packed set with the forceful rap-rock track “Sick Tight”, which had the entire floor of fans jumping, moshing and crowd surfing. Fan favorite and setlist rarity “Jackolantern’s Weather” kept the energy level high, followed by the popular classic “All Mixed Up.” Another rap-rock selection from the album From Chaos, titled “Wake Your Mind Up”, featured lively vocal delivery from Hexum and DJ/vocalist SA Martinez; Tim Mahoney contributed an electrifying guitar solo, making the crowd swell.
Next up was Evolver’s “Other Side of Things”, allowing Martinez to take the lead. On point as usual, Martinez worked the stage while the rest of the band carried the track strongly and with great precision.
From Chaos‘ title track pounded the airwaves next, with four songs from 311’s first few albums to follow. An extended intro led by Mahoney served as a creative and welcomed gateway for Music’s “Plain”. This jam was one of the highlights of the show, as it was impossible to ignore the passion and intensity in Hexum’s eyes, emanated also in his movements and demeanor. This performance was quite unique in Detroit, creating a very comforting vibe of an older era of 311 come back to life.
“Freak Out” and “Down” took the crowd by storm, and the pit was on fire for about eight minutes straight. The band was feeding off the crowd as much as the crowd was from the band, and it didn’t stop when Hexum introduced Music’s “Applied Science”. More jumping and crowd surfing abounded, but the theater paused to marvel at Chad Sexton’s drum solo about halfway through the song. Sexton showed off his brilliant ability for a good few minutes, then welcomed the rest of the band on stage for a tribal group drum featurette.
The band pushed forward with “India Ink,” the first track of the night from the band’s latest release, Uplifter. The song is an interesting mix of heavy guitars and slight rapping mixed with a melodic chorus. “Prisoner” and “Daisy Cutter” lightened the mood, but it was back to vintage 311 with the angsty, moody verses of Music’s “Visit.” Similar to “Plain,” this was one of the best-performed songs of the evening with the entire band digging deep and taking us back in time to the rawness of the early 90’s.
Bassist P-Nut wowed the crowd with an authoritative yet thoughtful bass solo, doing two of the things he does best — displaying his enormous talent while interacting generously and sincerely with the fans.
Hexum dedicated the next song to “all the beautiful disasters in the house,” and Hexum and Mahoney quickly paired up to complement each other on guitar for the opening melody of Transistor’s “Beautiful Disaster”.
“Nutsymtom”, from the group’s second studio album Grassroots, was up next, which again created an air of early 90’s vulnerability and vitality. Both Martinez and Hexum delivered the pounding lyrics with maximum vigor, but the jam at the end is where the magic lies — check out the video below!
One of 311’s most successful singles to date, “Amber”, was performed without a hitch, and was accompanied by an impressive light show. 311 amped up the crowd with well-received Uplifter rocker “Jackpot”, and not a single body didn’t move in the Fillmore as the band cranked out “Lucky”, “Creatures (For A While)”, and “Unity”.
Everyone got a short break while the band prepared for the encore, a “mash-up” of the songs “Don’t Stay Home”, “Do You Right”, and “Hive”. The band played portions of each song, moving almost seamlessly from one to the next for a power-packed medley of great older gems. 311 closed out the show with Music’s “Feels So Good”, leaving the crowd satisfied, but ever-hungry for more. The band took extra time to bond with the first few rows of fans once the show ended – it was definitely a special night.
Since he has played thousands of live shows throughout his career, I was interested to know what the single best thing is about touring for Hexum, now — even after all these years. He said:
“The satisfaction of a show well done, and you know that you did your best and that everybody had a great time. I have a great feeling afterwards…it’s kind of a natural high that carries you through – it’s like a positive, natural hangover or something.”
This is the first tour that both Hexum and Martinez are leaving newborn children at home while they hit the road. I asked Hexum if he thought touring might slow down, now that he and Martinez have very young children. His response was touching:
“I would imagine there will be some adjustment, because I’ve never left so much at home. But I think we’ll definitely find a nice balance between home time and on the road time. My daughter was visiting and was at her first concert [in Omaha]…I basically looked over and saw her on the side of the stage and kinda got a little choked up and overwhelmed – something of that size is pretty hard to describe.”
While Hexum has a new daughter to dote on, he also remains very animated while talking about Uplifter, which he views as a great success. I asked him which song(s) he considers the most progressive on the album, or which song(s) he thinks pushed the band’s creativity the furthest. He sees the record as more of a collective progression for the band:
“I just really enjoy the diversity, I mean, take a song that’s kind of a bouncy power-pop like “Too Much Too Fast” — that to me was a new accomplishment in that direction. And then the combining of the heavy rock with the hip hop beats, and the kind of semi-rapping in “India Ink” and “Something Out of Nothing” — I think we accomplished new frontiers in both directions, with the hard and the melodic on this record. I’m really happy with it, and there’s more where that came from.”
I was excited to hear Hexum touch on the track “Too Much Too Fast”, as I consider it easily the most progressive, new sound from the band in many years. I asked Hexum about the inspiration behind the music, and he was eager to discuss:
“I think the original way, the genesis of it, was that me and Chad were talking about music we liked, and the song “I’m Only Sleeping” by the Beatles had such a nice sort of lilting shuffle mount to it. And we were like, ‘let’s do something like that.’ And that was kind of just kicking around in the back of my mind for 6 or 8 months, and we came up with that opening melody and it just grew from there. But it was a combination of a bunch of influences – I also started getting in to the band 10CC, like rare 70’s pop and stuff, and also some cool early Bee Gees records which kind of pick up where the Beatles left off. So…being influenced by stuff that people might not expect….there’s always more stuff to go and dig through and find new influences. That’s what’s great about music — the infinite journey.”
Uplifter was released as a standard edition with 12 studio tracks, and also as a deluxe edition with two bonus tracks. Two additional tracks, “How Long Has It Been?” and “Sun Come Through” were also released as exclusives on iTunes and Amazon.com, respectively. I asked Hexum if there were any remaining songs from the Uplifter sessions that may become available, and he said:
“There are definitely two [that no one has heard] — and we haven’t talked about it lately. I’m sure they’ll see the light of day somehow — but we’re looking forward to being able to do whatever we want now that we’ve finished out our record deal with Jive.”
Hexum sounds excited about the opportunity to release music and operate independently from a record label:
“We’ve been thinking strongly about it, and it’s exciting — there are so many opportunities there. We’ve always felt frustrated — basically, once you deliver an album to a label, they can do whatever they want. There is no guarantee what they’re going to do promotion-wise, or how many singles they’re going to do. So with a band like ours, that has a built-in following, we think we might be able to do a better job of it.”
The prospect of going independent could provide 311 with more creative freedom and control, and foster a closer relationship with the fans:
“Basically, we could go in a million different directions as far as having a direct relationship with our fans. I mean, everybody’s got a computer now, so we can distribute our music that way. We’ve been brainstorming, and taking meetings, and trying to figure out exactly what that’s gonna look like. But we’re looking forward to, rather than being tied in to the whole 14 songs at a time thing, now that we’re free, we could go spend six weeks recording six songs and then just put them out. You could hear what we’re into more immediately, having quicker cycles or smaller batches, like an EP, for example — I think that’ll help our creativity and let our fans hear what we’re into sooner. So it’s gonna be interesting.”
Hexum mentioned recently via Twitter that the band was already beginning to write new material, and he promised the next album wouldn’t take nearly as long to create (there were four years between the release of 2005’s Don’t Tread On Me and 2009’s Uplifter). I asked Hexum when he expected the next album to come together, and I must say I was pleased but quite surprised by his response: “Our goal would be to have something out within a year of when Uplifter came out. I would say there’s a strong possibility that you’ll hear new 311 music by summer.”
So what else is next for 311? The band will most likely construct a brief spring tour around 311 Day 2010, which will be held in Las Vegas for the first time next year. Logistical difficulties made 311 Day’s home city of New Orleans unavailable for 2010, but Hexum is optimistic about holding 311 Day in Vegas:
“My attitude, and the same thing that I ask of our fans, is let’s just go and be as open-minded and positive as possible about it; there’s a chance that it could be the greatest 311 Day ever. The facilities are definitely set up for having everybody in a centralized area with the fan parties, and the three hotels that are all connected in the Mandalay Bay area. It could be a really amazing experience. Our management went and checked out the venue and said it’s going to be an amazing show, so, who knows, it could be the best yet!”
311 and their management have indeed done a superb job of ensuring fans will have a spectacular time at 311 Day 2010, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas strip. In addition to the special extended show on March 11th (which sold out in a matter of hours to fans from all 50 states and 9 countries), a 311 Fan Party will be held the night of March 10th at JET nightclub at the Mirage hotel. Also, the day after the show, the Wailers will play a special show/private party at Mandalay Bay’s beach and wave pool. For more information on 311 Day 2010, please visit 311.com/311day2010.
All in all, 311 remains remarkably successful with a large following of extremely dedicated and loyal fans. The band is constantly growing, evolving, and offering something new and different for the fans, making them top priority and treating them with the utmost respect. They have managed to stay true to themselves and the music as they celebrate their 20th anniversary next summer, which is a feat not many bands have the honor of acknowledging. 311 works hard and attains their success with style, creativity, and most importantly, gratuity. They deserve all they have accomplished, and all they dream of for the future.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
311 going old school with new tour (The Hour)
311 is going old school for its fall tour and that's music to the ears of long-time fans of the alternative rock band.
After a spring/summer tour in which the playlist was heavily skewed toward its latest album, Uplifter, the band has already embarked on its fall tour and is delighting loyal fans with a playlist top heavy with songs from its early albums.
Lead singer and song writer Nick Hexum posted the following comment on 311.com last week: "The fall tour is going to be great. Up close and personal. We've been dusting off some old gems for this run. It's going to be a high energy face melter."
Bass player P-Nut added during a recent interview with The Hour: "We're allowing ourselves more freedom to play deeper cuts."
Songs such as Offbeat Bareass, Plain and Freak Out are making their way onto the playlists, while radio hits such as Love Song and Come Original are not making the cut.
The tour may signal a getting-back-to-its-roots movement for the rock/reggae/funk band, which formed in 1988 and has featured the same lineup for nearly two decades. 311 has released nine studio albums -- four gold and two platinum -- but is better known for its high-energy live shows.
P-Nut, 311's bass player, admitted that some of the band's latest albums have veered from what "they love to do" in an attempt to please the record label and score radio hits.
"We tried to be what we think the radio wants us to be," said P-Nut, whose real name is Aaron Wills. "Artistically, that hasn't worked out well for us. We're not sculpted. We don't have image consultants."
P-Nut said the band is "leaning toward going independent" for its next album.
"We have our own studio and we can tour without support," he said. "That would allow us freedom to do what we want. I see us getting back to music that turns us on."
Shunning the radio hits on its fall tour may be the first step toward the band members returning to independence and writing music that pleases themselves and their fiercely loyal fans that they collected largely in grassroots fashion through touring aggressively. 311 Day -- held every other March 11 -- has already sold out its 12,000 tickets for the 2010 show in Las Vegas.
The fall tour, however, is swinging through the area this week and next, staring with a Sunday, Nov. 22, show at Mohegan Sun. State Radio is the opening act.
The tour then heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and -- after a show in Portland, Maine -- returns to the area for shows on consecutive nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. P-Nut is quick to point out that Hammerstein Ballroom is located at 311 West 34th St.
Tom Cantone, vice president of sports and entertainment at Mohegan Sun, said the venue suits a band like 311 perfectly. Tickets ($35 each) are still available for the 311 show.
"It's a modern concert arena with updated acoustics and intimate feel," he said. "Every seat is right where you want to be."
Mohegan Sun books about 100 concerts a year and is ranked as the fourth busiest arena in the world by Billboard Magazine. Cantone is excited to have 311 join the list of musicians who have played there.
"There's a big-time band and they've been around for a while," Cantone said. "It's the kind of music we like to have in our lineup. They are part of the American rock culture, which we like."
311 is a rarity in the rock world, having retained the same band members and style of music for nearly two decades. The band had five members: P-Nut, Hexum, Nick Mahoney on lead guitar, Chad Sexton on drums and SA Martinez on vocals and turntable.
"We're just lucky like that," P-Nut said about staying together for so long. "We disagree frequently, but we realize that each one of us has an opinion -- often a strong opinion. The longer we work together the better we are at listening to each other's point of view. We just love being together. We all bring a lot of personality and we love being ourselves.
"It's kind of magical and I'm thrilled that the experience is continuing," he added. "We'll keep it up as long as possible."
A search of YouTube videos yields 311 concert footage from the present and back to the early 1990s when the band was getting its start in Omaha, Neb.
"There are some amazingly old shows out there (on the Internet)," P-Nut said. "I'm thrilled about that. It's funny seeing us so skinny jumping around with our shirts off and having so much fun with the crowd. It didn't really matter. We were happy playing music for a living. That's what it was all about."
Apparently with its new tour, 311 is making it all about that again.
After a spring/summer tour in which the playlist was heavily skewed toward its latest album, Uplifter, the band has already embarked on its fall tour and is delighting loyal fans with a playlist top heavy with songs from its early albums.
Lead singer and song writer Nick Hexum posted the following comment on 311.com last week: "The fall tour is going to be great. Up close and personal. We've been dusting off some old gems for this run. It's going to be a high energy face melter."
Bass player P-Nut added during a recent interview with The Hour: "We're allowing ourselves more freedom to play deeper cuts."
Songs such as Offbeat Bareass, Plain and Freak Out are making their way onto the playlists, while radio hits such as Love Song and Come Original are not making the cut.
The tour may signal a getting-back-to-its-roots movement for the rock/reggae/funk band, which formed in 1988 and has featured the same lineup for nearly two decades. 311 has released nine studio albums -- four gold and two platinum -- but is better known for its high-energy live shows.
P-Nut, 311's bass player, admitted that some of the band's latest albums have veered from what "they love to do" in an attempt to please the record label and score radio hits.
"We tried to be what we think the radio wants us to be," said P-Nut, whose real name is Aaron Wills. "Artistically, that hasn't worked out well for us. We're not sculpted. We don't have image consultants."
P-Nut said the band is "leaning toward going independent" for its next album.
"We have our own studio and we can tour without support," he said. "That would allow us freedom to do what we want. I see us getting back to music that turns us on."
Shunning the radio hits on its fall tour may be the first step toward the band members returning to independence and writing music that pleases themselves and their fiercely loyal fans that they collected largely in grassroots fashion through touring aggressively. 311 Day -- held every other March 11 -- has already sold out its 12,000 tickets for the 2010 show in Las Vegas.
The fall tour, however, is swinging through the area this week and next, staring with a Sunday, Nov. 22, show at Mohegan Sun. State Radio is the opening act.
The tour then heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and -- after a show in Portland, Maine -- returns to the area for shows on consecutive nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. P-Nut is quick to point out that Hammerstein Ballroom is located at 311 West 34th St.
Tom Cantone, vice president of sports and entertainment at Mohegan Sun, said the venue suits a band like 311 perfectly. Tickets ($35 each) are still available for the 311 show.
"It's a modern concert arena with updated acoustics and intimate feel," he said. "Every seat is right where you want to be."
Mohegan Sun books about 100 concerts a year and is ranked as the fourth busiest arena in the world by Billboard Magazine. Cantone is excited to have 311 join the list of musicians who have played there.
"There's a big-time band and they've been around for a while," Cantone said. "It's the kind of music we like to have in our lineup. They are part of the American rock culture, which we like."
311 is a rarity in the rock world, having retained the same band members and style of music for nearly two decades. The band had five members: P-Nut, Hexum, Nick Mahoney on lead guitar, Chad Sexton on drums and SA Martinez on vocals and turntable.
"We're just lucky like that," P-Nut said about staying together for so long. "We disagree frequently, but we realize that each one of us has an opinion -- often a strong opinion. The longer we work together the better we are at listening to each other's point of view. We just love being together. We all bring a lot of personality and we love being ourselves.
"It's kind of magical and I'm thrilled that the experience is continuing," he added. "We'll keep it up as long as possible."
A search of YouTube videos yields 311 concert footage from the present and back to the early 1990s when the band was getting its start in Omaha, Neb.
"There are some amazingly old shows out there (on the Internet)," P-Nut said. "I'm thrilled about that. It's funny seeing us so skinny jumping around with our shirts off and having so much fun with the crowd. It didn't really matter. We were happy playing music for a living. That's what it was all about."
Apparently with its new tour, 311 is making it all about that again.
311 going old school with new tour (Wilton Villager)
311 is going old school for its fall tour and that's music to the ears of long-time fans of the alternative rock band.
After a spring/summer tour in which the playlist was heavily skewed toward its latest album, Uplifter, the band has already embarked on its fall tour and is delighting loyal fans with a playlist top heavy with songs from its early albums.
Lead singer and song writer Nick Hexum posted the following comment on 311.com last week: "The fall tour is going to be great. Up close and personal. We've been dusting off some old gems for this run. It's going to be a high energy face melter."
Bass player P-Nut added during a recent interview with The Hour: "We're allowing ourselves more freedom to play deeper cuts."
Songs such as Offbeat Bareass, Plain and Freak Out are making their way onto the playlists, while radio hits such as Love Song and Come Original are not making the cut.
The tour may signal a getting-back-to-its-roots movement for the rock/reggae/funk band, which formed in 1988 and has featured the same lineup for nearly two decades. 311 has released nine studio albums -- four gold and two platinum -- but is better known for its high-energy live shows.
P-Nut, 311's bass player, admitted that some of the band's latest albums have veered from what "they love to do" in an attempt to please the record label and score radio hits.
"We tried to be what we think the radio wants us to be," said P-Nut, whose real name is Aaron Wills. "Artistically, that hasn't worked out well for us. We're not sculpted. We don't have image consultants."
P-Nut said the band is "leaning toward going independent" for its next album.
"We have our own studio and we can tour without support," he said. "That would allow us freedom to do what we want. I see us getting back to music that turns us on."
Shunning the radio hits on its fall tour may be the first step toward the band members returning to independence and writing music that pleases themselves and their fiercely loyal fans that they collected largely in grassroots fashion through touring aggressively. 311 Day -- held every other March 11 -- has already sold out its 12,000 tickets for the 2010 show in Las Vegas.
The fall tour, however, is swinging through the area this week and next, staring with a Sunday, Nov. 22, show at Mohegan Sun. State Radio is the opening act.
The tour then heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and -- after a show in Portland, Maine -- returns to the area for shows on consecutive nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. P-Nut is quick to point out that Hammerstein Ballroom is located at 311 West 34th St.
Tom Cantone, vice president of sports and entertainment at Mohegan Sun, said the venue suits a band like 311 perfectly. Tickets ($35 each) are still available for the 311 show.
"It's a modern concert arena with updated acoustics and intimate feel," he said. "Every seat is right where you want to be."
Mohegan Sun books about 100 concerts a year and is ranked as the fourth busiest arena in the world by Billboard Magazine. Cantone is excited to have 311 join the list of musicians who have played there.
"There's a big-time band and they've been around for a while," Cantone said. "It's the kind of music we like to have in our lineup. They are part of the American rock culture, which we like."
311 is a rarity in the rock world, having retained the same band members and style of music for nearly two decades. The band had five members: P-Nut, Hexum, Nick Mahoney on lead guitar, Chad Sexton on drums and SA Martinez on vocals and turntable.
"We're just lucky like that," P-Nut said about staying together for so long. "We disagree frequently, but we realize that each one of us has an opinion -- often a strong opinion. The longer we work together the better we are at listening to each other's point of view. We just love being together. We all bring a lot of personality and we love being ourselves.
"It's kind of magical and I'm thrilled that the experience is continuing," he added. "We'll keep it up as long as possible."
A search of YouTube videos yields 311 concert footage from the present and back to the early 1990s when the band was getting its start in Omaha, Neb.
"There are some amazingly old shows out there (on the Internet)," P-Nut said. "I'm thrilled about that. It's funny seeing us so skinny jumping around with our shirts off and having so much fun with the crowd. It didn't really matter. We were happy playing music for a living. That's what it was all about."
Apparently with its new tour, 311 is making it all about that again.
After a spring/summer tour in which the playlist was heavily skewed toward its latest album, Uplifter, the band has already embarked on its fall tour and is delighting loyal fans with a playlist top heavy with songs from its early albums.
Lead singer and song writer Nick Hexum posted the following comment on 311.com last week: "The fall tour is going to be great. Up close and personal. We've been dusting off some old gems for this run. It's going to be a high energy face melter."
Bass player P-Nut added during a recent interview with The Hour: "We're allowing ourselves more freedom to play deeper cuts."
Songs such as Offbeat Bareass, Plain and Freak Out are making their way onto the playlists, while radio hits such as Love Song and Come Original are not making the cut.
The tour may signal a getting-back-to-its-roots movement for the rock/reggae/funk band, which formed in 1988 and has featured the same lineup for nearly two decades. 311 has released nine studio albums -- four gold and two platinum -- but is better known for its high-energy live shows.
P-Nut, 311's bass player, admitted that some of the band's latest albums have veered from what "they love to do" in an attempt to please the record label and score radio hits.
"We tried to be what we think the radio wants us to be," said P-Nut, whose real name is Aaron Wills. "Artistically, that hasn't worked out well for us. We're not sculpted. We don't have image consultants."
P-Nut said the band is "leaning toward going independent" for its next album.
"We have our own studio and we can tour without support," he said. "That would allow us freedom to do what we want. I see us getting back to music that turns us on."
Shunning the radio hits on its fall tour may be the first step toward the band members returning to independence and writing music that pleases themselves and their fiercely loyal fans that they collected largely in grassroots fashion through touring aggressively. 311 Day -- held every other March 11 -- has already sold out its 12,000 tickets for the 2010 show in Las Vegas.
The fall tour, however, is swinging through the area this week and next, staring with a Sunday, Nov. 22, show at Mohegan Sun. State Radio is the opening act.
The tour then heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and -- after a show in Portland, Maine -- returns to the area for shows on consecutive nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. P-Nut is quick to point out that Hammerstein Ballroom is located at 311 West 34th St.
Tom Cantone, vice president of sports and entertainment at Mohegan Sun, said the venue suits a band like 311 perfectly. Tickets ($35 each) are still available for the 311 show.
"It's a modern concert arena with updated acoustics and intimate feel," he said. "Every seat is right where you want to be."
Mohegan Sun books about 100 concerts a year and is ranked as the fourth busiest arena in the world by Billboard Magazine. Cantone is excited to have 311 join the list of musicians who have played there.
"There's a big-time band and they've been around for a while," Cantone said. "It's the kind of music we like to have in our lineup. They are part of the American rock culture, which we like."
311 is a rarity in the rock world, having retained the same band members and style of music for nearly two decades. The band had five members: P-Nut, Hexum, Nick Mahoney on lead guitar, Chad Sexton on drums and SA Martinez on vocals and turntable.
"We're just lucky like that," P-Nut said about staying together for so long. "We disagree frequently, but we realize that each one of us has an opinion -- often a strong opinion. The longer we work together the better we are at listening to each other's point of view. We just love being together. We all bring a lot of personality and we love being ourselves.
"It's kind of magical and I'm thrilled that the experience is continuing," he added. "We'll keep it up as long as possible."
A search of YouTube videos yields 311 concert footage from the present and back to the early 1990s when the band was getting its start in Omaha, Neb.
"There are some amazingly old shows out there (on the Internet)," P-Nut said. "I'm thrilled about that. It's funny seeing us so skinny jumping around with our shirts off and having so much fun with the crowd. It didn't really matter. We were happy playing music for a living. That's what it was all about."
Apparently with its new tour, 311 is making it all about that again.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Interview: Tim Mahoney of 311 (Premier Guitar)
There are pedal geeks and effects junkies … and then there’s 311’s Tim Mahoney. Tim’s a master of other-worldly tonal effects who doesn’t travel light when touring. Not even when the Omaha crew jaunts off to Asia or Europe.
Generally, he travels with two boards. The standard board (including over 25 pieces), which goes with him everywhere, and the party board (including eight more pieces) that only ventures out during North American tours. After collaborating with legendary producer Bob Rock on 311’s Uplifter [June ’09], Tim’s pedalboard and overall gear collection expanded. Not only did he get his hands on some vintage compressors, which he’d never favored previously, but he acquired some mid-seventies Explorers and even bought a relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster.
With such a collection of stompboxes and effects, he’s no different than any other accessory aficionado. He defends his case of P.A.S. (Pedal Acquisition Syndrome) by contending he needs and uses every single effect. Who are we to judge? We just put out an issue completely dedicated to those little tone boxes.
We recently caught up Tim preparing for his upcoming winter tour with 311, and we talked about working with Bob Rock, blending amp tones and why he can’t stop loving the Musitronics Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter.
After working with Ron St. Germain on many of your previous albums, what was it like to work with Bob Rock on Uplifter?
We all love Ron. It wasn’t anything about his ability or personality that made us go with Bob Rock, but we just wanted to try something new and fresh. Bob was very laid back and easy going. We all learned quite a bit from Bob, too.
What were some of those things you learned from Bob?
As a guitarist, he put me out of my comfort zone, which pushed me to work harder and try new things. He had me record some slide guitar—I’ve never that done on any other album—and I fooled around with a whammy. There was a lot of experimentation during the recording process. When it comes to guitar he has reassuring precision every step of the way that got the best out of me as a player. His calmness and positive attitude make him a rock ‘n’ roll Buddha.
I would never consider myself a pop music fan, but with Bob we really went back to thinking of a pop or catchiness quality within our riffs and songs. He sat in the live room with us every day working out the songs. He’s so good at knowing what good melodies are and when they should be revisited in a song or what songs should have double choruses. As a band, we’d bring individual ideas and then bounce them off each other. A lot of times we’d have a lot of ideas and directions going on at once. Bob really helped us clear up our ideas and make coherency out of our organized chaos.
Overall, what was great about Bob was that he never really forced his power and knowledge on us. He just wanted us to sound better. He told us on day one, “I don’t have a Bob Rock sound, I just want to help you guys make a great album.” He helped us see the bigger picture of the song that maybe we couldn’t see because we were so involved and deep within the project. [laughs] He gave us a very polite kick in the ass.
So did you pick up any cool gear while working on Uplifter with Bob?
Oh man [laughs]… He’s a huge gearhead! He turned me onto some Explorers. I bought at least six guitars during this recording process. For this record, besides my PRS guitars, the main workhorse that I fell in love with was this ’76 Gibson Explorer that I bought thanks to Bob. I did buy a couple of amps while working with Bob, too. I bought a ’63 VOX AC30 and an old Roland Jazz Chorus. We rented one when we were working on Uplifter’s clean tones and once I started playing through it I immediately recognized it as that Metallica-clean from Metallica and we blended that tone in throughout the record.
He had suitcases of pedals lying around the studio. I’ve never seen his collection because it’s in Maui, but anytime we’d come across or talk about some super random pedal, guitar or amp he’d say he owns it. Thanks to Bob, my collection of guitars and amps probably doubled during the whole process [laughs]. I guess you could call it, the “Bob Rock bump” when it comes to gear.
Were there any other tone treats of Bob’s you used?
He did direct me towards a Divided by 13 overdrive pedal that I can’t remember the name of because it was painted funky all over it. I’m not a big compressor guy, but with some of the overdubs he turned me onto a vintage Japanese Boss, an old Ross and an older MXR Dyna Comp.
Did you get Bob to buy or try anything new?
Well, we both bought the new relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster that came out while we were working on Uplifter. And during the recording process he called down to Jeff at Diamond Amplification and ordered a Spitfire II head because he fell in love with mine. He felt so strongly about the amp that he did an ad with Diamond, but the funny thing is the head that he’s standing next to is actually my Spitfire II head. Another thing I got him stuck on was a late ‘70s or early ‘80s ADA Flanger.
It was just cool that I could share my love and passion for old and new gear with a guy like Bob Rock, especially since I even turned him onto a few new things [laughs].
For Uplifter, how did you dial in the metal tones and the chimey reggae tones?
For both dirty and clean tones, we were always recording four amps. For the clean tones we’d run the two Diamond Spitfire II heads, the ’63 VOX AC30 and the Roland Jazz Chorus all through Diamond 4x12 cabs. We also blended in some parts with Bob’s Divided by 13 head. For the dirty tones, we’d usually run the Diamond Spitfire II and Phantom, a Jose Arrendondo modded 50-watt Marshall, and we’d switch in a fourth head for whatever the mix needed. Each cab had a three mics on it. Every cab had a Shure SM57 and then we’d use two various mics so it began to look like spaghetti [laughs], but we were all quite happy with the results.
What were some more of the guitars you used on Uplifter?
Well, that ’76 Explorer was the workhorse carrying about 90 percent of the load. There’s just something magical about that guitar. It has a fatter neck and we think it was made with leftover parts from the original run of Explorers in the late ‘50s because it’s so heavy and the neck is like a baseball bat. It’s funny because I generally like a wider, thinner neck, but that thing just plays like butter in my hands. We plugged that into the VOX AC30 and I played some reggae stuff through it and it sounded like Marley’s Exodus or Kaya. It was just something really special. I used some of my Gretsches, including a Billy-Bo, but they were only used for an overdub here or an additional texture there. Also, I used that relic’d Fender David Gilmour Strat and a ’95 or ’96 Clapton Signature Strat, too. But for the most part, it was two Explorers and my PRS “Blue” that’s been on almost every 311 recording.
Especially live, you’ve been closely linked to PRS guitars since the mid-‘90s; what first drew you to these guitars?
Growing up, I’d have a Squier Tele and then I’d trade that in and upgrade to a Paul and then I’d trade the Paul for a Strat. And when we finally got signed to Capicorn, I was playing a strat-style Charvel with three single-coils, but I needed something with humbuckers so I could have the contrasting tones. I went into the music store looking for a Les Paul, but I’m a Santana fan and I knew he was playing a PRS, but I didn’t know anyone else that played them or much about the guitars in ’92. I tried one out with a maple top, a bolt-on neck and it was affordable, so I bought it that day and toured with that strat-style Charvel and a PRS CE 24.
Do you still have that PRS
Unfortunately, I don’t. We were out touring in support of Music and we had an RV and my empty VW van that we put in neutral so we could store our gear. We had a bad fuel filter or a hole in the fuel line and while heading back to Omaha the RV caught on fire and we had to run out. The VW was locked and the keys were left in the burning RV so we had to watch all our gear get burnt to the ground. At that point, Bonni Lloyd at PRS immediately sent me a loaner guitar and I thought that was the nicest thing anyone could’ve done and I fell in love with that guitar.
I like PRS guitars because I can do the whole show with one because I can do the chimey reggae stuff, but also pick out some metal harmonics and darker tones I need. Those are my two favorite styles of music since I was a kid of the ‘70s. I grew up listening to reggae and classic rock. I mean, my two favorite guitar players are probably Jerry Garcia and Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott. I don’t know if there’s anything those PRS guitars can’t tackle. They just let me express myself musically in the most well-rounded way. Not only being a killer guitar for me and my tone, they’ve been a great company to work with stemming from that fire back in ’93.
What kind of pickups do you prefer?
I like single-coil pickups for recording, but live they don’t work for me because I need that extra “umphf” that humbuckers have. I’ve never toured with a guitar that has a H-S-S setup [Tim owns a strat-style Tyler H-S-S, but it doesn’t go on tour].
For pickups I’ve used the Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and the Alnico 2 in the neck, but recently I’ve been digging on these Tom Holmes humbuckers. For my Gibson Les Paul “Burny” copy, I have Duncan Pearly Gates that matches that guitar perfectly. It might just be my guitars that I put them in, but there are only a handful of pickups that have the clarity I like and it’s hard because if you play straight metal you can really dial in your pickup to that tone, but then if you want to switch it over and play reggae it doesn’t really work.
I’m actually working with Seymour Duncan Custom Shop right now to make me a classic PAF-style pickup that I’m dying to hear. I’ve recently loaded the Antiquities into a few of my guitars. I just like it when the pickup isn’t too hot with a pretty even EQ’d output between the two pickups so when I’m switching between clean and dirty or if I’m in the clean channel and I just switch or split the pickups the output levels are similar so my tone doesn’t get out of whack too easily. I like the clarity of a vintage-style lower output pickup, but 10 years ago I was more into the higher output pickups. Now, I like having what’s coming out of the guitar not too hot and kind of mellow so I can use the amp to really dial in the gain. I want the signal out of the guitar to be true and let the amp do the growling.
Why do you feel the need to blend your Diamond Spitfire II and Phantom heads?
Individually those amps are amazing. They are completely unique and can definitely stand on their own, but together they’re unbelievable. The Phantom has some low end growl with more gain and it gets a little bit gnarlier and the Spitfire II acts like a modded vintage Marshall and when I combine them for my dirty signal it fills in nice. We run in-ears and I can really hear that mix and the amps just compliment and fill in what the other lacks or might be missing.
The clean signal is the Spitfire II’s clean and it returns to the power section of another Phantom. So the clean signal is just one clean preamp because they’re not competing where the dirty channels mix and compliment each other. Also, the live setup is in stereo in the sense that each side of the clean has its own delay and I can put two different delay times on it, but everything else is in front. The only thing I really do to the clean channel is in the effects loop I have a Lexicon PCM-60 and PCM-42 that I can get some separation and width from left to right. The dirty channels have the delays in the effects loops, too, so you’re delaying the preamp tone rather than hitting it with a bunch of delays.
Being the pedal issue, we got to dive into your array of effects. I know you bond particularly well with the Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter. Why is that?
Oh yeah [laughs] … if I had to pick one stomp box as my favorite it’d have to be the Mu-Tron III. I started playing music on a trombone and the envelope filter can dial in some horn-like tones and sounds. I’ve always been a fan of envelope filters dating to the late-eighties when I saw the Grateful Dead and first experimented with acid. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it [laughs]. I just totally dig the expressiveness you can get with it depending on your picking style or attack. You can get it to quack or mellow and fade into the mix. The first envelope filter I had was a Boss TW-1 T Wah and when I found out Garcia used the Mu-Tron III I bought one and realized ‘holy shit, this is my holy grail.’ Unfortunately they don’t make it new so it’s always a hunt for them, but I own four or five of them. I use it pretty heavily on songs like “Amber” and “Champagne,” but Uplifter is the album I probably used it the least just because … [laughs] I don’t think Bob gets the envelope filter like I get it.
On your pedalboard, I noticed you have a lot of pairs of phasers, delays, reverbs and overdrives. What’s the story there?
I set up my board and organize it with those Loop-Master strips and the first one the guitar goes through before the amps split, which allows me to use it on either the clean or the dirty. For instance, I have a MXR Phase 90 [script logo] that is on this strip and it can be applied to either the dirty or clean channel. After the A/B box and before the cleans, the second set of effects (that are only on the clean amp) I have the old Phase 45 [script logo] because I think it works better with the clean tones and its dialed to a watery, almost-Leslie-ish vibe and for a reggae tone I’ll slow it down quite a bit, too. So the stuff that’s on the clean side like an old Japanese Boss Chorus, delays, flangers and verbs are set up on that side so whatever I’m doing on the dirty amps I can just hit my A/B switcher to get to the clean and have those effects dialed in specifically for that amp and its selected channel. My board looks massive, but setting it up this way with the Loop-Master strips allows me to cut down on tap dancing.
What are some other effects you like using a lot?
I use a flanger quite a bit on the clean and dirty side. I have an old MXR Flanger Effect for the dirty side that works subtly for the in and out of solos or a transitional spot between songs or jams. On the clean side I use a Hartman Analog Flanger that is like a modern EH Electric Mistress, which is set to a dreamy, chimey vibe like during the bridge in “Hey You.”
Also, I use the two overdrives quite a bit and I use them both because one is a DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 [sits in the strip for both amps] that acts like a clean boost that can just push the levels up and really doesn’t change the tone or sound. “My Stoney Baby” is a clean song, but I’ll use the DOD on the solo just to boost it up a bit and push it louder in the mix. On just the clean side, I have a Keeley modded super overdrive that’s set up as a mid-gain lead tone so I don’t have to take it to the realm of the Spitfire II or Phantom gain stages. I can use the clean channel and that pedal that gets me in between the Spitfire’s clean and gain channel for some boosted clean dirty leads. People probably look at my board and think ‘overkill’ but I use everything on it. We like to change up the set list every night [15 out 20 songs change] and having almost 20 years of songs requires me to have a board that enables me to dial up any tone within our catalog.
So we covered the standard board. What about the Mahoney “party board?”
[laughs] Ah yes, the party board. It’s just what it sounds like, nothing really too important or necessary for the show, but it’s all about having fun with that one. I have that Boomerang Phrase Sampler, Line 6 Filter Pro, EH Memory Man, Korg G4 Rotary Speaker Simulator and a DigiTech Whammy. I really only use this stuff during our freestyle jams and improvisational parts, but I’ll also play with them during sound check. When Chad, P-Nut and I come out before the vocalists, we’ll just pick a note or something that I’ll have make into a droning effect. Then we’ll just listen to each other and work into a cool riff or jam that usually never evolves into anything more than a funky improv. I will say that party board is a great asset for writing and working out songs, particularly that Boomerang because I can dial in a lick or section, loop it and reference that part while I’m hashing out the next section.
When you’re working out guitar parts, do you record all your ideas or do you feel that if a riff is good enough it’ll stay with you?
I do a little bit of both. I really do feel the important stuff you do remember and you keep revisiting, but I’ll also be playing something and I’ll spontaneously come up with a cool riff. When that sort of thing happens I just try to get outside myself, get out of the way and hope that I can channel something cool and that sings to our fans. I hate to think that I’m the inventor of a particular riff. All these ideas come from somewhere inside me and outside influences trickle in so I look to my guitar playing as meditation. Just like how a surfer “soul surfs” on his board, I’m soul surfing on the neck of the guitar. To me, creating a song or solo is like chipping away at a sculpture because something eventually surfaces and it is usually something you had no intention of doing or no idea that it was in you.
When something does arise, it’ll start by getting looped into the Boomerang. And if that’s cool, I’ll record that into my iPhone or other portable device that ultimately gets laid into my studio computer where I’ll log it and put it in my ideas or riffs folders because I have a vision for them and I’ll bring those files when I meet with the entire band at some point. So as much as it sounds like I’m organized, I always have riffs floating and reemerging in my head that ultimately get worked into a song.
On Uplifter, “Golden Sunshine” was like that. I’d been playing this riff for years and messing with the chord changes. I couldn’t stop playing it and the guys heard it and the song finally just clicked. The chord arrangements and riff fell into place seemingly out of nowhere. For me, every song comes together in its own, natural process. The Boomerang and mini recorders really help me revisit ideas and riffs that at one point don’t click. They’ve saved some pretty cool stuff from being lost.
With such an array of guitars, amps and effects, what is your philosophy on gear?
You know, I’ve never really been into brands, eras or even years of production when it comes to gear. My motto is “if it feels good, sounds cool and can help bring new ideas or funky tones, I’m all for it.” Being a guitar player you can find new pedals, amps or guitars to motivate ideas and help fine tune and express your voice as a guitarist. I’ll play anything that feels right, but I do prefer mahogany-bodied guitars. To me, maple top guitars are too bright. In a few years, my back may not agree with my ears, but I just love its tone.
I’ve learned over the years that I do prefer older guitars because the ones made with mahogany are from much older and aged wood, while the newer guitars that have mahogany bodies are made from newer woods that are either farmed or just haven’t matured tonally. However, it won’t stop me from playing or trying one out. There’s no rule for gear or guitars, it’s about where your tastes and voices as an artist lie and what particular sounds or tones call to you.
Tim's Gear Box
Guitars
Light Blue ’93 PRS Standard 24 “Blue” (features Bob Vessells custom tiki mask inlay on the headstock)
Vintage Cherry PRS Standard 24 “Ol Red”
Natural Finish PRS Standard 24 “Gany”
Black Cherry PRS Hollowbody Spruce “Big Red”
Natural Finish PRS Custom 24 “Blondie”
Tortoise Shell Finish PRS Custom 24 “T-Shell”
Yellow PRS Santana Signature “Carlito”
Vintage Sunburst PRS Hollowbody “Hollowbody”
Custom Blueburst Washburn Dimebag Darrell “Dimebag”
Metallic Black (mirror pickguard) Ibanez Universe Steve Vai “Universe”
Vintage Cherry Schecter C7 “Schecter 7”
Blue ’76 Gibson Explorer
’76 Ibanez Destroyer
‘80s Burny Les Paul
Travis Bean
Tyler Studio Elite
Relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster
Billy-Bo Gretsch
Mid ‘90s Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Amps & Cabinets
Diamond Spitfire II head (live & studio)
Diamond Phantom head (live & studio)
Diamond 4x12 Cabinets (live & studio)
’63 VOX AC30
Jose Arrendendo modded 50 Watt Marshall (studio)
Roland Jazz Chorus (studio)
Effects
[Standard Board]
Loop-Master Switching Strips (3)
Lexicon PCM-60 and PCM-42 Rack Vintage Analog Reverbs
LA Sound Design Power Supply
MXR Flanger Effect
Musitronics Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter
Maxon AD-9 Analog Delay
DOD Overdrive Preamp 250
MXR Micro Chorus
MXR Phase 90 (script logo)
Pearl OC-7 Octaver
BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
MXR Phase 45 (script logo)
BOSS SD-1 Super OverDrive
BOSS CE-1 Chorus
BOSS DSD-2 Digital Sampler/Delay
Hartman Analog Flanger
BOSS FV-500H Volume Pedal
King VOX Wah
[Party Board]
Loop-Master Switching Strip (1)
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power AC
Boomerang Phrase Sampler
Electro Harmonix Memory Man
Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler
Korg G4 Toneworks Rotary Speaker Simulator
DigiTech Whammy
Generally, he travels with two boards. The standard board (including over 25 pieces), which goes with him everywhere, and the party board (including eight more pieces) that only ventures out during North American tours. After collaborating with legendary producer Bob Rock on 311’s Uplifter [June ’09], Tim’s pedalboard and overall gear collection expanded. Not only did he get his hands on some vintage compressors, which he’d never favored previously, but he acquired some mid-seventies Explorers and even bought a relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster.
With such a collection of stompboxes and effects, he’s no different than any other accessory aficionado. He defends his case of P.A.S. (Pedal Acquisition Syndrome) by contending he needs and uses every single effect. Who are we to judge? We just put out an issue completely dedicated to those little tone boxes.
We recently caught up Tim preparing for his upcoming winter tour with 311, and we talked about working with Bob Rock, blending amp tones and why he can’t stop loving the Musitronics Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter.
After working with Ron St. Germain on many of your previous albums, what was it like to work with Bob Rock on Uplifter?
We all love Ron. It wasn’t anything about his ability or personality that made us go with Bob Rock, but we just wanted to try something new and fresh. Bob was very laid back and easy going. We all learned quite a bit from Bob, too.
What were some of those things you learned from Bob?
As a guitarist, he put me out of my comfort zone, which pushed me to work harder and try new things. He had me record some slide guitar—I’ve never that done on any other album—and I fooled around with a whammy. There was a lot of experimentation during the recording process. When it comes to guitar he has reassuring precision every step of the way that got the best out of me as a player. His calmness and positive attitude make him a rock ‘n’ roll Buddha.
I would never consider myself a pop music fan, but with Bob we really went back to thinking of a pop or catchiness quality within our riffs and songs. He sat in the live room with us every day working out the songs. He’s so good at knowing what good melodies are and when they should be revisited in a song or what songs should have double choruses. As a band, we’d bring individual ideas and then bounce them off each other. A lot of times we’d have a lot of ideas and directions going on at once. Bob really helped us clear up our ideas and make coherency out of our organized chaos.
Overall, what was great about Bob was that he never really forced his power and knowledge on us. He just wanted us to sound better. He told us on day one, “I don’t have a Bob Rock sound, I just want to help you guys make a great album.” He helped us see the bigger picture of the song that maybe we couldn’t see because we were so involved and deep within the project. [laughs] He gave us a very polite kick in the ass.
So did you pick up any cool gear while working on Uplifter with Bob?
Oh man [laughs]… He’s a huge gearhead! He turned me onto some Explorers. I bought at least six guitars during this recording process. For this record, besides my PRS guitars, the main workhorse that I fell in love with was this ’76 Gibson Explorer that I bought thanks to Bob. I did buy a couple of amps while working with Bob, too. I bought a ’63 VOX AC30 and an old Roland Jazz Chorus. We rented one when we were working on Uplifter’s clean tones and once I started playing through it I immediately recognized it as that Metallica-clean from Metallica and we blended that tone in throughout the record.
He had suitcases of pedals lying around the studio. I’ve never seen his collection because it’s in Maui, but anytime we’d come across or talk about some super random pedal, guitar or amp he’d say he owns it. Thanks to Bob, my collection of guitars and amps probably doubled during the whole process [laughs]. I guess you could call it, the “Bob Rock bump” when it comes to gear.
Were there any other tone treats of Bob’s you used?
He did direct me towards a Divided by 13 overdrive pedal that I can’t remember the name of because it was painted funky all over it. I’m not a big compressor guy, but with some of the overdubs he turned me onto a vintage Japanese Boss, an old Ross and an older MXR Dyna Comp.
Did you get Bob to buy or try anything new?
Well, we both bought the new relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster that came out while we were working on Uplifter. And during the recording process he called down to Jeff at Diamond Amplification and ordered a Spitfire II head because he fell in love with mine. He felt so strongly about the amp that he did an ad with Diamond, but the funny thing is the head that he’s standing next to is actually my Spitfire II head. Another thing I got him stuck on was a late ‘70s or early ‘80s ADA Flanger.
It was just cool that I could share my love and passion for old and new gear with a guy like Bob Rock, especially since I even turned him onto a few new things [laughs].
For Uplifter, how did you dial in the metal tones and the chimey reggae tones?
For both dirty and clean tones, we were always recording four amps. For the clean tones we’d run the two Diamond Spitfire II heads, the ’63 VOX AC30 and the Roland Jazz Chorus all through Diamond 4x12 cabs. We also blended in some parts with Bob’s Divided by 13 head. For the dirty tones, we’d usually run the Diamond Spitfire II and Phantom, a Jose Arrendondo modded 50-watt Marshall, and we’d switch in a fourth head for whatever the mix needed. Each cab had a three mics on it. Every cab had a Shure SM57 and then we’d use two various mics so it began to look like spaghetti [laughs], but we were all quite happy with the results.
What were some more of the guitars you used on Uplifter?
Well, that ’76 Explorer was the workhorse carrying about 90 percent of the load. There’s just something magical about that guitar. It has a fatter neck and we think it was made with leftover parts from the original run of Explorers in the late ‘50s because it’s so heavy and the neck is like a baseball bat. It’s funny because I generally like a wider, thinner neck, but that thing just plays like butter in my hands. We plugged that into the VOX AC30 and I played some reggae stuff through it and it sounded like Marley’s Exodus or Kaya. It was just something really special. I used some of my Gretsches, including a Billy-Bo, but they were only used for an overdub here or an additional texture there. Also, I used that relic’d Fender David Gilmour Strat and a ’95 or ’96 Clapton Signature Strat, too. But for the most part, it was two Explorers and my PRS “Blue” that’s been on almost every 311 recording.
Especially live, you’ve been closely linked to PRS guitars since the mid-‘90s; what first drew you to these guitars?
Growing up, I’d have a Squier Tele and then I’d trade that in and upgrade to a Paul and then I’d trade the Paul for a Strat. And when we finally got signed to Capicorn, I was playing a strat-style Charvel with three single-coils, but I needed something with humbuckers so I could have the contrasting tones. I went into the music store looking for a Les Paul, but I’m a Santana fan and I knew he was playing a PRS, but I didn’t know anyone else that played them or much about the guitars in ’92. I tried one out with a maple top, a bolt-on neck and it was affordable, so I bought it that day and toured with that strat-style Charvel and a PRS CE 24.
Do you still have that PRS
Unfortunately, I don’t. We were out touring in support of Music and we had an RV and my empty VW van that we put in neutral so we could store our gear. We had a bad fuel filter or a hole in the fuel line and while heading back to Omaha the RV caught on fire and we had to run out. The VW was locked and the keys were left in the burning RV so we had to watch all our gear get burnt to the ground. At that point, Bonni Lloyd at PRS immediately sent me a loaner guitar and I thought that was the nicest thing anyone could’ve done and I fell in love with that guitar.
I like PRS guitars because I can do the whole show with one because I can do the chimey reggae stuff, but also pick out some metal harmonics and darker tones I need. Those are my two favorite styles of music since I was a kid of the ‘70s. I grew up listening to reggae and classic rock. I mean, my two favorite guitar players are probably Jerry Garcia and Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott. I don’t know if there’s anything those PRS guitars can’t tackle. They just let me express myself musically in the most well-rounded way. Not only being a killer guitar for me and my tone, they’ve been a great company to work with stemming from that fire back in ’93.
What kind of pickups do you prefer?
I like single-coil pickups for recording, but live they don’t work for me because I need that extra “umphf” that humbuckers have. I’ve never toured with a guitar that has a H-S-S setup [Tim owns a strat-style Tyler H-S-S, but it doesn’t go on tour].
For pickups I’ve used the Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and the Alnico 2 in the neck, but recently I’ve been digging on these Tom Holmes humbuckers. For my Gibson Les Paul “Burny” copy, I have Duncan Pearly Gates that matches that guitar perfectly. It might just be my guitars that I put them in, but there are only a handful of pickups that have the clarity I like and it’s hard because if you play straight metal you can really dial in your pickup to that tone, but then if you want to switch it over and play reggae it doesn’t really work.
I’m actually working with Seymour Duncan Custom Shop right now to make me a classic PAF-style pickup that I’m dying to hear. I’ve recently loaded the Antiquities into a few of my guitars. I just like it when the pickup isn’t too hot with a pretty even EQ’d output between the two pickups so when I’m switching between clean and dirty or if I’m in the clean channel and I just switch or split the pickups the output levels are similar so my tone doesn’t get out of whack too easily. I like the clarity of a vintage-style lower output pickup, but 10 years ago I was more into the higher output pickups. Now, I like having what’s coming out of the guitar not too hot and kind of mellow so I can use the amp to really dial in the gain. I want the signal out of the guitar to be true and let the amp do the growling.
Why do you feel the need to blend your Diamond Spitfire II and Phantom heads?
Individually those amps are amazing. They are completely unique and can definitely stand on their own, but together they’re unbelievable. The Phantom has some low end growl with more gain and it gets a little bit gnarlier and the Spitfire II acts like a modded vintage Marshall and when I combine them for my dirty signal it fills in nice. We run in-ears and I can really hear that mix and the amps just compliment and fill in what the other lacks or might be missing.
The clean signal is the Spitfire II’s clean and it returns to the power section of another Phantom. So the clean signal is just one clean preamp because they’re not competing where the dirty channels mix and compliment each other. Also, the live setup is in stereo in the sense that each side of the clean has its own delay and I can put two different delay times on it, but everything else is in front. The only thing I really do to the clean channel is in the effects loop I have a Lexicon PCM-60 and PCM-42 that I can get some separation and width from left to right. The dirty channels have the delays in the effects loops, too, so you’re delaying the preamp tone rather than hitting it with a bunch of delays.
Being the pedal issue, we got to dive into your array of effects. I know you bond particularly well with the Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter. Why is that?
Oh yeah [laughs] … if I had to pick one stomp box as my favorite it’d have to be the Mu-Tron III. I started playing music on a trombone and the envelope filter can dial in some horn-like tones and sounds. I’ve always been a fan of envelope filters dating to the late-eighties when I saw the Grateful Dead and first experimented with acid. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it [laughs]. I just totally dig the expressiveness you can get with it depending on your picking style or attack. You can get it to quack or mellow and fade into the mix. The first envelope filter I had was a Boss TW-1 T Wah and when I found out Garcia used the Mu-Tron III I bought one and realized ‘holy shit, this is my holy grail.’ Unfortunately they don’t make it new so it’s always a hunt for them, but I own four or five of them. I use it pretty heavily on songs like “Amber” and “Champagne,” but Uplifter is the album I probably used it the least just because … [laughs] I don’t think Bob gets the envelope filter like I get it.
On your pedalboard, I noticed you have a lot of pairs of phasers, delays, reverbs and overdrives. What’s the story there?
I set up my board and organize it with those Loop-Master strips and the first one the guitar goes through before the amps split, which allows me to use it on either the clean or the dirty. For instance, I have a MXR Phase 90 [script logo] that is on this strip and it can be applied to either the dirty or clean channel. After the A/B box and before the cleans, the second set of effects (that are only on the clean amp) I have the old Phase 45 [script logo] because I think it works better with the clean tones and its dialed to a watery, almost-Leslie-ish vibe and for a reggae tone I’ll slow it down quite a bit, too. So the stuff that’s on the clean side like an old Japanese Boss Chorus, delays, flangers and verbs are set up on that side so whatever I’m doing on the dirty amps I can just hit my A/B switcher to get to the clean and have those effects dialed in specifically for that amp and its selected channel. My board looks massive, but setting it up this way with the Loop-Master strips allows me to cut down on tap dancing.
What are some other effects you like using a lot?
I use a flanger quite a bit on the clean and dirty side. I have an old MXR Flanger Effect for the dirty side that works subtly for the in and out of solos or a transitional spot between songs or jams. On the clean side I use a Hartman Analog Flanger that is like a modern EH Electric Mistress, which is set to a dreamy, chimey vibe like during the bridge in “Hey You.”
Also, I use the two overdrives quite a bit and I use them both because one is a DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 [sits in the strip for both amps] that acts like a clean boost that can just push the levels up and really doesn’t change the tone or sound. “My Stoney Baby” is a clean song, but I’ll use the DOD on the solo just to boost it up a bit and push it louder in the mix. On just the clean side, I have a Keeley modded super overdrive that’s set up as a mid-gain lead tone so I don’t have to take it to the realm of the Spitfire II or Phantom gain stages. I can use the clean channel and that pedal that gets me in between the Spitfire’s clean and gain channel for some boosted clean dirty leads. People probably look at my board and think ‘overkill’ but I use everything on it. We like to change up the set list every night [15 out 20 songs change] and having almost 20 years of songs requires me to have a board that enables me to dial up any tone within our catalog.
So we covered the standard board. What about the Mahoney “party board?”
[laughs] Ah yes, the party board. It’s just what it sounds like, nothing really too important or necessary for the show, but it’s all about having fun with that one. I have that Boomerang Phrase Sampler, Line 6 Filter Pro, EH Memory Man, Korg G4 Rotary Speaker Simulator and a DigiTech Whammy. I really only use this stuff during our freestyle jams and improvisational parts, but I’ll also play with them during sound check. When Chad, P-Nut and I come out before the vocalists, we’ll just pick a note or something that I’ll have make into a droning effect. Then we’ll just listen to each other and work into a cool riff or jam that usually never evolves into anything more than a funky improv. I will say that party board is a great asset for writing and working out songs, particularly that Boomerang because I can dial in a lick or section, loop it and reference that part while I’m hashing out the next section.
When you’re working out guitar parts, do you record all your ideas or do you feel that if a riff is good enough it’ll stay with you?
I do a little bit of both. I really do feel the important stuff you do remember and you keep revisiting, but I’ll also be playing something and I’ll spontaneously come up with a cool riff. When that sort of thing happens I just try to get outside myself, get out of the way and hope that I can channel something cool and that sings to our fans. I hate to think that I’m the inventor of a particular riff. All these ideas come from somewhere inside me and outside influences trickle in so I look to my guitar playing as meditation. Just like how a surfer “soul surfs” on his board, I’m soul surfing on the neck of the guitar. To me, creating a song or solo is like chipping away at a sculpture because something eventually surfaces and it is usually something you had no intention of doing or no idea that it was in you.
When something does arise, it’ll start by getting looped into the Boomerang. And if that’s cool, I’ll record that into my iPhone or other portable device that ultimately gets laid into my studio computer where I’ll log it and put it in my ideas or riffs folders because I have a vision for them and I’ll bring those files when I meet with the entire band at some point. So as much as it sounds like I’m organized, I always have riffs floating and reemerging in my head that ultimately get worked into a song.
On Uplifter, “Golden Sunshine” was like that. I’d been playing this riff for years and messing with the chord changes. I couldn’t stop playing it and the guys heard it and the song finally just clicked. The chord arrangements and riff fell into place seemingly out of nowhere. For me, every song comes together in its own, natural process. The Boomerang and mini recorders really help me revisit ideas and riffs that at one point don’t click. They’ve saved some pretty cool stuff from being lost.
With such an array of guitars, amps and effects, what is your philosophy on gear?
You know, I’ve never really been into brands, eras or even years of production when it comes to gear. My motto is “if it feels good, sounds cool and can help bring new ideas or funky tones, I’m all for it.” Being a guitar player you can find new pedals, amps or guitars to motivate ideas and help fine tune and express your voice as a guitarist. I’ll play anything that feels right, but I do prefer mahogany-bodied guitars. To me, maple top guitars are too bright. In a few years, my back may not agree with my ears, but I just love its tone.
I’ve learned over the years that I do prefer older guitars because the ones made with mahogany are from much older and aged wood, while the newer guitars that have mahogany bodies are made from newer woods that are either farmed or just haven’t matured tonally. However, it won’t stop me from playing or trying one out. There’s no rule for gear or guitars, it’s about where your tastes and voices as an artist lie and what particular sounds or tones call to you.
Tim's Gear Box
Guitars
Light Blue ’93 PRS Standard 24 “Blue” (features Bob Vessells custom tiki mask inlay on the headstock)
Vintage Cherry PRS Standard 24 “Ol Red”
Natural Finish PRS Standard 24 “Gany”
Black Cherry PRS Hollowbody Spruce “Big Red”
Natural Finish PRS Custom 24 “Blondie”
Tortoise Shell Finish PRS Custom 24 “T-Shell”
Yellow PRS Santana Signature “Carlito”
Vintage Sunburst PRS Hollowbody “Hollowbody”
Custom Blueburst Washburn Dimebag Darrell “Dimebag”
Metallic Black (mirror pickguard) Ibanez Universe Steve Vai “Universe”
Vintage Cherry Schecter C7 “Schecter 7”
Blue ’76 Gibson Explorer
’76 Ibanez Destroyer
‘80s Burny Les Paul
Travis Bean
Tyler Studio Elite
Relic’d Fender David Gilmour Stratocaster
Billy-Bo Gretsch
Mid ‘90s Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Amps & Cabinets
Diamond Spitfire II head (live & studio)
Diamond Phantom head (live & studio)
Diamond 4x12 Cabinets (live & studio)
’63 VOX AC30
Jose Arrendendo modded 50 Watt Marshall (studio)
Roland Jazz Chorus (studio)
Effects
[Standard Board]
Loop-Master Switching Strips (3)
Lexicon PCM-60 and PCM-42 Rack Vintage Analog Reverbs
LA Sound Design Power Supply
MXR Flanger Effect
Musitronics Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter
Maxon AD-9 Analog Delay
DOD Overdrive Preamp 250
MXR Micro Chorus
MXR Phase 90 (script logo)
Pearl OC-7 Octaver
BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
MXR Phase 45 (script logo)
BOSS SD-1 Super OverDrive
BOSS CE-1 Chorus
BOSS DSD-2 Digital Sampler/Delay
Hartman Analog Flanger
BOSS FV-500H Volume Pedal
King VOX Wah
[Party Board]
Loop-Master Switching Strip (1)
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power AC
Boomerang Phrase Sampler
Electro Harmonix Memory Man
Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler
Korg G4 Toneworks Rotary Speaker Simulator
DigiTech Whammy
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Review: 311 gives Omaha a great show, again (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD)
COUNCIL BLUFFS — “It's good to be home.”
Nick Hexum repeated the phrase several times Saturday night, and 311 fans were happy to hear it.
The band of Omaha natives — including Hexum, Doug “SA” Martinez, Chad Sexton, Aaron “P-Nut” Wills and Tim Mahoney — played another rocking show in an area where they've done hundreds.
Only half of the Mid-America Center was open for the show, but the crowd filled the place to the rafters.
The local crowd seemed like a dedicated one. An immense amount of concertgoers danced throughout the show and many in the audience sang along with every word.
A band that's supported by its rabid fan base, 311 didn't include many songs from its latest album, “Uplifter.”
Probably to appease its die-hards, the group focused on its hits and several deep cuts during the nearly two-hour set. Only three songs from “Uplifter” made it into the set and songs often unheard of in the band's live shows, such as “Jackolantern's Weather” and “Large in the Margin,” popped up instead.
Several mosh pits formed on the floor and “Creatures (For A While),” “Applied Science” and “Feels So Good” had the entire arena jumping up and down together.
While only a few new songs made it in, the crowd was delighted with them and no one ran for the beer stands.
They sang along with “Something Out of Nothing” and participated in a call and response with the band in “Jackpot.”
A highlight of any 311 show is witnessing Sexton's drum solo in the middle of “Applied Science,” and the drummer didn't disappoint this time. The stage was cleared for him while he sat in the back of the stage and pummeled his kit for a few minutes. Soon after, he was re-joined by the other four members who played along on their own drums set up near the front of the stage.
Guitarist Mahoney had a guitar jam that led into the beginning of the song “Plain” and bassist P-Nut performed an extended bass guitar solo that went on for several minutes.
Throughout the night, Hexum took opportunities to thank the band's Omaha fans.
“Y'all havin' a good time? I'd like to take a second to say ‘hi' to all our friends and family here tonight. It's great to be home. Much love,” he said. “We love you Omaha!”
Concert set list: “Sick Tight,” “Jackolantern's Weather,” “All Mixed Up,” “Large In the Margin,” Offbeat Bare ***,” “From Chaos,” “Plain,” “Freak Out,” “Down,” “Applied Science,” “India Ink,” “Prisoner,” “Something Out of Nothing,” “Visit,” “Beautiful Disaster,” “Amber,” “Lucky,” “Creatures (For A While),” “Unity.” ENCORE: “Omaha Stylee,” “Jackpot,” “Feels So Good.”
Nick Hexum repeated the phrase several times Saturday night, and 311 fans were happy to hear it.
The band of Omaha natives — including Hexum, Doug “SA” Martinez, Chad Sexton, Aaron “P-Nut” Wills and Tim Mahoney — played another rocking show in an area where they've done hundreds.
Only half of the Mid-America Center was open for the show, but the crowd filled the place to the rafters.
The local crowd seemed like a dedicated one. An immense amount of concertgoers danced throughout the show and many in the audience sang along with every word.
A band that's supported by its rabid fan base, 311 didn't include many songs from its latest album, “Uplifter.”
Probably to appease its die-hards, the group focused on its hits and several deep cuts during the nearly two-hour set. Only three songs from “Uplifter” made it into the set and songs often unheard of in the band's live shows, such as “Jackolantern's Weather” and “Large in the Margin,” popped up instead.
Several mosh pits formed on the floor and “Creatures (For A While),” “Applied Science” and “Feels So Good” had the entire arena jumping up and down together.
While only a few new songs made it in, the crowd was delighted with them and no one ran for the beer stands.
They sang along with “Something Out of Nothing” and participated in a call and response with the band in “Jackpot.”
A highlight of any 311 show is witnessing Sexton's drum solo in the middle of “Applied Science,” and the drummer didn't disappoint this time. The stage was cleared for him while he sat in the back of the stage and pummeled his kit for a few minutes. Soon after, he was re-joined by the other four members who played along on their own drums set up near the front of the stage.
Guitarist Mahoney had a guitar jam that led into the beginning of the song “Plain” and bassist P-Nut performed an extended bass guitar solo that went on for several minutes.
Throughout the night, Hexum took opportunities to thank the band's Omaha fans.
“Y'all havin' a good time? I'd like to take a second to say ‘hi' to all our friends and family here tonight. It's great to be home. Much love,” he said. “We love you Omaha!”
Concert set list: “Sick Tight,” “Jackolantern's Weather,” “All Mixed Up,” “Large In the Margin,” Offbeat Bare ***,” “From Chaos,” “Plain,” “Freak Out,” “Down,” “Applied Science,” “India Ink,” “Prisoner,” “Something Out of Nothing,” “Visit,” “Beautiful Disaster,” “Amber,” “Lucky,” “Creatures (For A While),” “Unity.” ENCORE: “Omaha Stylee,” “Jackpot,” “Feels So Good.”
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Omaha welcomes home rock legends 311 (Norfolk Daily News)
Homecoming weekend always means alumni rolling into town, but these alumni just happen to rock, too.
In fact, they’re still the biggest name in the music business to come out of Omaha.
That’s right — 311 is coming home this weekend. OK, technically it’s across the river at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, but that’s close enough — even Tim Mahoney calls it home.
“It’s a homecoming for me and the whole band,” the 311 lead guitarist said in a recent interview with the Daily News. “It’s a show we really take pride in. It’s a special place.”
311 returns to the Omaha area every year, but Mahoney said it’s usually a festival-type atmosphere. This show, he said, is as authentic as it gets — lights, sound, equipment and great set lists.
“Over the summer, the focus is more on the new record and radio singles,” said Mahoney, who still has a home in Omaha. “This tour, we’re preparing more for it and working on songs we haven’t played in a while, so there will be a lot more album tracks and songs people haven’t heard in a while.”
Mahoney said the energy level will be different, too, because it’s an inside venue.
311 caters its set list more to the vibe of the outside stage while on summer tour, Mahoney said, but this show will have more amplified energy.
It’s the high-energy songs that tend to work better in amplified venues, he said, which means 311 will focus more on rocking out at this performance.
“If you saw us in the summer, it’s a different set list. And if you haven’t seen us in a while, it’ll be a new experience for you,” he said.
Formed in 1988, 311 found success with its mixture of alternative rock, hip hop, funk and reggae, quickly taking the band from the middle of the country to the mainstream. “The Blue Album” in 1995 brought 311 to the forefront of rock music with hits “Down” and “All Mixed Up.”
Since 1995, no 311 album has failed to reach the top 15 of Billboard’s Top 200 chart, including “Uplifter.” The newest 311 album is also the highest debut of an album, proving the band keeps getting better and better.
“We’re really fortunate we have a core group of fans who support us and allow us to continue making the music,” Mahoney said. “We’re a blue-collar band. We make a living by playing live every night, and that’s my favorite thing to do.”
Just a handful of bands that broke through in the mid-1990s are even still touring, much less recording new music. But Mahoney said that despite selling 8.5 million albums and not having a single fail to chart in more than a decade, he still doesn’t feel secure in his career.
Saying there are always better songs to be written and room to hone their musical skills, Mahoney said 311 is always striving to make the next project the best, not wanting to be one of those bands with its debut ranking as catalog highlight.
“Everyone feels as blessed as I do to play music,” he said. “We have been fortunate because I know a lot of bands, a lot of really great bands, can’t keep it together because they can’t get along or can’t make ends meet financially because it’s harder and hard to play music for a living. I think as long as we’re getting along, our communication is good and we enjoy each other’s songwriting, I think we’ll always play.”
In fact, they’re still the biggest name in the music business to come out of Omaha.
That’s right — 311 is coming home this weekend. OK, technically it’s across the river at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, but that’s close enough — even Tim Mahoney calls it home.
“It’s a homecoming for me and the whole band,” the 311 lead guitarist said in a recent interview with the Daily News. “It’s a show we really take pride in. It’s a special place.”
311 returns to the Omaha area every year, but Mahoney said it’s usually a festival-type atmosphere. This show, he said, is as authentic as it gets — lights, sound, equipment and great set lists.
“Over the summer, the focus is more on the new record and radio singles,” said Mahoney, who still has a home in Omaha. “This tour, we’re preparing more for it and working on songs we haven’t played in a while, so there will be a lot more album tracks and songs people haven’t heard in a while.”
Mahoney said the energy level will be different, too, because it’s an inside venue.
311 caters its set list more to the vibe of the outside stage while on summer tour, Mahoney said, but this show will have more amplified energy.
It’s the high-energy songs that tend to work better in amplified venues, he said, which means 311 will focus more on rocking out at this performance.
“If you saw us in the summer, it’s a different set list. And if you haven’t seen us in a while, it’ll be a new experience for you,” he said.
Formed in 1988, 311 found success with its mixture of alternative rock, hip hop, funk and reggae, quickly taking the band from the middle of the country to the mainstream. “The Blue Album” in 1995 brought 311 to the forefront of rock music with hits “Down” and “All Mixed Up.”
Since 1995, no 311 album has failed to reach the top 15 of Billboard’s Top 200 chart, including “Uplifter.” The newest 311 album is also the highest debut of an album, proving the band keeps getting better and better.
“We’re really fortunate we have a core group of fans who support us and allow us to continue making the music,” Mahoney said. “We’re a blue-collar band. We make a living by playing live every night, and that’s my favorite thing to do.”
Just a handful of bands that broke through in the mid-1990s are even still touring, much less recording new music. But Mahoney said that despite selling 8.5 million albums and not having a single fail to chart in more than a decade, he still doesn’t feel secure in his career.
Saying there are always better songs to be written and room to hone their musical skills, Mahoney said 311 is always striving to make the next project the best, not wanting to be one of those bands with its debut ranking as catalog highlight.
“Everyone feels as blessed as I do to play music,” he said. “We have been fortunate because I know a lot of bands, a lot of really great bands, can’t keep it together because they can’t get along or can’t make ends meet financially because it’s harder and hard to play music for a living. I think as long as we’re getting along, our communication is good and we enjoy each other’s songwriting, I think we’ll always play.”
311 is still rocking, refining their sound (Omaha World Herald)
They're back.
Hometown rock heroes 311 are returning for another concert in the metro.
The quintet of Omaha boys — Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton, SA Martinez, Tim Mahoney and P-Nut — performs Saturday at the Mid-America Center.
Nearing its 20th anniversary as a band, the group is responsible for seven albums in the Billboard Top 10.
The group's most recent record, “Uplifter,” is its highest-charting to date. The disc reached No. 3 when it was released in June.
The band continued with its mix of rock, reggae, rap and funk, but it hired producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Motley Crue, Aerosmith) to work on the album with the group.
“He was a perfect match. We were ready to take a step in a new direction,” Hexum said. “He's a song guy, he's a great engineer and he'll help you with lyrics and everything. He gets in there like a sixth band member and has his guitar, suggesting parts and everything.
“I'd like to record with him some more.”
Rock helped the group with songwriting and also put together some “rocking arrangements,” Hexum said.
“It was fantastic to be working with someone with so much experience and to be working with someone that is so musically inclined and is a musician himself,” Sexton added. “To have that aspect really, really helped our band solidify our songs. We learned a lot from him.”
Even after playing the songs all summer, the band is still excited to play tracks from “Uplifter.”
“Off the bat, we knew ‘Jackpot' was going to be a live anthem,” Hexum said. “It's a jumping tempo, and the lyrics are about raditude and it's got that call-and-response thing. Definitely an instant live classic.”
For Sexton, the older songs get him going more than the new stuff. “Feels So Good” and “Omaha Stylee,” from the band's first two albums, are two of his favorites. His drum solo during “Applied Science,” which involves all five members of the band, is also a highlight.
“It's good fun and we keep coming up with some killer parts” including a stick toss, Sexton said. “P-Nut throws his stick to me and I throw my stick to Tim. It makes it interesting, and it makes it fun. And when you pull it off, it's just killer.”
Hometown rock heroes 311 are returning for another concert in the metro.
The quintet of Omaha boys — Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton, SA Martinez, Tim Mahoney and P-Nut — performs Saturday at the Mid-America Center.
Nearing its 20th anniversary as a band, the group is responsible for seven albums in the Billboard Top 10.
The group's most recent record, “Uplifter,” is its highest-charting to date. The disc reached No. 3 when it was released in June.
The band continued with its mix of rock, reggae, rap and funk, but it hired producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Motley Crue, Aerosmith) to work on the album with the group.
“He was a perfect match. We were ready to take a step in a new direction,” Hexum said. “He's a song guy, he's a great engineer and he'll help you with lyrics and everything. He gets in there like a sixth band member and has his guitar, suggesting parts and everything.
“I'd like to record with him some more.”
Rock helped the group with songwriting and also put together some “rocking arrangements,” Hexum said.
“It was fantastic to be working with someone with so much experience and to be working with someone that is so musically inclined and is a musician himself,” Sexton added. “To have that aspect really, really helped our band solidify our songs. We learned a lot from him.”
Even after playing the songs all summer, the band is still excited to play tracks from “Uplifter.”
“Off the bat, we knew ‘Jackpot' was going to be a live anthem,” Hexum said. “It's a jumping tempo, and the lyrics are about raditude and it's got that call-and-response thing. Definitely an instant live classic.”
For Sexton, the older songs get him going more than the new stuff. “Feels So Good” and “Omaha Stylee,” from the band's first two albums, are two of his favorites. His drum solo during “Applied Science,” which involves all five members of the band, is also a highlight.
“It's good fun and we keep coming up with some killer parts” including a stick toss, Sexton said. “P-Nut throws his stick to me and I throw my stick to Tim. It makes it interesting, and it makes it fun. And when you pull it off, it's just killer.”
Take a tour of Omaha, 311 stylee (Omaha World Herald)
Growing up in Omaha and cutting their teeth in the local rock scene, the members of 311 had all kinds of hot spots, from places where they ate to places where they played.
Rainbow Recording Studios, 2322 S. 64th Ave.
311 recorded its first-ever CD, “Unity,” at Rainbow studios. A plaque still hangs inside the studio with the album and a picture of the band.
La Casa Pizzaria, 8216 Grover St.
Drummer Chad Sexton grew up close to the pizzeria's west location near 84th and Grover Streets. Sexton and guitarist Tim Mahoney try to get some whenever they come back to Omaha. “There's no pizza like that, bro,” Sexton said.
Howard Street Tavern, formerly at 1112 Howard St.
The bar was one of Omaha's best live music venues until it closed in 1995. The venue is now Old Market Habitat and Niche shops. 311 performed there countless times, and band members were also known to hang out at the White Rabbit, a bar that was above the Howard Street.
Ranch Bowl, formerly at 1600 S. 72nd St.
The bowling alley also hosted a small music venue where everyone from Pearl Jam to Nirvana took the stage (before they became famous, of course). 311 rocked the stage there multiple times before moving to L.A. The site of the Ranch Bowl is now a Walmart.
Westside High, 8701 Pacific St., and Bryan High, 4700 Giles Road
Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton and Tim Mahoney all attended Westside High School, and SA Martinez and P-Nut attended Bryan High School in the '80s and early '90s. P-Nut graduated early so he could move to Los Angeles with his bandmates.
Joe Voda's Drum City, formerly at 602 S. 72nd St.
The drum specialty store also offered classes. Sexton took lessons there starting in second grade and later worked at the store. As a tribute, Sexton opened his own Chad Sexton's Drum City in California. Joe Voda's Drum City closed when Voda retired.
Rainbow Recording Studios, 2322 S. 64th Ave.
311 recorded its first-ever CD, “Unity,” at Rainbow studios. A plaque still hangs inside the studio with the album and a picture of the band.
La Casa Pizzaria, 8216 Grover St.
Drummer Chad Sexton grew up close to the pizzeria's west location near 84th and Grover Streets. Sexton and guitarist Tim Mahoney try to get some whenever they come back to Omaha. “There's no pizza like that, bro,” Sexton said.
Howard Street Tavern, formerly at 1112 Howard St.
The bar was one of Omaha's best live music venues until it closed in 1995. The venue is now Old Market Habitat and Niche shops. 311 performed there countless times, and band members were also known to hang out at the White Rabbit, a bar that was above the Howard Street.
Ranch Bowl, formerly at 1600 S. 72nd St.
The bowling alley also hosted a small music venue where everyone from Pearl Jam to Nirvana took the stage (before they became famous, of course). 311 rocked the stage there multiple times before moving to L.A. The site of the Ranch Bowl is now a Walmart.
Westside High, 8701 Pacific St., and Bryan High, 4700 Giles Road
Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton and Tim Mahoney all attended Westside High School, and SA Martinez and P-Nut attended Bryan High School in the '80s and early '90s. P-Nut graduated early so he could move to Los Angeles with his bandmates.
Joe Voda's Drum City, formerly at 602 S. 72nd St.
The drum specialty store also offered classes. Sexton took lessons there starting in second grade and later worked at the store. As a tribute, Sexton opened his own Chad Sexton's Drum City in California. Joe Voda's Drum City closed when Voda retired.
Q&A With 311 (Omaha World Herald)
Before embarking on 311’s fall tour, Nick Hexum called from his home in Los Angeles and Chad Sexton from 311’s L.A. studio, The Hive, to answer our questions.
Q: You left for Los Angeles in 1992. Four months later, you had a record contract. It seems like it was pretty quick. What was it like then?
A: Nick Hexum: At the time it seemed like it was taking forever, but really, looking back, we had a meteoric rise, really. We moved out to L.A. and were signed very shortly after. But at the time we were like, “How much longer? I can’t believe this.” When we moved out there, we didn’t have jobs.
A: Chad Sexton: Some bands might take what you said and say, “Wow, we could move somewhere and get a deal in three or four months.”
On paper, it looks really nice and easy, but it probably took ... a couple years to get people to notice. It was very fortunate that it was as fast as it was in 1992 after we moved. We had a limited set of income. If that were to run out and we’d be really hurting, who knows where 311 would have been.
Q: You have a lot of music to select from now. Is it hard to pick songs?
A: Hexum: What’s funny is that our fans after a show sometimes are like, “I can’t believe you didn’t play this song.” I’ll be like, “Do you realize how many songs we have? We can’t please everybody.”
We really try to make it a cool overview that changes from tour to tour. We’ll play a lot of different songs this fall that we didn’t play for summer.
For this fall tour, which is theaters, our guess is it’s going to be more hard-core fans so we can dig deeper into the catalog and pull out some more rare cuts.
Q: A lot of your fans have seen you many times over. Why do you think they stick with you for so many shows?
A: Sexton: We try to keep them on their toes. This tour, we’re going to be playing a whole bunch of songs that we didn’t play on last tour. People that still come out to see us are going to get something different.
(In the early days) we were trying to make it really high-energy and enjoyable and more like a celebration. Then over the years that turns into more of wanting to make people feel good because of the rest of life around them can be monotonous, repetitive, troublesome, stressful. Our goal was to go play shows and pull people out of their lives for a second and make them have a great time.
It’s still under the umbrella of a celebratory show and that sort of energy. We’re glad people get what we do and we really appreciate the die-hard fans.
Q: What is it like to play at home in Omaha?
A: Hexum: It feels good to have family there and old friends from Westside. It’s kind of like a family reunion kind of vibe. Omaha crowds just give a lot back as far as energy. I’d say it’s harder to play a really jaded industry crowd in New York or L.A.
I talk to other touring bands and they’re like, “Omaha crowds go off.” I think part of why we made it is because we had been so encouraged by those first couple years in Omaha at the Ranch Bowl and stuff where people would give so much back. We took that momentum and confidence and turned it into what we are today. Each Omaha show is kind of a little nostalgia trip.
A: Sexton: We haven’t lived there in a long time. It’s nice to come back to see things and smell Omaha and to enjoy the food and see the people that are close to you, and that’s really about it.
Q: Is there anywhere you like to go or anything you like to do when you’re back in town?
A: Sexton: I like hitting the spots as a kid. Usually food because food brings you back. And obviously hang out with any of my friends and relatives that I can.
A: Hexum: I like to walk around the old neighborhood. Growing up in Omaha, I didn’t appreciate how beautiful it is with the rolling hills and the big trees. I just like to walk around and take the lay of the land. Chad and Tim like to go to La Casa pizza.
A: Sexton: I love that place. When you grow up on it and it doesn’t exist anywhere else, it’s great.
Q: You left for Los Angeles in 1992. Four months later, you had a record contract. It seems like it was pretty quick. What was it like then?
A: Nick Hexum: At the time it seemed like it was taking forever, but really, looking back, we had a meteoric rise, really. We moved out to L.A. and were signed very shortly after. But at the time we were like, “How much longer? I can’t believe this.” When we moved out there, we didn’t have jobs.
A: Chad Sexton: Some bands might take what you said and say, “Wow, we could move somewhere and get a deal in three or four months.”
On paper, it looks really nice and easy, but it probably took ... a couple years to get people to notice. It was very fortunate that it was as fast as it was in 1992 after we moved. We had a limited set of income. If that were to run out and we’d be really hurting, who knows where 311 would have been.
Q: You have a lot of music to select from now. Is it hard to pick songs?
A: Hexum: What’s funny is that our fans after a show sometimes are like, “I can’t believe you didn’t play this song.” I’ll be like, “Do you realize how many songs we have? We can’t please everybody.”
We really try to make it a cool overview that changes from tour to tour. We’ll play a lot of different songs this fall that we didn’t play for summer.
For this fall tour, which is theaters, our guess is it’s going to be more hard-core fans so we can dig deeper into the catalog and pull out some more rare cuts.
Q: A lot of your fans have seen you many times over. Why do you think they stick with you for so many shows?
A: Sexton: We try to keep them on their toes. This tour, we’re going to be playing a whole bunch of songs that we didn’t play on last tour. People that still come out to see us are going to get something different.
(In the early days) we were trying to make it really high-energy and enjoyable and more like a celebration. Then over the years that turns into more of wanting to make people feel good because of the rest of life around them can be monotonous, repetitive, troublesome, stressful. Our goal was to go play shows and pull people out of their lives for a second and make them have a great time.
It’s still under the umbrella of a celebratory show and that sort of energy. We’re glad people get what we do and we really appreciate the die-hard fans.
Q: What is it like to play at home in Omaha?
A: Hexum: It feels good to have family there and old friends from Westside. It’s kind of like a family reunion kind of vibe. Omaha crowds just give a lot back as far as energy. I’d say it’s harder to play a really jaded industry crowd in New York or L.A.
I talk to other touring bands and they’re like, “Omaha crowds go off.” I think part of why we made it is because we had been so encouraged by those first couple years in Omaha at the Ranch Bowl and stuff where people would give so much back. We took that momentum and confidence and turned it into what we are today. Each Omaha show is kind of a little nostalgia trip.
A: Sexton: We haven’t lived there in a long time. It’s nice to come back to see things and smell Omaha and to enjoy the food and see the people that are close to you, and that’s really about it.
Q: Is there anywhere you like to go or anything you like to do when you’re back in town?
A: Sexton: I like hitting the spots as a kid. Usually food because food brings you back. And obviously hang out with any of my friends and relatives that I can.
A: Hexum: I like to walk around the old neighborhood. Growing up in Omaha, I didn’t appreciate how beautiful it is with the rolling hills and the big trees. I just like to walk around and take the lay of the land. Chad and Tim like to go to La Casa pizza.
A: Sexton: I love that place. When you grow up on it and it doesn’t exist anywhere else, it’s great.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sucess Out of the Spotlight (Omaha World Herald)
311 is a portrait of rock 'n' roll success.
Back in 1990, a group of five Omaha teenagers — Nick Hexum, Doug “SA” Martinez, Chad Sexton, Aaron “P-Nut” Wills and Tim Mahoney — assembled a band with a fusion of rap, rock, reggae and other genres.
The teens' musical style and intense local shows garnered a big Omaha fan base. They soon were getting a record deal, lots of radio play, MTV videos and songs placed in films.
But after its initial success in the mid-'90s, 311 has mostly flown under the radar, with a set of wildly devoted hard-core fans fueling the band's success.
“Most people don't realize that they're still really successful,” said Alyssa Spiel, 311 fan and founder of fan site 311tribute.com. “The hard-core fans like it ... because it's like our own little secret.”
A staffer at Billboard magazine agreed that the group is far from obsolete, even though it isn't heavily promoted.
“They did what a band should do with that (early) success,” said Glenn Peoples, senior editorial analyst for the music trade publication. “They really took that momentum and built a fan base based on their concerts and based on their ability to connect with fans. It's a lot better way to do that than the cost of radio and video promotion.”
In the Internet age, it's easy for a band such as 311 to connect more directly with fans through social networking, message boards, digital music distribution and merchandise sales, he said. Those avenues and concert tours have kept 311's fans engaged.
“They're an interesting band. For a lot of people, they say, ‘Oh, yeah, they're that band with that song from the '90s,'” Peoples said. “But you would be pretty pressed to find rock musicians who have been as successful over the years.
“It's hard to stay relevant while being somewhat anonymous at the same time. They obviously have a knack for connecting with their fans.”
Spiel, 28, is one of those hard-core fans. She has seen the band perform 53 times and is traveling from Madison, Wis., to see the band in the Bluffs on Saturday. From there, she's following the band to Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit.
The band's music drew her in at first, but 311's lyrics and positive messages made her into a real superfan.
“I relate to their views about the world and how to treat people and their outlook on life,” she said. “It's more of a lifestyle than it is just a band.”
Members of the band agree. When the band's fans assemble at their concerts, it's a communal experience, says singer and guitarist Hexum.
“That's what's so cool. It's bigger than just us. To our fans it feels like a movement,” Hexum said on the phone from Los Angeles. “It's really cool to have started something that's gone beyond five guys making music. It's more of a movement and an attitude.”
For the band, it started with local Omaha fans and local shows. In the early days, Hexum said, the band made up for a limited playlist with an intense performance.
“You know, I was looking at some old videos of us from back then and all five of us shirtless all the time. Clothes just got in the way,” he said. “The dance moves that we were doing, it's like we were possessed.”
Said Sexton: “We wanted to have the most rockin', high-energy shows that we can have. We wanted to really get the energy up and see if people were getting where we were coming from.”
Omahan Craig Dulany was there from the beginning.
“My first show was at the Olympic Lounge,” he said. “A girl invited me to go. I wasn't even 21 yet, but I got in anyway. There were probably 20 people there. SA was actually in the crowd dancing. He wasn't in the band yet.”
Dulany became friends with the band. He took photos and helped do the layout for the cover of 311's first CD, 1991's “Unity.”
He estimates that he saw the band 100 or more times at the Howard Street Tavern, the Ranch Bowl and various other bars and parties in Omaha.
“They played so much that you could see them pretty much every weekend if you wanted to. That first show and some of the other shows before SA was in the band, he would be in the crowd rocking out and dancing.
“They'd call him up onstage and rap with him, and eventually they made him a full-time member. They were just normal guys,” Dulany said.
Those guys decided they wanted to make it big, so in February 1992, they headed west. Awaiting them in Los Angeles, they thought, would be a record contract.
At the time, Hexum told The World-Herald that the band was “restless and ready to break out ... As far as we're concerned, success is definite and being signed is inevitable.”
Just four months later, they had a deal with Capricorn Records.
Now, nine major-label albums and countless concerts later, 311 is fast approaching its 20th anniversary.
“It's amazing. I used to remember being 24 and in a band, thinking, ‘Can I do this until 30?'” Sexton said. “When I got to 30, I thought, ‘Will I be drumming at 35? Will I be that fortunate?' Now we're four and five years past that.
“It's an adventure, and we appreciate it, and we know how fortunate we are. It gets pretty surreal to be doing it this long.”
The group is popular enough to even have its own holiday, dubbed 311 Day. Every two years, the group hosts a huge concert on March 11, or 3-11.
The very first celebration was on a lark. Hexum said the band happened to be in New Orleans on March 11 in 1993 or 1994 — no one can remember the exact year — so they turned the show into a special event, charging $3.11 for admission.
“I remember that one, in particular. We drank a lot of Jagermeister,” Hexum said, laughing. “Chad (Sexton) performed the encore with his pants off.”
The last few 311 Day concerts have lasted more than five hours each and involve 311 events over a whole weekend. They draw fans from all 50 states and more than a dozen foreign countries.
In 2010, 311 Day is in Las Vegas. Tickets, which went on sale last week, sold out in hours.
Through careers, kids and other adult responsibilities, the group's fans have stuck with them over the years. Though he no longer hangs out with the band, Dulany still buys each new 311 album and will attend Saturday's show with his wife.
“It's pretty cool to see how far they've gone. I don't think their message has changed — their message back then was positive,” Dulany said. “They've stayed true to that, which I think is good.”
Band members are grateful for their loyal fans, and want to assure them that they'll continue to make music, even if they're not all over MTV.
“We're not too much in the limelight any more, really. But the thing that we're doing and the music that we're going to be making is better than we have before,” Sexton said.
“I think it's more true to ourselves. I think it just keeps getting better and better for us.”
Back in 1990, a group of five Omaha teenagers — Nick Hexum, Doug “SA” Martinez, Chad Sexton, Aaron “P-Nut” Wills and Tim Mahoney — assembled a band with a fusion of rap, rock, reggae and other genres.
The teens' musical style and intense local shows garnered a big Omaha fan base. They soon were getting a record deal, lots of radio play, MTV videos and songs placed in films.
But after its initial success in the mid-'90s, 311 has mostly flown under the radar, with a set of wildly devoted hard-core fans fueling the band's success.
“Most people don't realize that they're still really successful,” said Alyssa Spiel, 311 fan and founder of fan site 311tribute.com. “The hard-core fans like it ... because it's like our own little secret.”
A staffer at Billboard magazine agreed that the group is far from obsolete, even though it isn't heavily promoted.
“They did what a band should do with that (early) success,” said Glenn Peoples, senior editorial analyst for the music trade publication. “They really took that momentum and built a fan base based on their concerts and based on their ability to connect with fans. It's a lot better way to do that than the cost of radio and video promotion.”
In the Internet age, it's easy for a band such as 311 to connect more directly with fans through social networking, message boards, digital music distribution and merchandise sales, he said. Those avenues and concert tours have kept 311's fans engaged.
“They're an interesting band. For a lot of people, they say, ‘Oh, yeah, they're that band with that song from the '90s,'” Peoples said. “But you would be pretty pressed to find rock musicians who have been as successful over the years.
“It's hard to stay relevant while being somewhat anonymous at the same time. They obviously have a knack for connecting with their fans.”
Spiel, 28, is one of those hard-core fans. She has seen the band perform 53 times and is traveling from Madison, Wis., to see the band in the Bluffs on Saturday. From there, she's following the band to Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit.
The band's music drew her in at first, but 311's lyrics and positive messages made her into a real superfan.
“I relate to their views about the world and how to treat people and their outlook on life,” she said. “It's more of a lifestyle than it is just a band.”
Members of the band agree. When the band's fans assemble at their concerts, it's a communal experience, says singer and guitarist Hexum.
“That's what's so cool. It's bigger than just us. To our fans it feels like a movement,” Hexum said on the phone from Los Angeles. “It's really cool to have started something that's gone beyond five guys making music. It's more of a movement and an attitude.”
For the band, it started with local Omaha fans and local shows. In the early days, Hexum said, the band made up for a limited playlist with an intense performance.
“You know, I was looking at some old videos of us from back then and all five of us shirtless all the time. Clothes just got in the way,” he said. “The dance moves that we were doing, it's like we were possessed.”
Said Sexton: “We wanted to have the most rockin', high-energy shows that we can have. We wanted to really get the energy up and see if people were getting where we were coming from.”
Omahan Craig Dulany was there from the beginning.
“My first show was at the Olympic Lounge,” he said. “A girl invited me to go. I wasn't even 21 yet, but I got in anyway. There were probably 20 people there. SA was actually in the crowd dancing. He wasn't in the band yet.”
Dulany became friends with the band. He took photos and helped do the layout for the cover of 311's first CD, 1991's “Unity.”
He estimates that he saw the band 100 or more times at the Howard Street Tavern, the Ranch Bowl and various other bars and parties in Omaha.
“They played so much that you could see them pretty much every weekend if you wanted to. That first show and some of the other shows before SA was in the band, he would be in the crowd rocking out and dancing.
“They'd call him up onstage and rap with him, and eventually they made him a full-time member. They were just normal guys,” Dulany said.
Those guys decided they wanted to make it big, so in February 1992, they headed west. Awaiting them in Los Angeles, they thought, would be a record contract.
At the time, Hexum told The World-Herald that the band was “restless and ready to break out ... As far as we're concerned, success is definite and being signed is inevitable.”
Just four months later, they had a deal with Capricorn Records.
Now, nine major-label albums and countless concerts later, 311 is fast approaching its 20th anniversary.
“It's amazing. I used to remember being 24 and in a band, thinking, ‘Can I do this until 30?'” Sexton said. “When I got to 30, I thought, ‘Will I be drumming at 35? Will I be that fortunate?' Now we're four and five years past that.
“It's an adventure, and we appreciate it, and we know how fortunate we are. It gets pretty surreal to be doing it this long.”
The group is popular enough to even have its own holiday, dubbed 311 Day. Every two years, the group hosts a huge concert on March 11, or 3-11.
The very first celebration was on a lark. Hexum said the band happened to be in New Orleans on March 11 in 1993 or 1994 — no one can remember the exact year — so they turned the show into a special event, charging $3.11 for admission.
“I remember that one, in particular. We drank a lot of Jagermeister,” Hexum said, laughing. “Chad (Sexton) performed the encore with his pants off.”
The last few 311 Day concerts have lasted more than five hours each and involve 311 events over a whole weekend. They draw fans from all 50 states and more than a dozen foreign countries.
In 2010, 311 Day is in Las Vegas. Tickets, which went on sale last week, sold out in hours.
Through careers, kids and other adult responsibilities, the group's fans have stuck with them over the years. Though he no longer hangs out with the band, Dulany still buys each new 311 album and will attend Saturday's show with his wife.
“It's pretty cool to see how far they've gone. I don't think their message has changed — their message back then was positive,” Dulany said. “They've stayed true to that, which I think is good.”
Band members are grateful for their loyal fans, and want to assure them that they'll continue to make music, even if they're not all over MTV.
“We're not too much in the limelight any more, really. But the thing that we're doing and the music that we're going to be making is better than we have before,” Sexton said.
“I think it's more true to ourselves. I think it just keeps getting better and better for us.”
Friday, November 6, 2009
‘Uplifter’ tour brings 311 to the Bud Center
Alternative rockers 311 will perform at the Budweiser Events Center on Friday, Nov. 13, making it the band’s second stop of their fall tour.
Known as an energetic and entertaining group, 311 has come a long way since the release of their debut album in 1990.
Originally from Omaha, Neb., the band began their venture after forming in 1988. Since then, the group has released 14 records with the most recent released this year — nearly all of which have been in the top 14 of the Billboard Top 200 chart.
Although the band’s first radio hit, “Do You Right,” made waves in the early ’90s music scene, it wasn’t until the release of their self-titled album in 1995 that the group reached mainstream status with the album’s first single, “Don’t Stay Home.”
It wasn’t long after the second single, “Down,” was released that 311 became a music sensation, attracting fans from all demographics.
Performances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and David Letterman helped make 311 a household name.
With a distinct and consistent sound, the band never seems to let listeners down, as evidenced by the success of the recently released “Uplifter,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, making it the band’s highest chart position to date.
Perhaps one reason for the group’s success on and off the stage (aside from the obvious musical aspects) is the continued relationship between the founding members.
The original lineup — Nick Hexum on vocals, Doug Martinez on vocals and turntables, Tim Mahoney on guitar, Aaron Wills on bass and Chad Sexton on drums — still is intact, which is often unheard of in long-running bands.
Aside from countless hits and never-ending tours, there is one thing that many 311 fans look forward to every year — 311 Day.
This anticipated day to celebrate 311 and its fans occurs on March 3 when the band performs songs from past and present with a state-of-the art light show and special effects.
The next 311 Day will be held in Las Vegas, Nev., but for those Colorado fans who can’t make it to Vegas, be sure to check the band out when they perform in Loveland.
Known as an energetic and entertaining group, 311 has come a long way since the release of their debut album in 1990.
Originally from Omaha, Neb., the band began their venture after forming in 1988. Since then, the group has released 14 records with the most recent released this year — nearly all of which have been in the top 14 of the Billboard Top 200 chart.
Although the band’s first radio hit, “Do You Right,” made waves in the early ’90s music scene, it wasn’t until the release of their self-titled album in 1995 that the group reached mainstream status with the album’s first single, “Don’t Stay Home.”
It wasn’t long after the second single, “Down,” was released that 311 became a music sensation, attracting fans from all demographics.
Performances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and David Letterman helped make 311 a household name.
With a distinct and consistent sound, the band never seems to let listeners down, as evidenced by the success of the recently released “Uplifter,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, making it the band’s highest chart position to date.
Perhaps one reason for the group’s success on and off the stage (aside from the obvious musical aspects) is the continued relationship between the founding members.
The original lineup — Nick Hexum on vocals, Doug Martinez on vocals and turntables, Tim Mahoney on guitar, Aaron Wills on bass and Chad Sexton on drums — still is intact, which is often unheard of in long-running bands.
Aside from countless hits and never-ending tours, there is one thing that many 311 fans look forward to every year — 311 Day.
This anticipated day to celebrate 311 and its fans occurs on March 3 when the band performs songs from past and present with a state-of-the art light show and special effects.
The next 311 Day will be held in Las Vegas, Nev., but for those Colorado fans who can’t make it to Vegas, be sure to check the band out when they perform in Loveland.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
311 gears up for fall tour
For 311's latest tour, the alternative rock band is getting all mixed up.
On its summer jaunt, the group played similar set lists each night.
"When you do a set list, it allows for a show," explained guitarist Tim Mahoney in a recent telephone interview.
But for the band's fall tour, which stops at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula on Wednesday, things will be much more normal -- changing up the set list with deep cuts and the band's hits that pretty much dominated alternative rock radio for the latter half of the 1990s, including "All mixed Up," "Amber," "Down" and "Beautiful Disaster."
Mahoney doesn't mind playing the band's biggest hits night after night, either.
"I just try to find a new inspiration in the songs and try to make it better," he said.
One of the songs the band will dust off for its fall tour is "Jackolantern's Weather."
He said it can be difficult to go back and remember how to play the songs until he picks up his instrument.
"I know the part once my hands get on the guitar -- it's like muscle memory," he said.
The fall tour will also be a way for the band to warm up before its 311 Day festival on March 11 in Las Vegas. The group has played sets longer than five hours at previous incarnations.
"That's hard. It's kind of the mental Olympics for us," Mahoney said.
On its summer jaunt, the group played similar set lists each night.
"When you do a set list, it allows for a show," explained guitarist Tim Mahoney in a recent telephone interview.
But for the band's fall tour, which stops at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula on Wednesday, things will be much more normal -- changing up the set list with deep cuts and the band's hits that pretty much dominated alternative rock radio for the latter half of the 1990s, including "All mixed Up," "Amber," "Down" and "Beautiful Disaster."
Mahoney doesn't mind playing the band's biggest hits night after night, either.
"I just try to find a new inspiration in the songs and try to make it better," he said.
One of the songs the band will dust off for its fall tour is "Jackolantern's Weather."
He said it can be difficult to go back and remember how to play the songs until he picks up his instrument.
"I know the part once my hands get on the guitar -- it's like muscle memory," he said.
The fall tour will also be a way for the band to warm up before its 311 Day festival on March 11 in Las Vegas. The group has played sets longer than five hours at previous incarnations.
"That's hard. It's kind of the mental Olympics for us," Mahoney said.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Nick Hexum & Wife Welcomes A Daughter (Celebrity Baby Scoop)
311’s Nick Hexum and wife Nikki have welcomed a baby girl!
Echo Hexum was born was born at home at approximately 4am on Wednesday, August 29. Her proud new dad took to Twitter to share the happy news: “Words cannot describe how amazing it was. Time to go to bed.”
Less than four hours later, the 39-year-old singer/guitarist added: “Thanks, you guys. My heart sings today.”
On Tuesday afternoon Nick tweeted: “Day three of parenting. This is the greatest thing ever.”
Nick and Nikki were married New Year’s Eve last year.
Echo Hexum was born was born at home at approximately 4am on Wednesday, August 29. Her proud new dad took to Twitter to share the happy news: “Words cannot describe how amazing it was. Time to go to bed.”
Less than four hours later, the 39-year-old singer/guitarist added: “Thanks, you guys. My heart sings today.”
On Tuesday afternoon Nick tweeted: “Day three of parenting. This is the greatest thing ever.”
Nick and Nikki were married New Year’s Eve last year.
311's Nick Hexum Welcomes Daughter Echo (People Magazine)
It’s a girl for 311 singer/guitarist Nick Hexum and wife Nikki! The couple welcomed daughter Echo Hexum at approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday, August 29th following a homebirth, according to a Tweet from Nick. Of the experience he writes,
“Words cannot describe how amazing it was. Time to go to bed.”
Just four hours later Nick, 39, followed up with “thanks, you guys…my heart sings today,” and on Tuesday said, “Day three of parenting. This is the greatest thing ever.”
Echo is the first child for the couple, who were married last New Year’s Eve.
“Words cannot describe how amazing it was. Time to go to bed.”
Just four hours later Nick, 39, followed up with “thanks, you guys…my heart sings today,” and on Tuesday said, “Day three of parenting. This is the greatest thing ever.”
Echo is the first child for the couple, who were married last New Year’s Eve.
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