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.”
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