It's that time of the year again. No, not time for your annual bath. No, not time for you to sign up for summer school because you somehow managed to fail P.E. No, not time for peace, love and happiness. Fool, it's time for rock bands to hit the road in search of groupies with huge racks and loose morals. It's time for you to willingly shell out 30-odd bucks for the privilege of baking in the sun and emptying the rest of your wallet out to buy $5 bottles of water. It's time for you to experience the stench of a high school football team's locker room coming to life as the crowd around you ripens. It's time to get your ass kicked by a girl in the pit and spend the rest of the day keeping an eye out for her. It's time for you to miss seeing your favorite band because the lines for the porto-crappers are 20 minutes long. It's time for you to wonder where the hell you parked. Yes indeed, it's that time of the year again.
The cool kids know what we're talking about, the cool kids have broken their piggy banks to pay for a day of punk rock summer camp before. It's called the Warped Tour, people, and it's coming to a venue somewhere near you at the end of June. You've seen the ads touting Pennywise, The Vandals, Living End, NOFX and so on, but like every round of the long-running summer festival tour there's at least one band that could seemingly pull in the same size crowds on its own. This year that band is 311, and the Hollywood-based quintet couldn't be happier about rocking the main stage.
"It's all about getting out there and playing a little bit, having some barbecue and drinking a beer or two," says guitarist Tim Mahoney, who is reportedly single for the first time in seven years and is looking forward to some serious quality time with naughty female fans. "The Warped Tour just seemed like a fun thing to do and it's a good way to get our feet back in the water as far as touring and traveling."
But for a band that's used to a rigorous touring schedule of around 150 shows per year and 90 minute sets, it seems like the shrunken 30 minute blocks allotted on the Warped stage won't be enough time for 311 to connect. "It's hard to play short sets because you get warmed up and then you're done, but when I see a band that I like play for a half hour, I still enjoy it," says Mahoney, who notes the longest set his band ever played took place last March 11 (wink, wink) in New Orleans and came in at almost exactly three hours and 11 minutes (nudge, nudge).
The 311 plan for the Warped Tour is to cram in as much music as possible, which means the band will have to cut out its notorious between-song dead spaces. Mahoney claims he and his co-horts are well aware of the pregnant pauses of the past where fans would commonly yell, "OK stoners, let's hear another song!" and are fixing to tighten things up and hopefully kick out six to eight jams. Ah, but which jams to kick? With six albums worth of original material to chose from, including the forthcoming From Chaos, it would seem some decisions need to be made.
"I think it will be mostly new stuff with a couple old ones and the occasional radio hit mixed in. The songs off From Chaos have great energy and they should translate well live," he says. "Now I've just got to go back and review a lot of our older songs because we don't play most of them live. I mean, we could but we really don't, so we tend to forget how to play them. It's kind of fun when we're rehearsing to play old ones we haven't tried to play in years. One time through it and we all remember it."
And what about that new 311 record? Fans haven't heard any fresh material from the band since 1999's Soundsystem, which went gold despite its former label self-destructing all around it. Few are probably aware that although 311 has sold over five million albums in the States alone, the band was never happy in its contract with Capricorn Records. Before said label could fold it was snatched up by Volcano Records, home to the polar universes of Tool and Weird Al Yankovic, and 311's contract with it. Luckily the band ‹ which was really the only reason for buying Capricorn ‹ was able to re- negotiate certain aspects of its contract and feels a little bit better about how things are going now.
"There were times in the past when we tried to get out of our contract and there was just no way to do it. So now we just try to look at it as guaranteed work," says Mahoney, who notes that Capricorn was the only label that offered his band a deal in the pre- nu metal era of the early Œ90s. "We know bands that have deals that are way more fair to the artist, but I guess that's the price you pay for being an artist. I'm on the one side so I think the artist is always getting screwed, but I really don't know how you could argue anything other than that."
Even though 311 is contractually obligated to make music, the members plan to keep making music for themselves and their steadily growing fan base. The band has landed a handful of radio hits over the years but Mahoney says 311 has always been after the long-term following of people interested in the albums, rather than the short-term mass appeal afforded by hit singles and videos. "You don't want to have to rely on anything mainstream and we're fortunate to be in a spot where we don't have to because our fans will always come see us play," he says. "We've always created the music we wanted to create, and we're lucky that our core fans have stood by us."
The band spent roughly six months working on From Chaos, splitting time between Sound City in Van Nuys and its own new studio, dubbed The Hive, in North Hollywood. After years of working within the confines of other people's schedules and equipment, Mahoney says the 311 guys are really looking forward to investing in a nice mixing console and optimizing their collective investment. "It's really rewarding because it's our place and we're the only ones working there so we can do whatever we want, whenever we want," he says. "It's weird because it's taken ten years to get to this point, but it's a nice pay off."
With close to a hundred recorded songs containing more stylistic hybrids ‹ hip hop, metal, reggae, funk, jazz, punk, etc. ‹ than Oprah has stretch marks, some might wonder what 311 has left to give. Could the band have a funky polka or punk-meets-salsa track waiting to be discovered on From Chaos? Although most sane folks will hope not, Mahoney doesn't rule anything out in the future. "Anything we enjoy listening to influences us," he says. "I might listen to a polka and find some really cool ideas in there. Even obscure bluegrass stuff can give you a different perspective on how to look at music. I like to check it all out and go with what trips my trigger."
As for getting the songs on From Chaos together, he continues, "It always seems like there's a wide open space when it comes to creating music, but there's so much great music out there it gets harder and harder to put out anything unique. That's why you've just got to follow your instincts and work on the ideas that seem real to you. And as long as you're playing music with the intention of having fun, it should be all good."
Friday, December 14, 2001
Q&A with 311 (MuchMusic)
Bio Q&A With 311
Q: When did work start on the new record, and what was the mind set within the band at that time?
A: (Nick) My mind frame after the "Soundsystem" tour was that we had a lot of work to do. We were hungry, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and ambition, and we were doing two things at once; touring and writing the album.
A: (S.A) Our intention for our last tour was to basically write the record while on the road, and play the songs at sound check and during shows.
A: (Nick) It was good, because we were able to get the live energy and that feel that we had when we were on tour on this album, by going straight from the road to the studio. And that's something we want to keep doing more and more; multi-tasking with our time. Rather than having three months that's just for writing, and then three months that's just for recording, and then another three months that just for touring - we want to start blending it all together and just create more output, you know, be more productive.
A: (P-Nut): We really started, as soon as we finished making "Soundsystem". We just continued to write songs, because we had that spark. And since we're up to six albums, not including the live one, we've learned that whenever you're aware of that creative spark, listen to it and make sure that you get it down on paper, because you never know if it's going to come again or not.
Q: What kind of changes did you have in mind in approaching this new record? Were there some things you wanted to change or work on, in thinking back on the last record?
A: (Nick) Well, I think there was a shift of mission somewhere towards the middle of the album -- in my mind, anyway, because when we first started out, we wanted to make really hard-rocking songs that were really good for the mosh pit, and high energy. And then somewhere in the middle of the record, I realized that the whole heavy music thing is so saturated right now, and one of the things that I like about being in this band and that fans like about our band is the diversity and the ability to pull off a more melodic, more beautiful song that requires a lot of work on the singing and harmonies. We realized that we wanted to nurture the beautiful side of music as well as the hard-rocking side. So we started out with a mission to make a really hard album, and I would say the first half of our new album is some of -- if not the -- hardest stuff we've ever done, and then the second half is some really big steps forward, I think, as far as unique grooves with unique melodies and really good vocal performances. And it's funny, because some bands will rock really hard, and then when they figure out how to do a ballad, like the Chili Peppers, then that's what they're known for, and that's where they become more successful, when it's actually not the thing that they started out trying to do. So, who knows if that will be a similar situation for us -- our mission on this album was to make the hard stuff harder and the beautiful songs more beautiful.
A: (P-Nut): On "Soundsystem" I wrote two songs with Nick, so on this record I wanted to write two songs with Chad ("Full Ride and "Wake Your Mind Up"). I was really happy with the collaboration, because Chad and I kind of write stranger stuff, and Nick writes more melodic stuff. So, just to get a different feel for the writing cohesion, just to mix it up with a different member is something that I kind of put in my head before I started actually writing.
Q: Have you noticed that your vocals have changed over the years, the way you sing? Have you worked on different aspects of your vocal delivery, or is there anything that you tried on this record that's different?
A: (S.A) Yeah, I guess I'm now a little more conscious of how I'm recording some things as opposed to when we first started recording music. If I'm doing the same vocal track over and over, I'm conscious of trying it in different ways more so than in the past, and just trying to understand it more - understand a line more and what it means, and that will effect how I give a performance.
Q: Did you have ideas of things you wanted to try lyrically?
A: (S.A) For some songs, Nick and I sat down and focused on a theme -- maybe, let's make this song about this. And then sometimes it wasn't so regimented. Some of my lyrical ideas were inspired by, you know, a relationship or just how I look at things, or my take on some things. So, it was a little bit of both as far as executing lyrics.
Q: How was it different recording this time? Did you record a lot of the album live, and how did you end up re-connecting with Ron St. Germain?
A: (P-Nut) I think we always knew that we'd come back to Ron since we had so much fun working with him on the self-titled album. But we didn't really realize how much we missed him until we started working with him again, and having him here at our studio and having him stand in the room with us while we were rehearsing the new songs, and just having him physically going off. He just feels like a sixth member of the band. Just a great relationship. He did push us to get the live energy on the album, and I think that's what makes "From Chaos" and the self-titled album so great.
A: (S.A) He's cool. He's very enthusiastic, and really knows the technical side of recording -- how to get the best sounds, and he just has really good ideas, things you should try here and there. He has a very strong opinion, and he knows what he wants. I found more often than not that his opinion, even if I didn't like it, was probably more right than wrong, you know?
Q: Is there an emphasis on any kind of musical styles on this record, or any new types of music that appear, or maybe re-appear?
A: (P-Nut) We visited some drum and bass-style beats. We're having fun with that, just because a lot of the time, it's like a half-time feel, and it's really easy to rock to -- just a little bit different than some of the stuff we do all the time. But other than that, I think it's very signature 311. I think the record is a timeless piece of work -- everything included. Because it all compliments each other. The softer songs reflect off of the harder songs, and it's just a beautiful thing, I really like it.
Q: Did you have new ideas as far as things that you wanted to try whether it be vocals or music?
A: (Nick) Well, I think that there's so much angry angst music these days, so when we realized that we wanted to pull off a broad range of styles, we were thinking about what makes the great bands of our time and past generations great -- like, The Beatles, and Zeppelin, U2. When those bands all first started out, they were considered really hard-rocking, but then what really set them apart is that they were also sensitive human beings that were able to really be very forthright in talking about what emotions really matter to them and how they really feel about things. And so, you know, there's love songs on this new album, which there hasn't been for years. The lyrics on "Soundsystem" were very emotionally revealing, but it was more of a troubled time for me. And then now this new record was made during a really happy, fun time. Even though we had the chaos on the business side -- the label situation -- just, like, ideologically, we knew where we were headed, and it was just a real labor of love. There was no pulling teeth, it was just like letting it flow on paper.
Q: "From Chaos?" Why don't you give us some more background on that.
A: (Nick) Well, the song "From Chaos" is based on the lyric "from chaos comes clarity". It's about learning from the challenges that you go through in life. When a revelation results after some sort of trial and tribulation, then it really has an impact that you never forget. Originally, I wanted the title of the album to be "Brainstorm" because we feel like we had a real brainstorm when we were making this record. We knew what we wanted to do, it was like a revelation, or an epiphany. And "From Chaos" kind of conjures that image of a light at the end of the tunnel, or just, you know, getting out of a sticky situation. And philosophically, it's also about the situation we were in with the label. We were in a lawsuit with Capricorn and it was a chaotic time. But we decided to move forward and record an album, on our own, even though our label situation was sketchy. As a result, we didn't actually miss a beat. If we had stayed with Capricorn, our record would be coming out probably the same day, if not later. So to be able to sue a record company, get off the label and get on a new label without missing a step is something that I would not have considered possible. I'm glad it all worked out.
Q: Why don't we talk about specific lyrics on some of the songs. The first single, "You Wouldn't Believe"
A: (Nick) The song "You Wouldn't Believe" is about a good friend that is going through a break up and is basically feeling rejected, and has lost sight of his self-esteem. He's finding it really hard to move on and hard to stop thinking about the person. In the song, I'm saying to him, "Man, you got a head full of ideas that you wouldn't believe, heart made of pure gold" -- like, so many traits that you've just forgotten about because your whole outlook and self esteem is so weak. It's kind of like the movie "Swingers" when all of these guys are talking to the main character, going, "Man, you're so money and you don't even know it." It's like, you've just forgotten what you love about your life, and what's great about you, and you just got to get through this time, and get used to being alone. It's something that I think everyone's been through, seeing someone that's just really down in the dumps because of being rejected by someone. And it's kind of a universal theme, and was something that I was seeing around me at the time.
Q: I'll Be Here Awhile?
A: (Nick) That song talks about getting through really dark times and going through a time of self-destruction and saying, "I'm going to live through this. I'll be here awhile. I'm not going to let this stuff take me down." And it was actually something I wrote 10 years ago when I was 20 years old, as a message to my family, like, "I know I seem a little crazy right now, but I'll be here awhile. I'm going to stay around to see this through." And in the song, I talk about making it through to being 30. And then now, at age 30, it's appropriate that this song finally sees the light of day. It started out as a straight ballad, but then when I thought of the idea to make it sort of ska, with a break beat kind of drum feel, I realized I could put a pretty pumping groove underneath it and make it a very unique song that I don't really think can be compared to anything that we've done exactly , or that I hear from any other band. Because it's not like Orange County, really fast ska, it's more like early Bob Marley, like rock-steady ska, which is around 130-140 beats per minute. So it's a new feel and lyrically it means a lot to me.
Q: What about "Amber?"
A: (Nick): "Amber" is like a metaphor for saying something you like about a girl. "Amber is the color of your energy" -- amber is very soft light in the spectrum -- it's not like a harsh blue light, -- "amber is the color of your energy", -- is like the light of a candle. It's very soft and pleasurable to look at. It's sort of a compliment, saying amber is the color of your energy. Right now pop music isn't really coming from the heart, you know what I mean? Back in the day, artists were writing love songs that they were singing themselves and that were coming from the heart, and people have gotten so far away from all that with all the malcontent in rock right now. So, I always naturally find 311 to be bucking any kind of trends that are going on. Like, on "Soundsystem" when rap rock was huge and everyone was talking about it, then what did we do -- our two singles, one was like dancehall reggae and then the next one almost had a Brit pop feel. So, even when rap rock -- something that we helped usher in -- was huge at that time and we could have perhaps cashed in on that, we were off doing something totally different, you know? And just like back in the early '90s, when we were doing rap rock, radio was supporting grunge at the time. And so, I think we always kind of thrive on being the outsiders a little bit, and being the underdogs, and bucking any kind of trends -- which probably makes marketing our band difficult, because we're not fitting into any scene. I guess we fit into the Warped Tour, because that's a pretty open-minded festival, but we wouldn't really fit into the Ozfest, because there's not enough sort of darkness in our music to fit with that.
Q: "You Get Worked," the first song on the album.
A: (Nick): "You Get Worked" is something we would say to each other as a joke, like, "You get worked," you get messed up, you get beaten down. It's just talking about how everyone has setbacks, everybody gets worked now and then. Getting worked is like a surfing / skating term -- having a wipe out, and just something that we say a lot and turned into a song. But I guess the underlying message is to keep your head up and stay focused, stay positive, and don't let temporary setbacks grind you to a complete halt. Like the lyric "What gives? Are you after me? Breaking me down, won't you let me be? Won't be having none of your mind control, it ain't going to work on me no more." It's just like breaking loose of someone trying to control you. There's probably a lot of little messages in there. It's not specifically about one thing like "Amber".
Q: How about "I Told Myself"?
A: (Nick): Lyrically, one of my favorite songs on the new album is "I Told Myself," because, you know, that whole image of, "I told myself I wasn't going to call you again, and here I am doing it," - like, the inner struggle of someone saying they're not going to do something. And everyone's been through that, but in this song, it's about knowing you should resist calling a girl, but you feel really compelled to, and just that inner struggle of how many times am I going to let you do this to me.
Q: Are you anxious to return to touring, and playing live?
A: (Nick) I really am looking forward to getting back on the road, because that feeling when you look out and see a whole ocean of people rocking in unison is -- for me a spiritual moment - to have all these people connected through this energy, this pulse that's coming off the stage. We just feel so grateful that we're able to do this for a living, and to enjoy the feeling after a satisfying show when you know the crowd was really into it -- that feeling afterwards is just such an amazing natural high. And at certain points in your career, you can get burned out from touring too much, or working too hard, which I think maybe we did after the big two year tour of '95-'96, and I was kind of burned out on it. But I'm so far from that now. I'm so hungry and ready to get out there and just pretty much live on the road. And I'll miss my dogs, but they'll understand. I'm going out to earn them some dog food.
A: (P-Nut) Very much. Yeah, especially with this new group of songs, I can't wait to play as many as we can on the Warped Tour. It's going to be great.
A: (S.A) Yeah. Touring is a different state of mind, too. Once you're in it, then it just flows, but it's something that you have to approach with an open mind, because so much goes on, and you really have to be on your toes and be ready for anything. But once you're doing it, it's second nature. And we've been doing it for awhile, so it doesn't take much to get back in that frame of mind.
Q: The band clearly has achieved a lot over the years. Are there goals that are still in mind?
A: (P-Nut) Sure. I would like more people to hear us. I would like us to do our best to educate people through music, because it's such a great way of doing it and having a positive effect on people.
Q: When did work start on the new record, and what was the mind set within the band at that time?
A: (Nick) My mind frame after the "Soundsystem" tour was that we had a lot of work to do. We were hungry, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and ambition, and we were doing two things at once; touring and writing the album.
A: (S.A) Our intention for our last tour was to basically write the record while on the road, and play the songs at sound check and during shows.
A: (Nick) It was good, because we were able to get the live energy and that feel that we had when we were on tour on this album, by going straight from the road to the studio. And that's something we want to keep doing more and more; multi-tasking with our time. Rather than having three months that's just for writing, and then three months that's just for recording, and then another three months that just for touring - we want to start blending it all together and just create more output, you know, be more productive.
A: (P-Nut): We really started, as soon as we finished making "Soundsystem". We just continued to write songs, because we had that spark. And since we're up to six albums, not including the live one, we've learned that whenever you're aware of that creative spark, listen to it and make sure that you get it down on paper, because you never know if it's going to come again or not.
Q: What kind of changes did you have in mind in approaching this new record? Were there some things you wanted to change or work on, in thinking back on the last record?
A: (Nick) Well, I think there was a shift of mission somewhere towards the middle of the album -- in my mind, anyway, because when we first started out, we wanted to make really hard-rocking songs that were really good for the mosh pit, and high energy. And then somewhere in the middle of the record, I realized that the whole heavy music thing is so saturated right now, and one of the things that I like about being in this band and that fans like about our band is the diversity and the ability to pull off a more melodic, more beautiful song that requires a lot of work on the singing and harmonies. We realized that we wanted to nurture the beautiful side of music as well as the hard-rocking side. So we started out with a mission to make a really hard album, and I would say the first half of our new album is some of -- if not the -- hardest stuff we've ever done, and then the second half is some really big steps forward, I think, as far as unique grooves with unique melodies and really good vocal performances. And it's funny, because some bands will rock really hard, and then when they figure out how to do a ballad, like the Chili Peppers, then that's what they're known for, and that's where they become more successful, when it's actually not the thing that they started out trying to do. So, who knows if that will be a similar situation for us -- our mission on this album was to make the hard stuff harder and the beautiful songs more beautiful.
A: (P-Nut): On "Soundsystem" I wrote two songs with Nick, so on this record I wanted to write two songs with Chad ("Full Ride and "Wake Your Mind Up"). I was really happy with the collaboration, because Chad and I kind of write stranger stuff, and Nick writes more melodic stuff. So, just to get a different feel for the writing cohesion, just to mix it up with a different member is something that I kind of put in my head before I started actually writing.
Q: Have you noticed that your vocals have changed over the years, the way you sing? Have you worked on different aspects of your vocal delivery, or is there anything that you tried on this record that's different?
A: (S.A) Yeah, I guess I'm now a little more conscious of how I'm recording some things as opposed to when we first started recording music. If I'm doing the same vocal track over and over, I'm conscious of trying it in different ways more so than in the past, and just trying to understand it more - understand a line more and what it means, and that will effect how I give a performance.
Q: Did you have ideas of things you wanted to try lyrically?
A: (S.A) For some songs, Nick and I sat down and focused on a theme -- maybe, let's make this song about this. And then sometimes it wasn't so regimented. Some of my lyrical ideas were inspired by, you know, a relationship or just how I look at things, or my take on some things. So, it was a little bit of both as far as executing lyrics.
Q: How was it different recording this time? Did you record a lot of the album live, and how did you end up re-connecting with Ron St. Germain?
A: (P-Nut) I think we always knew that we'd come back to Ron since we had so much fun working with him on the self-titled album. But we didn't really realize how much we missed him until we started working with him again, and having him here at our studio and having him stand in the room with us while we were rehearsing the new songs, and just having him physically going off. He just feels like a sixth member of the band. Just a great relationship. He did push us to get the live energy on the album, and I think that's what makes "From Chaos" and the self-titled album so great.
A: (S.A) He's cool. He's very enthusiastic, and really knows the technical side of recording -- how to get the best sounds, and he just has really good ideas, things you should try here and there. He has a very strong opinion, and he knows what he wants. I found more often than not that his opinion, even if I didn't like it, was probably more right than wrong, you know?
Q: Is there an emphasis on any kind of musical styles on this record, or any new types of music that appear, or maybe re-appear?
A: (P-Nut) We visited some drum and bass-style beats. We're having fun with that, just because a lot of the time, it's like a half-time feel, and it's really easy to rock to -- just a little bit different than some of the stuff we do all the time. But other than that, I think it's very signature 311. I think the record is a timeless piece of work -- everything included. Because it all compliments each other. The softer songs reflect off of the harder songs, and it's just a beautiful thing, I really like it.
Q: Did you have new ideas as far as things that you wanted to try whether it be vocals or music?
A: (Nick) Well, I think that there's so much angry angst music these days, so when we realized that we wanted to pull off a broad range of styles, we were thinking about what makes the great bands of our time and past generations great -- like, The Beatles, and Zeppelin, U2. When those bands all first started out, they were considered really hard-rocking, but then what really set them apart is that they were also sensitive human beings that were able to really be very forthright in talking about what emotions really matter to them and how they really feel about things. And so, you know, there's love songs on this new album, which there hasn't been for years. The lyrics on "Soundsystem" were very emotionally revealing, but it was more of a troubled time for me. And then now this new record was made during a really happy, fun time. Even though we had the chaos on the business side -- the label situation -- just, like, ideologically, we knew where we were headed, and it was just a real labor of love. There was no pulling teeth, it was just like letting it flow on paper.
Q: "From Chaos?" Why don't you give us some more background on that.
A: (Nick) Well, the song "From Chaos" is based on the lyric "from chaos comes clarity". It's about learning from the challenges that you go through in life. When a revelation results after some sort of trial and tribulation, then it really has an impact that you never forget. Originally, I wanted the title of the album to be "Brainstorm" because we feel like we had a real brainstorm when we were making this record. We knew what we wanted to do, it was like a revelation, or an epiphany. And "From Chaos" kind of conjures that image of a light at the end of the tunnel, or just, you know, getting out of a sticky situation. And philosophically, it's also about the situation we were in with the label. We were in a lawsuit with Capricorn and it was a chaotic time. But we decided to move forward and record an album, on our own, even though our label situation was sketchy. As a result, we didn't actually miss a beat. If we had stayed with Capricorn, our record would be coming out probably the same day, if not later. So to be able to sue a record company, get off the label and get on a new label without missing a step is something that I would not have considered possible. I'm glad it all worked out.
Q: Why don't we talk about specific lyrics on some of the songs. The first single, "You Wouldn't Believe"
A: (Nick) The song "You Wouldn't Believe" is about a good friend that is going through a break up and is basically feeling rejected, and has lost sight of his self-esteem. He's finding it really hard to move on and hard to stop thinking about the person. In the song, I'm saying to him, "Man, you got a head full of ideas that you wouldn't believe, heart made of pure gold" -- like, so many traits that you've just forgotten about because your whole outlook and self esteem is so weak. It's kind of like the movie "Swingers" when all of these guys are talking to the main character, going, "Man, you're so money and you don't even know it." It's like, you've just forgotten what you love about your life, and what's great about you, and you just got to get through this time, and get used to being alone. It's something that I think everyone's been through, seeing someone that's just really down in the dumps because of being rejected by someone. And it's kind of a universal theme, and was something that I was seeing around me at the time.
Q: I'll Be Here Awhile?
A: (Nick) That song talks about getting through really dark times and going through a time of self-destruction and saying, "I'm going to live through this. I'll be here awhile. I'm not going to let this stuff take me down." And it was actually something I wrote 10 years ago when I was 20 years old, as a message to my family, like, "I know I seem a little crazy right now, but I'll be here awhile. I'm going to stay around to see this through." And in the song, I talk about making it through to being 30. And then now, at age 30, it's appropriate that this song finally sees the light of day. It started out as a straight ballad, but then when I thought of the idea to make it sort of ska, with a break beat kind of drum feel, I realized I could put a pretty pumping groove underneath it and make it a very unique song that I don't really think can be compared to anything that we've done exactly , or that I hear from any other band. Because it's not like Orange County, really fast ska, it's more like early Bob Marley, like rock-steady ska, which is around 130-140 beats per minute. So it's a new feel and lyrically it means a lot to me.
Q: What about "Amber?"
A: (Nick): "Amber" is like a metaphor for saying something you like about a girl. "Amber is the color of your energy" -- amber is very soft light in the spectrum -- it's not like a harsh blue light, -- "amber is the color of your energy", -- is like the light of a candle. It's very soft and pleasurable to look at. It's sort of a compliment, saying amber is the color of your energy. Right now pop music isn't really coming from the heart, you know what I mean? Back in the day, artists were writing love songs that they were singing themselves and that were coming from the heart, and people have gotten so far away from all that with all the malcontent in rock right now. So, I always naturally find 311 to be bucking any kind of trends that are going on. Like, on "Soundsystem" when rap rock was huge and everyone was talking about it, then what did we do -- our two singles, one was like dancehall reggae and then the next one almost had a Brit pop feel. So, even when rap rock -- something that we helped usher in -- was huge at that time and we could have perhaps cashed in on that, we were off doing something totally different, you know? And just like back in the early '90s, when we were doing rap rock, radio was supporting grunge at the time. And so, I think we always kind of thrive on being the outsiders a little bit, and being the underdogs, and bucking any kind of trends -- which probably makes marketing our band difficult, because we're not fitting into any scene. I guess we fit into the Warped Tour, because that's a pretty open-minded festival, but we wouldn't really fit into the Ozfest, because there's not enough sort of darkness in our music to fit with that.
Q: "You Get Worked," the first song on the album.
A: (Nick): "You Get Worked" is something we would say to each other as a joke, like, "You get worked," you get messed up, you get beaten down. It's just talking about how everyone has setbacks, everybody gets worked now and then. Getting worked is like a surfing / skating term -- having a wipe out, and just something that we say a lot and turned into a song. But I guess the underlying message is to keep your head up and stay focused, stay positive, and don't let temporary setbacks grind you to a complete halt. Like the lyric "What gives? Are you after me? Breaking me down, won't you let me be? Won't be having none of your mind control, it ain't going to work on me no more." It's just like breaking loose of someone trying to control you. There's probably a lot of little messages in there. It's not specifically about one thing like "Amber".
Q: How about "I Told Myself"?
A: (Nick): Lyrically, one of my favorite songs on the new album is "I Told Myself," because, you know, that whole image of, "I told myself I wasn't going to call you again, and here I am doing it," - like, the inner struggle of someone saying they're not going to do something. And everyone's been through that, but in this song, it's about knowing you should resist calling a girl, but you feel really compelled to, and just that inner struggle of how many times am I going to let you do this to me.
Q: Are you anxious to return to touring, and playing live?
A: (Nick) I really am looking forward to getting back on the road, because that feeling when you look out and see a whole ocean of people rocking in unison is -- for me a spiritual moment - to have all these people connected through this energy, this pulse that's coming off the stage. We just feel so grateful that we're able to do this for a living, and to enjoy the feeling after a satisfying show when you know the crowd was really into it -- that feeling afterwards is just such an amazing natural high. And at certain points in your career, you can get burned out from touring too much, or working too hard, which I think maybe we did after the big two year tour of '95-'96, and I was kind of burned out on it. But I'm so far from that now. I'm so hungry and ready to get out there and just pretty much live on the road. And I'll miss my dogs, but they'll understand. I'm going out to earn them some dog food.
A: (P-Nut) Very much. Yeah, especially with this new group of songs, I can't wait to play as many as we can on the Warped Tour. It's going to be great.
A: (S.A) Yeah. Touring is a different state of mind, too. Once you're in it, then it just flows, but it's something that you have to approach with an open mind, because so much goes on, and you really have to be on your toes and be ready for anything. But once you're doing it, it's second nature. And we've been doing it for awhile, so it doesn't take much to get back in that frame of mind.
Q: The band clearly has achieved a lot over the years. Are there goals that are still in mind?
A: (P-Nut) Sure. I would like more people to hear us. I would like us to do our best to educate people through music, because it's such a great way of doing it and having a positive effect on people.
liveDaily Interview: Drummer Chad Sexton of 311
Before Bizkit, before Korn, there was this quintet from--of all places--Nebraska that blended funk, metal, rap, hip-hop, ska, and dancehall into a concoction that dominated alt-rock radio.
311, getting ready to invade Europe to support its new album, "From Chaos" (Volcano), won the masses in 1995 with infectious songs like "All Mixed Up" and the No. 1 Modern Rock hit "Down" from their triple-platinum third studio effort, the self-titled release known as the "Blue Album." Then, like many before them, they committed a music-biz cardinal sin and took serious chances with "Blue Album'"s follow-up, 1997's adventurous but occasionally meandering "Transistor."
"Everybody just f---ing hated that record with a passion," said drummer Chad Sexton. "We don't know why, but I do know that it was too long of a record. It should not have been 21 songs, in my opinion."
After the lackluster response to "Transistor," the working title of their next album (which became 1999's "Soundsystem") was "At Least We're Trying." "Soundsystem" proved to be a back-to-basics gem, melodic and cohesive. However, 311 was now one of many rap-rock bands, it endured a lengthy legal battle with longtime label Capricorn, and sales dwindled, the album only going gold. Exit Capricorn, enter Volcano, re-introduce producer Ron St. Germain ("Blue," as well as Creed, Tool, Bad Brains) and you have the re-invigorated spirit of "From Chaos."
Sexton spoke with liveDaily about "Chaos," the tour, and the whole rap-rock thing.
LiveDaily: How is the tour shaping up?
Chad Sexton: We go to Europe for two weeks, and then we come back and start our own headlining fall tour, which will last from, like, September 8th to Halloween. We'll do ten of the shows with Alien Ant Farm, who we met on the Warped tour.
LiveDaily: You reunited with Ron St. Germain for "Chaos." How did that come about?
We had producers in the past that just didn't show the enthusiasm--we could tell that it was just a gig for them, and there wasn't any love for the project. We wanted to get someone that liked and believed in our band. And talking to Ron, even our first conversation, it was magic. He's an energetic person to begin with, and he really enjoys working with us too--it was just kind of a sign that he was the perfect guy to do our album again. We didn't have to talk him into doing it.
We were kind of in a bind at the time, because we were going through a lawsuit as well. So we weren't really taking any money from the record label for our budget. So we told him, this was coming out of our pocket, and we'll probably pay you a little bit more slowly than usual. And he was so cool with that, he didn't even mind. He just wanted to get busy on making a great record. So all those things combined, it was just obvious that he was the one to use.
You guys don't mess around musically. "You Get Worked" and "Sick Tight" come out hard.
Definitely. We wanted to try and get the energy up. We had been playing some of those songs live in our previous tour in 2000, to see if we could make them rock harder or what we could change to make them different. Playing those live in front of a crowd really helped them come off on tape like they did.
It's probably asked a million times: rap-rock's popularity and your influence on it.
I think people are under the impression that rap-rock is huge, but I don't think it is, really. I think there's Limp Bizkit that has made it huge, obviously. And then maybe Linkin Park and maybe a few other bands. But I guess our philosophy is that we don't look to ... I mean, I get that question in every interview, about paving the way for these bands and whatever. We have a lot of pride of starting this movement back in the early days, and doing it along with bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers--who did it before us--and Beasties, and Rage. All of us together helped pave the way on radio.
But here's the funny thing. Now, I'll go do radio interviews, and they'll ask that same question. They'll be all, "Aren't you upset? I mean, can you believe the rap-rock thing, how big it is today? Aren't you sick of it, 'cause we're sick of it." And I'm thinking, "You guys are the ones that made it big! And now you're complaining about it. You guys are the ones that spun it like crazy, and now you're asking me?" It's so funny. They never come from the angle that they helped make this big.
We're known to stick to our guns. This is what I think the difference is. I think there are bands out there, and I'm not going to name any, that are formula. You know, they put a rap record on, have the drummer copy the drum beat, have the bass player copy the bass line, have distortion guitar put up over that bass line or doing something else, and have a guy put his own rap on it. Now when music is manufactured like that, it's just like anything else--when you fake it, put it together like that, or copy something, that's what it is. It's a copy.
And it happens over and over again.
What we like to do, we always start off from the point of view that we're music lovers first. We are true to ourselves, we don't think, "Hey, this is gonna be a huge hit." Of course, we hope we have hits or whatever, but we don't manufacture songs to have hits. We write strictly from our hearts. We did on our first record, we did on our last record.
If you could just be with me for one day when we play a show, and watch how many people come up to me and say ... like, this girl came up to me on the Warped tour and started bawling. She's like, "You guys saved my life. I would be dead if it wasn't for your music." I have people come up and say, "My brother died in a car accident, and I don't know what I would have done without your music." So that's more of our focal point, really. We try to stick to our guns and make our fans happy, and we want to keep influencing people in a positive manner for a long time--that really is our goal. Of course, we wouldn't mind if we sold five million records, but we'll be happy if we continue this for a long time. Hopefully, when it's all said and done, and it's 2148, we'll have a book of music that helped and inspired a lot of people.
311, getting ready to invade Europe to support its new album, "From Chaos" (Volcano), won the masses in 1995 with infectious songs like "All Mixed Up" and the No. 1 Modern Rock hit "Down" from their triple-platinum third studio effort, the self-titled release known as the "Blue Album." Then, like many before them, they committed a music-biz cardinal sin and took serious chances with "Blue Album'"s follow-up, 1997's adventurous but occasionally meandering "Transistor."
"Everybody just f---ing hated that record with a passion," said drummer Chad Sexton. "We don't know why, but I do know that it was too long of a record. It should not have been 21 songs, in my opinion."
After the lackluster response to "Transistor," the working title of their next album (which became 1999's "Soundsystem") was "At Least We're Trying." "Soundsystem" proved to be a back-to-basics gem, melodic and cohesive. However, 311 was now one of many rap-rock bands, it endured a lengthy legal battle with longtime label Capricorn, and sales dwindled, the album only going gold. Exit Capricorn, enter Volcano, re-introduce producer Ron St. Germain ("Blue," as well as Creed, Tool, Bad Brains) and you have the re-invigorated spirit of "From Chaos."
Sexton spoke with liveDaily about "Chaos," the tour, and the whole rap-rock thing.
LiveDaily: How is the tour shaping up?
Chad Sexton: We go to Europe for two weeks, and then we come back and start our own headlining fall tour, which will last from, like, September 8th to Halloween. We'll do ten of the shows with Alien Ant Farm, who we met on the Warped tour.
LiveDaily: You reunited with Ron St. Germain for "Chaos." How did that come about?
We had producers in the past that just didn't show the enthusiasm--we could tell that it was just a gig for them, and there wasn't any love for the project. We wanted to get someone that liked and believed in our band. And talking to Ron, even our first conversation, it was magic. He's an energetic person to begin with, and he really enjoys working with us too--it was just kind of a sign that he was the perfect guy to do our album again. We didn't have to talk him into doing it.
We were kind of in a bind at the time, because we were going through a lawsuit as well. So we weren't really taking any money from the record label for our budget. So we told him, this was coming out of our pocket, and we'll probably pay you a little bit more slowly than usual. And he was so cool with that, he didn't even mind. He just wanted to get busy on making a great record. So all those things combined, it was just obvious that he was the one to use.
You guys don't mess around musically. "You Get Worked" and "Sick Tight" come out hard.
Definitely. We wanted to try and get the energy up. We had been playing some of those songs live in our previous tour in 2000, to see if we could make them rock harder or what we could change to make them different. Playing those live in front of a crowd really helped them come off on tape like they did.
It's probably asked a million times: rap-rock's popularity and your influence on it.
I think people are under the impression that rap-rock is huge, but I don't think it is, really. I think there's Limp Bizkit that has made it huge, obviously. And then maybe Linkin Park and maybe a few other bands. But I guess our philosophy is that we don't look to ... I mean, I get that question in every interview, about paving the way for these bands and whatever. We have a lot of pride of starting this movement back in the early days, and doing it along with bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers--who did it before us--and Beasties, and Rage. All of us together helped pave the way on radio.
But here's the funny thing. Now, I'll go do radio interviews, and they'll ask that same question. They'll be all, "Aren't you upset? I mean, can you believe the rap-rock thing, how big it is today? Aren't you sick of it, 'cause we're sick of it." And I'm thinking, "You guys are the ones that made it big! And now you're complaining about it. You guys are the ones that spun it like crazy, and now you're asking me?" It's so funny. They never come from the angle that they helped make this big.
We're known to stick to our guns. This is what I think the difference is. I think there are bands out there, and I'm not going to name any, that are formula. You know, they put a rap record on, have the drummer copy the drum beat, have the bass player copy the bass line, have distortion guitar put up over that bass line or doing something else, and have a guy put his own rap on it. Now when music is manufactured like that, it's just like anything else--when you fake it, put it together like that, or copy something, that's what it is. It's a copy.
And it happens over and over again.
What we like to do, we always start off from the point of view that we're music lovers first. We are true to ourselves, we don't think, "Hey, this is gonna be a huge hit." Of course, we hope we have hits or whatever, but we don't manufacture songs to have hits. We write strictly from our hearts. We did on our first record, we did on our last record.
If you could just be with me for one day when we play a show, and watch how many people come up to me and say ... like, this girl came up to me on the Warped tour and started bawling. She's like, "You guys saved my life. I would be dead if it wasn't for your music." I have people come up and say, "My brother died in a car accident, and I don't know what I would have done without your music." So that's more of our focal point, really. We try to stick to our guns and make our fans happy, and we want to keep influencing people in a positive manner for a long time--that really is our goal. Of course, we wouldn't mind if we sold five million records, but we'll be happy if we continue this for a long time. Hopefully, when it's all said and done, and it's 2148, we'll have a book of music that helped and inspired a lot of people.
311 remains part of music’s numbers game (Las Vegas Sun)
Chad Sexton, 311's drummer, remembers exactly what he was doing the morning of Sept. 11. Sleeping.
Scheduled to perform that night with his band at Hard Rock's the Joint, Sexton was sacked out in his Las Vegas hotel room.
Then the phone rang. It was a friend telling him something was wrong.
Half-asleep, half in disbelief over what his friend said, Sexton got out of bed, turned on the TV and slipped into "this can't be happening" shock over the broadcast images he saw.
"Just like the rest of the country, I couldn't believe it," he said in a recent interview from Philadelphia. "It didn't sink in at first, then you realize how serious it is. It was just such a big event and it just keeps growing inside of each of our heads. It's a never-ending thought process."
The band made a quick decision, along with its promoter and city officials, to postpone that night's show, which was later rescheduled for Thursday.
But the following night in San Francisco, Sept. 12, the band performed as scheduled.
"It was pretty odd. It was even odd to feel that we would be playing a show that night," Sexton said. "Every time we play, it's almost like a celebration. I didn't feel like playing and celebrating that night. I felt a little weird about it."
Once the band took the stage, however, he said those weird feelings quickly dissipated, as he discovered the concert was cathartic for both band and audience alike.
"It was obvious to me that people needed that outlet. The energy off the kids was enormous," Sexton said. "During the encore, instead of shouting, '311,' they were shouting, 'U.S.A.' "
This new patriotic gesture has become quite common to the band's shows, he said. But it shouldn't come as a surprise; fans have been feeding off the good vibes of 311 since the band formed more than a decade ago in Omaha, Neb. (The band name, incidentally, is the Omaha police code for indecent exposure.)
The band has always maintained an upbeat, simplistic outlook.
"I think if you think positive and live life in a positive way, you're probably going to be happy. Otherwise, you're always bickering or full of hate or finding someone else to blame," Sexton said. "Of course everyone goes through problems, but (being positive) is a way of life we started living as teenagers."
That shared feeling of optimism along with a mutual love of music is what brought 311 together in the first place, he said.
They're also what's kept 311 together: through the early hardships common among bands trying to make it big; as well as some not-so-common tribulations, such as when the group's RV caught on fire on the side of a highway, taking the quintet's instruments, money, clothes and other belongings with it.
The group also struggled with a career that, at least in the first five years or so, never seemed to go beyond opening-act status.
That is, until '96, when the band scored hits with "Down" and "All Mixed Up." Along with that success, came such perks as recognition as a musical trailblazer: one of the first groups to bridge the gap from rock to rap, along with metal and funk.
"We're very honored to be associated with that group of rap-rock pioneers, along with the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Pep Squad," Sexton said. "I'm glad we could open the doors for that style of music, a collaborative style of music."
Even with the accolades, 311 hasn't necessarily found increased success in record sales. The band's latest album, "From Chaos," has yet to reach gold status since its mid-June release, even with a No 10 debut on Billboard.
Sexton, however, isn't too concerned.
"We're fortunate enough to be able to be able to write our own music, even if it's not accepted on a 12-million album-sales basis," he said. "It's up to the awareness of the people to look for stuff that's creative and might sound a little different."
Scheduled to perform that night with his band at Hard Rock's the Joint, Sexton was sacked out in his Las Vegas hotel room.
Then the phone rang. It was a friend telling him something was wrong.
Half-asleep, half in disbelief over what his friend said, Sexton got out of bed, turned on the TV and slipped into "this can't be happening" shock over the broadcast images he saw.
"Just like the rest of the country, I couldn't believe it," he said in a recent interview from Philadelphia. "It didn't sink in at first, then you realize how serious it is. It was just such a big event and it just keeps growing inside of each of our heads. It's a never-ending thought process."
The band made a quick decision, along with its promoter and city officials, to postpone that night's show, which was later rescheduled for Thursday.
But the following night in San Francisco, Sept. 12, the band performed as scheduled.
"It was pretty odd. It was even odd to feel that we would be playing a show that night," Sexton said. "Every time we play, it's almost like a celebration. I didn't feel like playing and celebrating that night. I felt a little weird about it."
Once the band took the stage, however, he said those weird feelings quickly dissipated, as he discovered the concert was cathartic for both band and audience alike.
"It was obvious to me that people needed that outlet. The energy off the kids was enormous," Sexton said. "During the encore, instead of shouting, '311,' they were shouting, 'U.S.A.' "
This new patriotic gesture has become quite common to the band's shows, he said. But it shouldn't come as a surprise; fans have been feeding off the good vibes of 311 since the band formed more than a decade ago in Omaha, Neb. (The band name, incidentally, is the Omaha police code for indecent exposure.)
The band has always maintained an upbeat, simplistic outlook.
"I think if you think positive and live life in a positive way, you're probably going to be happy. Otherwise, you're always bickering or full of hate or finding someone else to blame," Sexton said. "Of course everyone goes through problems, but (being positive) is a way of life we started living as teenagers."
That shared feeling of optimism along with a mutual love of music is what brought 311 together in the first place, he said.
They're also what's kept 311 together: through the early hardships common among bands trying to make it big; as well as some not-so-common tribulations, such as when the group's RV caught on fire on the side of a highway, taking the quintet's instruments, money, clothes and other belongings with it.
The group also struggled with a career that, at least in the first five years or so, never seemed to go beyond opening-act status.
That is, until '96, when the band scored hits with "Down" and "All Mixed Up." Along with that success, came such perks as recognition as a musical trailblazer: one of the first groups to bridge the gap from rock to rap, along with metal and funk.
"We're very honored to be associated with that group of rap-rock pioneers, along with the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Pep Squad," Sexton said. "I'm glad we could open the doors for that style of music, a collaborative style of music."
Even with the accolades, 311 hasn't necessarily found increased success in record sales. The band's latest album, "From Chaos," has yet to reach gold status since its mid-June release, even with a No 10 debut on Billboard.
Sexton, however, isn't too concerned.
"We're fortunate enough to be able to be able to write our own music, even if it's not accepted on a 12-million album-sales basis," he said. "It's up to the awareness of the people to look for stuff that's creative and might sound a little different."
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
311 on Holloween (2001)
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Rap-rock quintet 311 ended its two-month U.S. tour on a high note with a festive homecoming performance at the sold-out Universal Amphiteatre on Halloween.
Band members hit the stage in various costumes -- a firefighter, a G.I. Joe, a bearded wizard, a futuristic Uncle Sam, an armored monster -- and launched into more than 90 minutes of tracks from all six of their studio albums, with extra emphasis on "From Chaos", the band's most recent effort.
The 1997 alternative-radio hit "Beautiful Disaster," featuring Nick Hexum and Tim Mahoney on dueling harmonic guitars, was a crowd pleasing opener, followed by the party-minded "Freak Out," from 311's 1993 debut "Music."
Despite the band's ample back catalog, it was actually the newer songs that made the best impressions. The dynamic "Uncalm" and "You Get Worked" were powerful showcases for the band's fine-tuned onstage chemistry, while the beautiful love song "Amber" and uplifting ska-flavored single "I'll Be Here Awhile" showed off 311's versatility.
A midset drum solo during "Applied Science" by Chad Sexton turned into a band-wide drum circle at center stage, where opener Alien Ant Farm also joined in. Older, high-paced entries "Down" and "Feel So Good" capped the regular set in fine fashion, while 311's smoked-out cover of "Who's Got the Herb" signaled the three-song encore.
Members of opening-act Alien Ant Farm invaded the stage during the closing song and along with members of the 311 crew, covered the band and crowd with cans of Silly String while they performed the finale.
The 1997 alternative-radio hit "Beautiful Disaster," featuring Nick Hexum and Tim Mahoney on dueling harmonic guitars, was a crowd pleasing opener, followed by the party-minded "Freak Out," from 311's 1993 debut "Music."
Despite the band's ample back catalog, it was actually the newer songs that made the best impressions. The dynamic "Uncalm" and "You Get Worked" were powerful showcases for the band's fine-tuned onstage chemistry, while the beautiful love song "Amber" and uplifting ska-flavored single "I'll Be Here Awhile" showed off 311's versatility.
Members of opening-act Alien Ant Farm invaded the stage during the closing song and along with members of the 311 crew, covered the band and crowd with cans of Silly String while they performed the finale.
Saturday, July 21, 2001
Tuesday, April 24, 2001
An interview with P-nut (Electric Ink, 2001)
Interview by Murph of Sugar Ray
* = Sugar Ray
$ = P-Nut
* Some of the perks of having a song so popular that it annoys the shit out of people is that you get to do a lot things you normally wouldn't get to. Opening for 311 recently on their North American tour certainly felt like one of them. With "FLY" still in heavy rotation at pop radio, 311 offered us the opening slot on their six-week tour. We dog-piled at the chance, to say the least, and it was one of the best experiences Sugar Ray has ever had. * We had a bus, new equipment, a tour with 311, and all the Budweiser we could drink. It was perfect. What follows is a chat I had with P-NUT, 311's bassist, late one night after a gig, chatting up anything and everything that came up.
* Tell me how it all got started in Nebraska?
$ Nick knew Tim and Chad cause they went to school in the same area, and I knew SA before I'd met anybody, from my neighborhood, when I was about 15-years-old. Nick & Tim were in a band that Chad played in for a little bit, and SA and Chad were roommates at college, so I think we all just got together and played a sock-hop or something at our high school.
* What made you want to play bass?
$ I played the violin in the second grade, and I did that for a while, and after that, everybody in the neighborhood was playing guitar or drums, so it made sense to play bass. I learned "Anesthesia," the Metallica bass solo, when I was 14, and being able to learn that at such a young age made me want to play bass all the time.
* Who were your early influences?
$ Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, Mark King, Flea, and the teachers I had.
* You have a very original style of playing bass, technically as well as physically. Where did it come from?
$ The first show I ever saw was The Red Hot Chili Peppers, supporting Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and that was when they were at their wildest, and being in the pit, you know, I couldn't even find the words to describe the feeling and the energy. It definitely left an impression. And my favorite performers have always kind of been out-there and odd.
* As a bassist, how would you describe your relationship with guitarist Tim Mahoney?
$ It's really cool, you know, we trade off. Tim, over the years, has gotten more comfortable and better at soloing, so the more he does it, it's great to hear. I don't know my scales as well as I should, but I play percussive solos, and I think that's the fun way to do it. But I'm gonna write something pretty for the next album. (Laughs)
* If you had to play another instrument in a band, what would it be?
$ Drums.
* If you could open a store in a mall, what would it be?
$ A hobby shop with comic books, juggling paraphernalia, and esoteric books.
* What was the last book you read?
$ A biography on Sid Vicious called "El Sid."
* What was the last CD you bought?
$ A Thelonious Monk & Coltrane CD.
* What's the most expensive thing you've ever stolen?
$ I don't knowI wasn't a very good thief. I always got caught. (Laughs) This one time I broke into a house, I totally got busted. I was grounded for a month during summer. It sucked!
* Have you ever died in a dream?
$ Yeah.
* Do you think marijuana should be legalized?
$ Yes. (Big laughs)
* Do you believe in God?
$ No, I don't believe in God, but I do believe in the natural order of things, and I think that's what people mean when they say God.
* Do you believe in capital punishment?
$ Yes. But I think maybe they're doing too much of it in Texas.
* Ever dressed up as a girl for Halloween?
$ Yes. Twice. And I'll do it again Goddammit, you can't stop me!
* Ever thought about suicide?
$ Yeah, I think everybody does.
* Do you believe in extra-terrestrials?
$ Yes. There's no question.
* Who would win in a fight?
A gorilla or a grizzly bear?
$ (Pause) I don't know, probably a gorilla. They're definitely smarter. But if a bear got the gorilla, it'd be over. But I think the gorilla would last longer.
* SA or Nick?
$ (Laughs) I think Nick's stronger than SA, but SA's a crazy motherfucker!
* Terminator or Predator?
$ Terminator.
* Jason or Freddie?
$ Freddie.
* Puffy Combs or Pee Wee Herman?
$ Pee Wee.
* CHOOSE ONE:
Robert Deniro or Al Pacino?
$ Deniro.
* Pulp Fiction or Braveheart?
$ Pulp Fiction, even though I'm Scottish!
* Martin Scorsese or Stanley Kubrick?
$ Kubrick.
* Sushi or Steak?
$ Steak.
* Christianity or Buddhism?
$ Buddhism.
*Flea or Les Claypool?
$ That's tough. They both offer so many things. I guess, Les Claypool.
* Run DMC or Public Enemy?
$ Public Enemy.
* X-Files or The Twilight Zone?
$ The Twilight Zone.
* Snowboarding or skiing?
$ Snowboarding.
* '68 Chevy or '68 Cadillac?
$ '68 Cadillac.
* Corona or Budweiser?
$ Budweiser.
* Boxers or Briefs?
$ Boxer-Briefs. I got 'em on right now! That's all I wear.
* Microsoft or Macintosh?
$ Microsoft.
* Picasso or Salvador Dali?
$ Dali.
* Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King?
$ Stephen King.
* Last Question: With 5 players, build your all-time Lakers squad.
$ Kareem, Wilt, Magic, Shaq, (big laughs) that'd be a huge fucking team! And Kobe Bryant.
* = Sugar Ray
$ = P-Nut
* Some of the perks of having a song so popular that it annoys the shit out of people is that you get to do a lot things you normally wouldn't get to. Opening for 311 recently on their North American tour certainly felt like one of them. With "FLY" still in heavy rotation at pop radio, 311 offered us the opening slot on their six-week tour. We dog-piled at the chance, to say the least, and it was one of the best experiences Sugar Ray has ever had. * We had a bus, new equipment, a tour with 311, and all the Budweiser we could drink. It was perfect. What follows is a chat I had with P-NUT, 311's bassist, late one night after a gig, chatting up anything and everything that came up.
* Tell me how it all got started in Nebraska?
$ Nick knew Tim and Chad cause they went to school in the same area, and I knew SA before I'd met anybody, from my neighborhood, when I was about 15-years-old. Nick & Tim were in a band that Chad played in for a little bit, and SA and Chad were roommates at college, so I think we all just got together and played a sock-hop or something at our high school.
* What made you want to play bass?
$ I played the violin in the second grade, and I did that for a while, and after that, everybody in the neighborhood was playing guitar or drums, so it made sense to play bass. I learned "Anesthesia," the Metallica bass solo, when I was 14, and being able to learn that at such a young age made me want to play bass all the time.
* Who were your early influences?
$ Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, Mark King, Flea, and the teachers I had.
* You have a very original style of playing bass, technically as well as physically. Where did it come from?
$ The first show I ever saw was The Red Hot Chili Peppers, supporting Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and that was when they were at their wildest, and being in the pit, you know, I couldn't even find the words to describe the feeling and the energy. It definitely left an impression. And my favorite performers have always kind of been out-there and odd.
* As a bassist, how would you describe your relationship with guitarist Tim Mahoney?
$ It's really cool, you know, we trade off. Tim, over the years, has gotten more comfortable and better at soloing, so the more he does it, it's great to hear. I don't know my scales as well as I should, but I play percussive solos, and I think that's the fun way to do it. But I'm gonna write something pretty for the next album. (Laughs)
* If you had to play another instrument in a band, what would it be?
$ Drums.
* If you could open a store in a mall, what would it be?
$ A hobby shop with comic books, juggling paraphernalia, and esoteric books.
* What was the last book you read?
$ A biography on Sid Vicious called "El Sid."
* What was the last CD you bought?
$ A Thelonious Monk & Coltrane CD.
* What's the most expensive thing you've ever stolen?
$ I don't knowI wasn't a very good thief. I always got caught. (Laughs) This one time I broke into a house, I totally got busted. I was grounded for a month during summer. It sucked!
* Have you ever died in a dream?
$ Yeah.
* Do you think marijuana should be legalized?
$ Yes. (Big laughs)
* Do you believe in God?
$ No, I don't believe in God, but I do believe in the natural order of things, and I think that's what people mean when they say God.
* Do you believe in capital punishment?
$ Yes. But I think maybe they're doing too much of it in Texas.
* Ever dressed up as a girl for Halloween?
$ Yes. Twice. And I'll do it again Goddammit, you can't stop me!
* Ever thought about suicide?
$ Yeah, I think everybody does.
* Do you believe in extra-terrestrials?
$ Yes. There's no question.
* Who would win in a fight?
A gorilla or a grizzly bear?
$ (Pause) I don't know, probably a gorilla. They're definitely smarter. But if a bear got the gorilla, it'd be over. But I think the gorilla would last longer.
* SA or Nick?
$ (Laughs) I think Nick's stronger than SA, but SA's a crazy motherfucker!
* Terminator or Predator?
$ Terminator.
* Jason or Freddie?
$ Freddie.
* Puffy Combs or Pee Wee Herman?
$ Pee Wee.
* CHOOSE ONE:
Robert Deniro or Al Pacino?
$ Deniro.
* Pulp Fiction or Braveheart?
$ Pulp Fiction, even though I'm Scottish!
* Martin Scorsese or Stanley Kubrick?
$ Kubrick.
* Sushi or Steak?
$ Steak.
* Christianity or Buddhism?
$ Buddhism.
*Flea or Les Claypool?
$ That's tough. They both offer so many things. I guess, Les Claypool.
* Run DMC or Public Enemy?
$ Public Enemy.
* X-Files or The Twilight Zone?
$ The Twilight Zone.
* Snowboarding or skiing?
$ Snowboarding.
* '68 Chevy or '68 Cadillac?
$ '68 Cadillac.
* Corona or Budweiser?
$ Budweiser.
* Boxers or Briefs?
$ Boxer-Briefs. I got 'em on right now! That's all I wear.
* Microsoft or Macintosh?
$ Microsoft.
* Picasso or Salvador Dali?
$ Dali.
* Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King?
$ Stephen King.
* Last Question: With 5 players, build your all-time Lakers squad.
$ Kareem, Wilt, Magic, Shaq, (big laughs) that'd be a huge fucking team! And Kobe Bryant.
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