HORDE Fest Literature (1996)

Nicholas Hexum, Chad Sexton, Timothy J. Mahoney, P-Nut and SA Martinez are 311. Or as Hexum defines it, "311 means three plus one plus one...there were three of us and then we added one then one more." These guys fuse hard rock, funk, rap and reggae into a potent musical cocktail. It is only fitting that the band members, who draw their influences from everybody from Bad Brains to Bob Marley to Nat King Cole, grew up in the center of the United States - Nebraska to be exact - where East meets West, providing a perfect breeding ground for the 311 sound and its many dimensions. Currently based out of Los Angeles, California, 311 has covered a lot of territory since their inception: the band played their first gig opening for Fugazi in 1990, has put out one album per year since 1993 and tours almost non-stop, selling out clubs and theaters nation wide thanks to the massive grassroots fanbase they've cultivated over the years. This band thrives on live performances: all Hexum wants to do is tour into infinity, like the Grateful Dead. In a recent interview, he commented that "live shows should really be the cornerstone...we've always focused on that." Hexum said that their shows are "intense and hard-hitting, but it's a festival vibe. the overall feeling is one of celebration." Kind of a befitting attitude for a HORDE band wouldn't you say? And speaking of attitude: the overwhelmingly positive attitude of 311 has been a sustaining force through tough times. It was most notably illustrated in the summer of 1993, when the band's RV exploded into flames- destroying all of their equipment, the VW van they were towing and most of their personal belongings- the members of 311 barely escaped with their lives, yet managed to return to the stage for a performance in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska the very next night. "There was never any question that we wouldn't carry on after that, " says Hexum. "The life affirming element that came out of the situation is that we realized all we really needed was what we still had: the songs in our heads and each other."