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.

311's Hexum Discusses Working With Peas' Wil & Pharcyde's Tre (Allstar)

311 singer-songwriter Nick Hexum tells us that the teaming on a tune tentatively-titled "Slappy" with members of the Black Eyed Peas and Pharcyde album was refreshing in an unexpected way.

The idea to work with Wil.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas first grew out of the shout-out to Black Eyed Peas that's heard on 311's 1999 song "Come Original," while Tre Hardson, formerly of Pharcyde, and Hexum have talked about collaborating since Hexum saw Tre's new band, Legends of Phoenix, play a club show in Hollywood last year.

"Wil and I had always said 'let's work together,'" Hexum tells allstar. "And Wil is so cool, he said, 'I don't even care about the money. I just wanna be down and make some good music.' Which in hip-hop is very hard to find, because most people want money up front. But both Wil and Tre have a great artistic attitude about what they do, and I just have tons of respect for them both."

As for how the song was created, Hexum says that a number of musicians contributed their own parts, which he then arranged into a cohesive whole. "I sent them over a CD of one of our new tracks that was just instrumental," he says. "Tre came up with some really good verse parts, and Wil came up with some other chorus and pre-chorus parts, and then I came up with a verse. The music side of it is a [311 members] P-Nut/Chad Sexton collaboration, and then I took their parts and arranged it all together."

Hexum says the upcoming sixth 311 studio album, which is being produced by Ron Saint Germain (Tool, Living Colour, Creed) will probably include 12 songs and a bonus Internet track chosen from among the 15 songs they've finished or nearly finished. "We're in a very relaxed mode right now. We're putting on fun little things like DJ scratching and extra drum loops, some keyboard parts."

Mixing of the album is expected to be complete by early March, and the band hopes to have the album released in the summer. In the middle, Hexum plans to have his ripened tonsils removed in March (allstar, Miss Truth, Jan. 31), and 311 bassist P-Nut is getting married in late May. The band expects to play live again around the time of the new album's release.

311 Taps Jimmie's Chicken Shack For U.S. Tour, Signs On For Sega Games (MTV)

After helping rock in the New Year with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 311 has announced dates for an extended North American outing scheduled to start on February 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The band, which is currently in Japan for a brief promotional jaunt, has tapped Jimmie's Chicken Shack to serve as the opening act for the upcoming tour, and 311 plans to warm up for the U.S. trek with a few dates in late January and early February.

On its way back from Japan, 311 will stop over in Hawaii for a concert at the World Café in Honolulu on January 27. The Omaha, Nebraska rockers will then take a few days off (to recover from jet lag, no doubt) before playing a one-off gig at L.A.'s House Of Blues on January 30.

311 has also signed on to serve as the featured musical performers at the 2000 Sega National Finals Competition being held at the Gameworks center in Las Vegas on February 4.

In addition to the recent tour announcement, 311 just completed a video for "Flowing," the second single from the band's new album, "Soundsystem," which 311 filmed last month with director Marcos Siega.

Also joining the 311-Jimmie's Chicken Shack tour for one date will be Incubus, who will perform at the February 28 show in Winston-Salem, North Carolina -- the day after Incubus finishes its run on the 2000 Sno-Core Tour in Atlanta.

Dates for 311's U.S. tour:

•2/21 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
•2/23 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
•2/25 - Jacksonville, FL @ Club Five
•2/27 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
•2/28 - Winston-Salem, NC @ LJVM Coliseum (w/ Incubus)
•3/1 - Scranton, PA @ Cultural Center
•3/2 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid-Hudson Civic Center
•3/3 - New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
•3/4 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre
•3/5 - Syracuse, NY @ Syracuse University Goldstein Auditorium
•3/7 - Henrietta-Rochester, NY @ Dome Arena
•3/8 - Dayton, OH @ Hara Arena
•3/9 - Auburn, AL @ Auburn University Beard-Eaves Coliseum
•3/10 - Pensacola, FL @ Bayfront Arena
•3/11 - New Orleans, LA @ State Palace Theatre
•3/13 - Columbia, MO @ Hearnes Center
•3/14 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Expo Center
•3/15 - St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
•3/17 - Madison, WI @ Exhibition Hall
•3/18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Modjeska Theatre
•3/21 - Champaign, IL @ University of Illinois Assembly Hall
•3/22 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Wings Stadium
•3/23 - Davenport, IA @ Col Ballroom
•3/24 - Springfield, MO @ Shrine Mosque
•3/27 - Wichita, KS @ Kansas Coliseum
•3/28 - Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Auditorium
•3/29 - Vail, CO @ Dobson Arena

311 Files Suit Against Record Label (MTV)

Shortly after announcing a fall tour with Zebrahead, 311 filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against its label, Capricorn Records, in hopes of terminating its contract.

The band alleged that the label breached its agreement by failing to provide "major label" marketing, promotion, and support for the group's most recent albums. Specifically, 311 claimed that when it signed with Capricorn in 1992, the label fell under the umbrella of Warner Bros. Records, which distributed Capricorn as part of a joint venture partnership. However, 311's camp claimed that since that time, "Capricorn has bounced between three different record label partnerships and four different record distributors culminating in an unstable atmosphere which has demonstrably been to the detriment of 311's career."

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, 311 leader Nick Hexum said, "We've told the label many times we were unhappy with their handling of our careers. After several years of complaints and Capricorn's unfulfilled promises, we decided we had to take legal action. The band will carry on through touring."

A spokesperson for Capricorn, which also counts Cake, Jack Logan, Big Sugar, 2 Skinnee J's, and others among its roster of artists, could not be reached at press time.

311, Incubus To Hook Up On Joint Tour (MTV)

The merry rock and rap funksters of 311 will team up with Incubus for an extensive tour of amphitheaters and arenas this summer, with the outing tentatively scheduled to begin on April 28 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

311, whose "Flowing" single from is currently number 17 on the Alternative radio charts, is in the waning days of a tour with Jimmie's Chicken Shack (see "311 Taps Jimmie's Chicken Shack For U.S. Tour, Signs On For Sega Games") and will take a few weeks off before offering a preview of its tour with Incubus during a three-date run in late April.

Incubus opened for 311 at a concert in Winston-Salem, North Carolina back in February, and 311 frontman Nick Hexum told the MTV Radio Network that he considered himself a big fan of Incubus' newest record, "Make Yourself."

"The new Incubus record is insane," Hexum explained. "It's gonna be huge, and they're the nicest group of guys. Great musicians, and Brandon [Boyd]'s a great singer, and that's probably what I'm most excited about."

The band recently celebrated its annual 3-11 Day in New Orleans, and Mayor Marc Morial officially proclaimed the day, March 11, as "311 Day" in the Big Easy. The group commemorated the occasion by playing a 47-song, 3-hour and 11-minute set at the State Palace Theater that same evening.

The 311-Jimmie's Chicken Shack outing will roll into Wings Stadium on Kalamazoo, Michigan on Wednesday night and is now scheduled to conclude on April 3 at the Hollywood Palladium in West Hollywood, California.

The tentative itinerary for the 311-Incubus summer tour:

•4/28 - Charlotte, NC @ Center City Festival
•4/29 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex Amphitheater
•4/30 - Austin, TX @ Auditorium Shores
•5/20 - Chicago, IL @ World Amphitheater
•5/23 - San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
•5/24 - Phoenix, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheater
•5/26 - Santa Barbara, CA @ County Bowl
•5/30 - Seattle, CA @ Paramount
•5/31 - Spokane, WA @ Riverfront Amphitheater
•6/2 - Salt Lake City, UT @ SaltAir Pavilion
•6/3 - Denver, CO @ Fiddler's Green
•6/4 - Omaha, NE @ West Fair Amphitheater
•6/5 - Kansas City, MO @ TBA
•6/6 - St. Louis, MO @ TBA
•6/8 - Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theater
•6/9 - Columbus, OH @ Brewery Amphitheater
•6/10 - Washington, DC @ TBA
•6/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Nautica Stage
•6/13 - Wantagh, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheater
•6/15 - Boston, MA @ Great Woods
•6/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
•6/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
•6/20 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Ice Garden
•6/21 - Virginia Beach, VA @ TBA
•6/22 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
•6/23 - Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheater
•6/24 - Memphis, TN @ Mud Island Amphitheater
•6/25 - Little Rock, AR @ TBA
•6/27 - Baton Rouge, LA @ TBA
•7/1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Irvine Meadows Amphitheater

311 Prep New Songs Despite Label Battle (MTV)

Despite an ongoing legal battle to get out of a contract with their label, 311 plan to record the follow-up to last year's Soundsystem in December, according to the band's management.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the band's suit against Capricorn Records on Monday, ruling it should be argued in Tennessee, the state where the label was based when it put 311 on contract. In the suit, the band said the label hurt its career by failing to provide marketing and promotion for its recent albums, and complained that the company had bounced between three different record label partnerships and four different record distributors.

Co-manager Peter Raspler said 311 plan to refile the suit in Tennessee.

But the suit might be affected by the possibility of more changes at Capricorn. The Volcano label has signed a letter of intent to take over Capricorn, Capricorn Vice President Mike Bone said.

"If Volcano does buy Capricorn," band co-manager Adam Raspler said, "the most likely scenario will be that Volcano comes to us and negotiates a new deal in exchange for dropping our lawsuit."

In the meantime, 311 are working on new material. The band has close to 20 songs in development, including five new ones — "Sick Tight," "We Do It Like This," "Full Ride," "You Wouldn't Believe" and "From Chaos" — it is performing on a 35-date tour it launched October 10, Peter Raspler said.

After ending the tour — their fourth trek supporting Soundsystem — on November 22, 311 again will enter the studio with veteran producer Ron Saint Germain, the man at the controls for the group's 1995 self-titled album, which spawned the hit "Down."

311, Our Lady Peace Take It To The River (MTV)

With its U.S. tour still pending, 311 has just signed on to perform with Our Lady Peace and Angie Aparo at an environmental benefit concert slated for February 26 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.

Dubbed the "99X Chinese New Year" concert, the event is being co-sponsored by local radio station WNNX, with proceeds going to benefit the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund.

The Riverkeeper Fund was started in 1994 and is dedicated to advocating and protecting the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries, and watershed -- primarily the 200 miles that run through the north Georgia mountains to West Point Lake.

For more on the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund and other related causes, be sure to check out the organization's official Web site. (www.chattahoochee.org)

As for 311, the benefit one-off will come less than a week into the band's planned outing with Jimmie's Chicken Shack, a tour that will start on February 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Nebraskan band has also just issued a new track, "Flowing," as the second single from its newest album, "Soundsystem," and the song has already ebbed its way into the top 30 of the "R&R" Alternative charts.