Today we continue with the countdown of the Top Songs of the 1990s with number 96, “Down” by 311. “Down” was released in 1996 and was the first single from 311 with widespread mainstream success. With heavy guitar riffs and rap style lyrics, 311′s “Down” garnered a lot of attention. Coming off their self-title (blue) album, “Down” stayed at #1 on the modern rock charts for 4 weeks and topped out on the Hot 100 at #37. With the help of “All Mixed Up”, the blue album went on to sell over three million copies.
311 is alternative rock back from Omaha, Nebraska. With their rebel attitude and mix of several different styles of music, they were able to maintain continued success over the years. They have released five albums since the blue album and have charted fourteen more singles on the Modern Rock Charts as well as another #1 hit with their cover of The Cure’s “Love Song”. They seem like they are constantly touring around the US and are known for being a great live band. They are planning a spring tour scheduled for this year, and are currently working on their next album. As long as they maintain their loyal fan base, there is no telling how long they will stick around.
The music video for this one is pretty simple. It features all the members of the band just performing the song. They play around with some special effects, including distorting the picture. It also features the band in some sort of mediating state when the lyrics “Keep my feet on the ground / Keep my head in the clouds” are sung. It is a fairly formulaic video and understandably as their first big single. Check it out and be stay tuned for the next song on the countdown.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
311 Ready for Reinvention on Next Album (Billboard)
After taking more than a year-and-a-half off, 311 is revving back up with a summer tour and a fall studio date looming.
"Morale is really high right now," frontman Nick Hexum tells Billboard.com. "We needed a break, we've been working so hard and long. So, everyone has been doing their own thing. I've been traveling and fishing, doing things I do to relax. Now everyone is really jonesing to get back to our primary purpose, which is 311."
The summer tour, which kicks off June 21 in Tucson, Ariz., with Matisyahu as opener, may indeed include new material. Hexum says the band has a couple songs in the mix. While he's not promising the tunes will get stage time over the next few months, odds are diehard fans will get a sneak peak here and there. More importantly for Hexum is the bigger picture of where the band is in its album cycle.
"I would say we kind of go through a general cycle of making a more straight=ahead album that comes quickly and then we kind of rotate to more of a departure where we take a longer time making the album and inventing more new styles," Hexum says. "And albums like 'Grassroots' and 'Transistor' are more like groundbreaking albums, where the 'Blue' (self-titled) album was more like a culminating of touring and came out more quickly.
"So due to that back-and-forth thing, we're due for more of a groundbreaking, take-a-long-time-with-it album," he continues. "We don't know when it's going to be done. We're not going to make any deadlines and promises, but it's time we slightly reinvent ourselves."
Part of that reinvention has already taken place for Hexum, who has had discussions with his brother/drummer Chad about how 311 needs to follow-up its last effort, 2005's "Don't Tread on Me."
"Chad and I were having a conversation of combining dance hall and funk," Hexum says. "A tiny bit like 'All Mixed up' but much more syncopated. I'd say that the funky, tight, high-energy stuff will come along but I've also been doing a lot of really complex finger picking on acoustic guitar in the style of Michael Hedges. But it's taking influences from all over. It goes from hard rock like System Of A Down to Taproot to Wilco. I'm loving their new album. It's all over the place with our influences. And, we always love reggae."
"Morale is really high right now," frontman Nick Hexum tells Billboard.com. "We needed a break, we've been working so hard and long. So, everyone has been doing their own thing. I've been traveling and fishing, doing things I do to relax. Now everyone is really jonesing to get back to our primary purpose, which is 311."
The summer tour, which kicks off June 21 in Tucson, Ariz., with Matisyahu as opener, may indeed include new material. Hexum says the band has a couple songs in the mix. While he's not promising the tunes will get stage time over the next few months, odds are diehard fans will get a sneak peak here and there. More importantly for Hexum is the bigger picture of where the band is in its album cycle.
"I would say we kind of go through a general cycle of making a more straight=ahead album that comes quickly and then we kind of rotate to more of a departure where we take a longer time making the album and inventing more new styles," Hexum says. "And albums like 'Grassroots' and 'Transistor' are more like groundbreaking albums, where the 'Blue' (self-titled) album was more like a culminating of touring and came out more quickly.
"So due to that back-and-forth thing, we're due for more of a groundbreaking, take-a-long-time-with-it album," he continues. "We don't know when it's going to be done. We're not going to make any deadlines and promises, but it's time we slightly reinvent ourselves."
Part of that reinvention has already taken place for Hexum, who has had discussions with his brother/drummer Chad about how 311 needs to follow-up its last effort, 2005's "Don't Tread on Me."
"Chad and I were having a conversation of combining dance hall and funk," Hexum says. "A tiny bit like 'All Mixed up' but much more syncopated. I'd say that the funky, tight, high-energy stuff will come along but I've also been doing a lot of really complex finger picking on acoustic guitar in the style of Michael Hedges. But it's taking influences from all over. It goes from hard rock like System Of A Down to Taproot to Wilco. I'm loving their new album. It's all over the place with our influences. And, we always love reggae."
311 gets fans jumpin' at USANA (Deseret News, Salt Lake City)
WEST VALLEY CITY — Fans attending the 2007 Summer Unity Tour displayed their banded affection for reggae-inspired rock group 311 and Jewish rapper Matisyahu. Standing nearly the entire concert and swaying — usually with one hand in the air — audience members applauded the heavily instrumental songs.
Playing "All Mixed Up" — one of its greatest hits — early in the set, 311 guitarist and lead vocalist Nick Hexum led the crowd jumping. Hexum was certainly engaging as he leapt and sort of lunged around the stage, though he made few efforts at interacting with the crowd. The adoring fans' wild cheering at any general comment ending in "Salt Lake City," however, proved the audience didn't seem to mind.
The five-man band played a number of more recent songs, such as "There's Always an Excuse," and the catchy "Frolic Room," both from the group's 2005 album "Don't Tread on Me."
The band's performance incorporated unique musical and vocal arrangements in addition to newer songs. Four members of the band left the stage at one point, leaving drummer Chad Sexton to his own devices. After playing a four-minute, arm-flailing solo, Sexton was rejoined by his bandmates who had drumsticks in tow and proceeded to play standing cymbals and base drums at the front of the stage.
During 311's cover of The Cures' "Love Song," Hexum welcomed the opening artist, Matisyahu, back to the stage.
The rapper — who swayed and jumped playfully for someone with such a serious-looking beard — did an unconventional rap sequence in the middle of the revisited '80s song that was met with fervent cheers.
A relaxed energy came over the audience as 311 played "Amber," one of its slower greatest hits. Couples seemed to especially enjoy the song, and many sang it to each other as lighting cast a golden glow from the stage.
The upbeat, fast-paced zealousness established during the first few songs wasn't fully regained until the show neared its end. For their second encore, the band played another slow number, "Beyond the Gray Sky," before rocking out again with "Down."
Vocalist SA Martinez took over with his fast-paced rapping and harmonizing until everyone, lovebirds included, were back on their feet, jumping.
Playing "All Mixed Up" — one of its greatest hits — early in the set, 311 guitarist and lead vocalist Nick Hexum led the crowd jumping. Hexum was certainly engaging as he leapt and sort of lunged around the stage, though he made few efforts at interacting with the crowd. The adoring fans' wild cheering at any general comment ending in "Salt Lake City," however, proved the audience didn't seem to mind.
The five-man band played a number of more recent songs, such as "There's Always an Excuse," and the catchy "Frolic Room," both from the group's 2005 album "Don't Tread on Me."
The band's performance incorporated unique musical and vocal arrangements in addition to newer songs. Four members of the band left the stage at one point, leaving drummer Chad Sexton to his own devices. After playing a four-minute, arm-flailing solo, Sexton was rejoined by his bandmates who had drumsticks in tow and proceeded to play standing cymbals and base drums at the front of the stage.
During 311's cover of The Cures' "Love Song," Hexum welcomed the opening artist, Matisyahu, back to the stage.
The rapper — who swayed and jumped playfully for someone with such a serious-looking beard — did an unconventional rap sequence in the middle of the revisited '80s song that was met with fervent cheers.
A relaxed energy came over the audience as 311 played "Amber," one of its slower greatest hits. Couples seemed to especially enjoy the song, and many sang it to each other as lighting cast a golden glow from the stage.
The upbeat, fast-paced zealousness established during the first few songs wasn't fully regained until the show neared its end. For their second encore, the band played another slow number, "Beyond the Gray Sky," before rocking out again with "Down."
Vocalist SA Martinez took over with his fast-paced rapping and harmonizing until everyone, lovebirds included, were back on their feet, jumping.
311 band takes delight in visiting Salt Lake
From the mid-1990s, 311 has made it a point to play a show in the Salt Lake City area.
"There's just something about Salt Lake," said vocalist S.A. Martinez during a phone call from Cincinnati. "I mean a couple of years after we began touring, we found Salt Lake. It has always been a welcome environment for us. And the radio stations there play the deeper 311 tracks that aren't necessarily heard in other places.
"And then there's the snowboard culture and audience that we have tapped into. We just like coming back to Salt Lake."
Martinez and the band — guitarist/vocalist Nick Hexum, bassist P-Nut, drummer Chad Sexton and guitarist Tim Mahoney — have been together since 1992. And back then, no one ever thought they would still be touring and making music 15 years down the line
"If anyone would have told us that back then, we would have asked what they have been smoking," said Martinez. "We really didn't have any goals except for making music and having fun. I mean, if it isn't fun, what's the point?
"So the moral of the story is, don't have any goals and you'll do fine in life."
The band, which plays its own high-energy blend of funk, hip-hop, reggae and rock, has released 11 full-length albums, including three that were independently released early on.
That doesn't include the two compilation albums ("Omaha Sessions" and "Greatest Hits"), an extended play ("Downstairs EP") and a live album ("Live").
In addition, the band has appeared on soundtracks for the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates" and the animated "Surf's Up."
Both outings were cover tunes, said Martinez.
"Obviously, it was different than doing a whole album because we didn't have to write the songs or sequence them," he said. "All we had to do was decide which songs we were going to do, record them and produce them and send them in."
For "50 First Dates" the band chose the Cure's "Love Song," and for "Surf's Up," it did Toots & the Maytals' "Reggae Got Soul."
"We've always had a wide array of musical influences," said Martinez. "I listened to a lot of Queen, Rush, AC/DC and also got into the Smiths, R.E.M. and the English Beat, who we're touring with right now. But I also took in the East-Coast rap scene with Public Enemy and Rakim. So it was a natural thing for us to play all different styles of music.
"The point of it is to, one, have fun, and two, to make sure it's all high energy. We've got a bunch of songs to choose from and sometimes end up playing a song we haven't played since the year before. And that makes for an interesting evening."
"There's just something about Salt Lake," said vocalist S.A. Martinez during a phone call from Cincinnati. "I mean a couple of years after we began touring, we found Salt Lake. It has always been a welcome environment for us. And the radio stations there play the deeper 311 tracks that aren't necessarily heard in other places.
"And then there's the snowboard culture and audience that we have tapped into. We just like coming back to Salt Lake."
Martinez and the band — guitarist/vocalist Nick Hexum, bassist P-Nut, drummer Chad Sexton and guitarist Tim Mahoney — have been together since 1992. And back then, no one ever thought they would still be touring and making music 15 years down the line
"If anyone would have told us that back then, we would have asked what they have been smoking," said Martinez. "We really didn't have any goals except for making music and having fun. I mean, if it isn't fun, what's the point?
"So the moral of the story is, don't have any goals and you'll do fine in life."
The band, which plays its own high-energy blend of funk, hip-hop, reggae and rock, has released 11 full-length albums, including three that were independently released early on.
That doesn't include the two compilation albums ("Omaha Sessions" and "Greatest Hits"), an extended play ("Downstairs EP") and a live album ("Live").
In addition, the band has appeared on soundtracks for the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates" and the animated "Surf's Up."
Both outings were cover tunes, said Martinez.
"Obviously, it was different than doing a whole album because we didn't have to write the songs or sequence them," he said. "All we had to do was decide which songs we were going to do, record them and produce them and send them in."
For "50 First Dates" the band chose the Cure's "Love Song," and for "Surf's Up," it did Toots & the Maytals' "Reggae Got Soul."
"We've always had a wide array of musical influences," said Martinez. "I listened to a lot of Queen, Rush, AC/DC and also got into the Smiths, R.E.M. and the English Beat, who we're touring with right now. But I also took in the East-Coast rap scene with Public Enemy and Rakim. So it was a natural thing for us to play all different styles of music.
"The point of it is to, one, have fun, and two, to make sure it's all high energy. We've got a bunch of songs to choose from and sometimes end up playing a song we haven't played since the year before. And that makes for an interesting evening."
311, Matisyahu anchor a night of reggae in Irvine (OC Register)
Guitarist Tim Mahoney of 311 was wearing a t-shirt on stage during Sunday night's show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater that read "Glory or Death." And for several minutes during his headlining band's set, death was nearly the decision on the guitarist's rig while techs scrambled to resolve a recurring glitch.
However, plenty of glory was available as the reggae-rock act maintained a festive atmosphere as part of its Summer Unity tour, which also featured recent reggae sensation Matisyahu, living legends the Wailers, scene veteran Pato Banton, and the Expendables during the Irvine stop.
Banton kicked the event into high gear early with an excellent set, nudging the crowd to sing along to tongue twisters during "Gwarn." Though he was beamed by the afternoon sun while dressed in a white jacket, Banton almost never stopped dancing. (Banton and his backing band did break for a couple minutes, posing for photos after encouraging concertgoers to snap pictures and post them on his MySpace page.)
The Wailers introduced their show with a prayer request for Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Dean. The historic act - which once backed reggae master Bob Marley - performed a striking set, including Marley hits "I Shot the Sheriff" and "One Love."
"Stir It Up," another Marley classic, sported thunderous, lung-loosening bass lines, and the stunning "Exodus" closed the band's set with an audience swaying to its steady rhythm.
Under moody lighting, energetic hitmaker Matisyahu arrived dressed in a dark sportcoat, performing "Sea to Sea," from 2005's "Live At Stubb's."
Other notables included "Lord Raise Me Up," the moving "Jerusalem" and an even higher-energy "King Without a Crown," which found the frontman running across the venue's upper edge, climbing the lighting scaffolding and throwing his hands in the air, much to the crowd's delight.
311 wasted no time getting its hits together, opening with its album-perfect 1997 single, "Beautiful Disaster." The band reached further back to 1993 with an equally stunning "Do You Right."
Well into 311's set, Matisyahu returned to the stage, joining the band for its cover of The Cure's "Love Song" with his lightning-quick phrasing layered atop the reggae-fied composition.
Guitar/vocalist Nick Hexum ordered the crowd to "get this place bouncing" just before breaking into "Freeze Time," and lighters went up for cool ballad "Beyond The Gray Sky." A solo from drummer Chad Sexton morphed into an exciting coordinated percussion effort with the entire band.
However, the stage remained dark when Mahoney's guitar setup encountered the aforementioned technical issue, just before the start of the prophetically titled "Nix Hex."
"That's how you know it's live," remarked Hexum.
The problem was eventually rectified, but the lull deflated some of 311's otherwise unstoppable momentum. The act regained its stride with the gear-shifting "Starshines," plus immaculate radio hits "Come Original" and "All Mixed Up."
Dedicating "Down" to its longtime fans, 311 walked off stage a song later, only to return to for its encore, capping the show with "Feels So Good," an assessment of which we could largely concur.
However, plenty of glory was available as the reggae-rock act maintained a festive atmosphere as part of its Summer Unity tour, which also featured recent reggae sensation Matisyahu, living legends the Wailers, scene veteran Pato Banton, and the Expendables during the Irvine stop.
Banton kicked the event into high gear early with an excellent set, nudging the crowd to sing along to tongue twisters during "Gwarn." Though he was beamed by the afternoon sun while dressed in a white jacket, Banton almost never stopped dancing. (Banton and his backing band did break for a couple minutes, posing for photos after encouraging concertgoers to snap pictures and post them on his MySpace page.)
The Wailers introduced their show with a prayer request for Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Dean. The historic act - which once backed reggae master Bob Marley - performed a striking set, including Marley hits "I Shot the Sheriff" and "One Love."
"Stir It Up," another Marley classic, sported thunderous, lung-loosening bass lines, and the stunning "Exodus" closed the band's set with an audience swaying to its steady rhythm.
Under moody lighting, energetic hitmaker Matisyahu arrived dressed in a dark sportcoat, performing "Sea to Sea," from 2005's "Live At Stubb's."
Other notables included "Lord Raise Me Up," the moving "Jerusalem" and an even higher-energy "King Without a Crown," which found the frontman running across the venue's upper edge, climbing the lighting scaffolding and throwing his hands in the air, much to the crowd's delight.
311 wasted no time getting its hits together, opening with its album-perfect 1997 single, "Beautiful Disaster." The band reached further back to 1993 with an equally stunning "Do You Right."
Well into 311's set, Matisyahu returned to the stage, joining the band for its cover of The Cure's "Love Song" with his lightning-quick phrasing layered atop the reggae-fied composition.
Guitar/vocalist Nick Hexum ordered the crowd to "get this place bouncing" just before breaking into "Freeze Time," and lighters went up for cool ballad "Beyond The Gray Sky." A solo from drummer Chad Sexton morphed into an exciting coordinated percussion effort with the entire band.
However, the stage remained dark when Mahoney's guitar setup encountered the aforementioned technical issue, just before the start of the prophetically titled "Nix Hex."
"That's how you know it's live," remarked Hexum.
The problem was eventually rectified, but the lull deflated some of 311's otherwise unstoppable momentum. The act regained its stride with the gear-shifting "Starshines," plus immaculate radio hits "Come Original" and "All Mixed Up."
Dedicating "Down" to its longtime fans, 311 walked off stage a song later, only to return to for its encore, capping the show with "Feels So Good," an assessment of which we could largely concur.
311 preparing for their next album
311 plans to enter the studio and begin recording its ninth studio album sometime this fall, after completing a summer tour with Matisyahu. Frontman Nick Hexum told Billboard.com, "We kind of go through a general cycle of making a more straight-ahead album that comes quickly and then we kind of rotate to more of a departure where we take a longer time making the album and inventing more new styles...So due to that back-and-forth thing, we're due for more of a groundbreaking, take-a-long-time-with-it album. We don't know when it's going to be done. We're not going to make any deadlines and promises, but it's time we slightly reinvent ourselves."
The band recently took more than a year and a half off, perhaps the longest stretch without work in 311's history. Hexum explained, "We needed a break, we've been working so hard and long. So everyone has been doing their own thing. I've been traveling and fishing, doing things I do to relax. Now everyone is really jonesing to get back to our primary purpose, which is 311."
311 kicks off its summer jaunt on June 21st in Tucson, Arizona. Hexum said that the band may play some new songs at a few dates.
The band recently took more than a year and a half off, perhaps the longest stretch without work in 311's history. Hexum explained, "We needed a break, we've been working so hard and long. So everyone has been doing their own thing. I've been traveling and fishing, doing things I do to relax. Now everyone is really jonesing to get back to our primary purpose, which is 311."
311 kicks off its summer jaunt on June 21st in Tucson, Arizona. Hexum said that the band may play some new songs at a few dates.
311 - and friends - bring unique takes on reggae (Providence Journal)
There's a crisis spreading through our youth faster than a clip on YouTube, that, if not checked and stomped out, threatens to destroy many lives, or at least make for a lot of uninteresting kids. That threat? Boring taste in music, created by a lack of variety.
Fortunately, our friends in 311, Omaha, Neb.’s own reggae/ska/hip-hop rockers, are doing their part to spread the gospel of their internationally inspired brand of music.
“You’re lucky if you live near a reggae station,” guitarist Tim Mahoney says. “They’re pretty rare. You just can’t turn on the radio and hear it. Young people aren’t familiar with it that much, so it’s good to see them get educated about it. It’s all ages, all races. Some sort of everybody likes reggae.”
The band, whose hits include “All Mixed Up,” “Down,” “Come Original” and a cover of The Cure’s “Love Song for the 50 First Dates” soundtrack, has a unique method of education — their Unity Tour, which carries on their tradition of summer traveling with bands with their own unique take on reggae and other related forms of music. The tour comes to the Tweeter Center, in Mansfield, Mass., next Sunday, with 311, Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu, and the legendary English Beat, featuring co-founder Dave Wakeling.
“Last year it was The Wailers and Pepper, with a nice reggae vibe. We’re huge reggae fans. The year before that Papa Roach,” Mahoney says. “We all like Matisyahu, and thought he’d be a good combination for the summer, so we reached out to him and he was into it. [And] we’re looking forward to the English Beat. [311 singer] Nick [Hexum] is friends with Dave Wakeling. The whole night is gonna be good for people to come and hang out all night if they want.”
Mahoney’s sure that if fans check out what’s being offered, they will indeed show up for the whole show, and not just wait for the headliners.
“It’s nice to mix it up. We’re all big reggae fans, and for the summertime it’s nice to put it out there, with some bands on the same [wavelength],” he says.
UNITY IS ONE OF REGGAE’S core themes, and for decades the genre has been a remarkable base for umpteen stylistic hybrids with rock, jazz and punk, inspiring Madness, the English Beat, UB40, No Doubt and, of course, 311.
“I found out about reggae in junior high school. [Rastafarian punk band] Bad Brains was one of my favorite bands, and it wasn’t until I started to get into them that I thought reggae was really cool,” Mahoney says. “They were these black guys playing hard-core punk.”
“The philosophy behind the reggae was that the artists were about good energy and dealt with heavy issues, mostly about positivity, getting past some barriers and the power of positive thinking,” Mahoney says.
The band recently enjoyed a trip to Jamaica, the reggae motherland, for a show on March 11 (“3/11!” Mahoney says)
“I forget what town we were in, but we played in a club there. They have a cliff you can jump off into the water,” he says. “We had a really good time. The drive from the airport was 45 minutes and the whole time they played nothing but Bob Marley in the van. It’s the national music there. Awesome.”
The crowd at the club were mostly vacationing Americans, but “the local stage hands were tripping out. They had never really seen rock music, and got a kick out of it,” Mahoney says. “It was pretty laid-back show. It was cool hanging out with the Jamaicans. I can’t wait to go back.”
The Jamaican stage crew, who seemed to know what they liked no matter what it was called, are evidence of Mahoney’s belief that music is, at the end, just music, and that “influences come from everywhere,” which has enriched 311’s music.
“We really don’t mind anyone labeling us. That never bothers us. I can only speak for myself, but no one is really thinking about that too much,” he says. “Everybody in the band likes a wide variety of music. I grew up listening to old Van Halen and Led Zeppelin and I love Willie Nelson. My girlfriend’s from Miami so I’m listening to a lot of salsa music.”
THIS PAST SPRING, a whole new group of people got an education in 311 — American Idol fans, via the relatively adventurous musical tastes of Seattle’s Blake Lewis. The band was contacted by the show’s producers for permission to let Lewis sing its “All Mixed Up.” Mahoney says they agreed without realizing how much mileage they’d get from it.
“We didn’t know [Lewis] was such a big 311 fan. He really kicked (butt) on ‘All Mixed Up,’ ” he says. “After he sang, the judges said they didn’t know who we were, and he said, ‘They’re my favorite band. They’re great.’ It was the best publicity ever.”
And after that, 311, in turn, became big Blake Lewis fans — “Nick went a couple of times to the tapings of the show and hung out with [Lewis] and made friends with him,” Mahoney reports, adding that the diminutive beat-boxer also covered their version of “Love Song.”
“That was cool too. We were rooting for him. We knew another guy, Brandon [Rogers], who used to sing for Christina Aguilera, but he got voted off early,” he says. “Blake brings a little more current, modern hip-hop influence to the show. It’s nice how it worked out. He didn’t win, but either way, he’s going to have a good career. Hopefully we can get him out to one of these shows.”
Mahoney sort of sheepishly admits that he and other members of the 311 crew became followers not just of Blake Lewis but of American Idol, which is not the most rock-star pastime.
“Early on I didn’t really follow it, but it was so funny. Me and our studio manager Jason, and Chad [Sexton], our drummer, were out there every Tuesday night watching,” he says. “We were like, ‘Dudes, we’re watching American Idol. What happened to us?’ ”
Fortunately, our friends in 311, Omaha, Neb.’s own reggae/ska/hip-hop rockers, are doing their part to spread the gospel of their internationally inspired brand of music.
“You’re lucky if you live near a reggae station,” guitarist Tim Mahoney says. “They’re pretty rare. You just can’t turn on the radio and hear it. Young people aren’t familiar with it that much, so it’s good to see them get educated about it. It’s all ages, all races. Some sort of everybody likes reggae.”
The band, whose hits include “All Mixed Up,” “Down,” “Come Original” and a cover of The Cure’s “Love Song for the 50 First Dates” soundtrack, has a unique method of education — their Unity Tour, which carries on their tradition of summer traveling with bands with their own unique take on reggae and other related forms of music. The tour comes to the Tweeter Center, in Mansfield, Mass., next Sunday, with 311, Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu, and the legendary English Beat, featuring co-founder Dave Wakeling.
“Last year it was The Wailers and Pepper, with a nice reggae vibe. We’re huge reggae fans. The year before that Papa Roach,” Mahoney says. “We all like Matisyahu, and thought he’d be a good combination for the summer, so we reached out to him and he was into it. [And] we’re looking forward to the English Beat. [311 singer] Nick [Hexum] is friends with Dave Wakeling. The whole night is gonna be good for people to come and hang out all night if they want.”
Mahoney’s sure that if fans check out what’s being offered, they will indeed show up for the whole show, and not just wait for the headliners.
“It’s nice to mix it up. We’re all big reggae fans, and for the summertime it’s nice to put it out there, with some bands on the same [wavelength],” he says.
UNITY IS ONE OF REGGAE’S core themes, and for decades the genre has been a remarkable base for umpteen stylistic hybrids with rock, jazz and punk, inspiring Madness, the English Beat, UB40, No Doubt and, of course, 311.
“I found out about reggae in junior high school. [Rastafarian punk band] Bad Brains was one of my favorite bands, and it wasn’t until I started to get into them that I thought reggae was really cool,” Mahoney says. “They were these black guys playing hard-core punk.”
“The philosophy behind the reggae was that the artists were about good energy and dealt with heavy issues, mostly about positivity, getting past some barriers and the power of positive thinking,” Mahoney says.
The band recently enjoyed a trip to Jamaica, the reggae motherland, for a show on March 11 (“3/11!” Mahoney says)
“I forget what town we were in, but we played in a club there. They have a cliff you can jump off into the water,” he says. “We had a really good time. The drive from the airport was 45 minutes and the whole time they played nothing but Bob Marley in the van. It’s the national music there. Awesome.”
The crowd at the club were mostly vacationing Americans, but “the local stage hands were tripping out. They had never really seen rock music, and got a kick out of it,” Mahoney says. “It was pretty laid-back show. It was cool hanging out with the Jamaicans. I can’t wait to go back.”
The Jamaican stage crew, who seemed to know what they liked no matter what it was called, are evidence of Mahoney’s belief that music is, at the end, just music, and that “influences come from everywhere,” which has enriched 311’s music.
“We really don’t mind anyone labeling us. That never bothers us. I can only speak for myself, but no one is really thinking about that too much,” he says. “Everybody in the band likes a wide variety of music. I grew up listening to old Van Halen and Led Zeppelin and I love Willie Nelson. My girlfriend’s from Miami so I’m listening to a lot of salsa music.”
THIS PAST SPRING, a whole new group of people got an education in 311 — American Idol fans, via the relatively adventurous musical tastes of Seattle’s Blake Lewis. The band was contacted by the show’s producers for permission to let Lewis sing its “All Mixed Up.” Mahoney says they agreed without realizing how much mileage they’d get from it.
“We didn’t know [Lewis] was such a big 311 fan. He really kicked (butt) on ‘All Mixed Up,’ ” he says. “After he sang, the judges said they didn’t know who we were, and he said, ‘They’re my favorite band. They’re great.’ It was the best publicity ever.”
And after that, 311, in turn, became big Blake Lewis fans — “Nick went a couple of times to the tapings of the show and hung out with [Lewis] and made friends with him,” Mahoney reports, adding that the diminutive beat-boxer also covered their version of “Love Song.”
“That was cool too. We were rooting for him. We knew another guy, Brandon [Rogers], who used to sing for Christina Aguilera, but he got voted off early,” he says. “Blake brings a little more current, modern hip-hop influence to the show. It’s nice how it worked out. He didn’t win, but either way, he’s going to have a good career. Hopefully we can get him out to one of these shows.”
Mahoney sort of sheepishly admits that he and other members of the 311 crew became followers not just of Blake Lewis but of American Idol, which is not the most rock-star pastime.
“Early on I didn’t really follow it, but it was so funny. Me and our studio manager Jason, and Chad [Sexton], our drummer, were out there every Tuesday night watching,” he says. “We were like, ‘Dudes, we’re watching American Idol. What happened to us?’ ”
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