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311 (band)

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For alternate uses, please see 311 (disambiguation).
311 (pronounced "three eleven") is a band that formed in late 1988 in Omaha, Nebraska as a rapcore/punk rock/reggae group. 311's influences include The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Clash, Fishbone, and REM.

Contents

Membership

All five members grew up in Omaha in the 1970s.

Musical career

311 has enjoyed commercial persistence stemming from its rabid fan base. Since their self-titled album in 1995, all but one of their albums (the exception being Live) have been in the top 15 of the Billboard Top 200. 19 of their singles have received significant radio airplay since "Do You Right" in 1993; five of those songs being top 3 hits on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Early 311 (1989–1995)

In 1990 and 1991, 311 released three records on their own independent record label, What Have You Records. These records, titled Dammit!, Hydroponic, and Unity, and alongside their energetic live shows, launched their career in the mid-west, after which they moved out to California in an attempt to be signed onto a major record label.

311, also known as The Blue Album
Enlarge
311, also known as The Blue Album

Their first CD, Music was released in 1993 and eventually went gold. The following year, they released their second album, Grassroots. Their biggest selling CD was their self-titled release 311 in 1995 (also known as The Blue Album) which went triple-platinum and also found mainstream success with the singles "Down" and "All Mixed Up".

Mainstream breakthrough (1996–2000)

In the following years, 311 kept their strong radio success going. 1997's Transistor debuted at #4 on Billboard's Album Charts. Transistor is known as a fan-favorite throughout the 311 community, and sports popular tracks such as "Beautiful Disaster", "Transistor", and "Prisoner."

In 1999, 311 released their fifth major album, Soundsystem. "Come Original" was the album's first single and had huge success on radio and television. It appeared on MTV's TRL eight times in late 1999, and was #60 on TRL's Top 99 of '99. The second single, "Flowing," had American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas featured in the music video.

Later albums (2001—present)

In 1995, the band purchased a communal living space/recording studio in North Hollywood, California called The Hive. The band has recorded every album at The Hive since 2000, with sessions for From Chaos, 311's sixth major record release. From Chaos was released in late 2001 and debuted at #10 on the Billboard Album Chart. "You Wouldn't Believe" featured basketball star Shaquille O'Neal in the video. It had solid success on MTV. The album is mostly known for the third single, "Amber". The song reached out to a new crowd, different from the usual fanbase. The band also played tribute to another band with the song "I'll Be Here Awhile," by lifting several lines from the 77s' 1987 "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and the Pride of Life." 2003's Evolver was a very different album for 311, and fans' overall opinions of the album were split. "Creatures (For A While)" reached #3 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.

In 2004, 311 covered the Cure's "Love Song" which became a #1 hit. It was featured on the soundtrack for the motion picture 50 First Dates and then a few months later on their own Greatest Hits compilation. Also that year, 311 played a 68-song setlist during their concert on "311 Day", which the band has held in New Orleans every other year since 2000. "311 Day" occurs on March 11, also written as 3/11. The most recent 311 Day, in 2006, was held at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, due to the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. The band recorded the entire show in high definition. A pay-per-view version is in the works, along with another 311 Day DVD.

On August 16, 2005, 311 released their eighth studio album, titled Don't Tread on Me. "Don't Tread On Me," the first single, reached #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts and #1 at R&R. The video achieved massive success on Fuse, MTV and VH1. The next single was titled "Speak Easy", with a hook similar to such hits as "Amber" and "Love Song". On June 13, 2006 the third single, "Frolic Room", hit radio.

Aside from their currently released albums, the band has created three well documented videos (Enlarged to Show Detail, Enlarged to Show Detail 2, and 311 Day: Live in New Orleans) of their touring, friendship, positive messages, and of course, music.

Controversy

Claims of racism

In 1997, a rumor started that the band's name was a reference to the Ku Klux Klan because K is the 11th letter of the alphabet. It was also rumored that Nick Hexum was a member of The National Front, which is a white supremacy group.

The name actually came from a skinny dipping incident when a former band member, original guitarist Jim Watson, was charged with indecent exposure by the Omaha Police Department and escorted home handcuffed and naked. The police code which appeared on the citation was "311". Nick Hexum has said:

After the humor of the name wore off, we still kept it because we liked that it was just abstract and that it did not define us in any way. The name did not describe our sound or our politics, it just let the music speak for itself.
Released in 1994 on Grassroots, long before the KKK rumor surfaced, "Silver" provides some strong words about racism:

''Of the racist institutions, simple minds belong;
''Not happy being human, no wish to get along.
''Little people need exclusions; sucker groups to throng.
''It makes them feel special; it makes them feel strong.
In response to the rumors, Nick Hexum began to write a song for the 1997 release Transistor titled "Fuck The KKK". After thinking about the title a little more, he revised it and ended up with "Electricity", the sixth track on the album.

First two lines from "Electricity":

''This song started as a rant against haters
''But that'd be giving into the instigators
Last verse:

''A call out for unity
''In every province and city.
''What do you think we've been saying
''Since we first started playing?
(These last lines can be seen as a reference to the early 311 song "Unity".)

It should also be noted that singer Doug "SA" Martinez is of Latino heritage.

311 vs. Scott Stapp

While taking Thanksgiving Day off on their Fall 2005 tour, Martinez and Sexton were involved in a lounge brawl with former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp in the Harbor Court Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. Martinez told MTV:
He was acting out of control, looking for attention and being loud and obnoxious. He walked up to the bar, took a shot of whiskey and then slammed the shot glass down on the bar, and it shattered everywhere.
He said some disrespectful things towards my wife and I asked him what he said, and then Chad came over and said, "Don't talk to her that way," and Scott got up and Chad followed him. After a while he went back to the bar and was looking for attention. And then a few minutes later, he came back to the table where my wife was, sat down across from us and wanted attention, he started the fight, then the police arrived, escorted Scott to his room and then told him to get out of the hotel.
A spokesperson for Stapp did not return MTV News' requests for comment on the altercation, and according to the Baltimore Police Department, no charges have been filed.

The melee left Martinez with a fractured knuckle on his right hand, which he fitted with a soft cast the following day. P-Nut reopened a surgery scar in the fight, though Martinez is not exactly sure how that happened. In keeping with 311's always positive, optimistic vibes, Martinez was just happy that their hometown heroes Los Angeles Lakers won that night. [link]

Discography

Year Title Label US Peak
1990 Dammit! What Have You DNC*
1990 Downstairs EP What Have You DNC*
1991 Unity What Have You DNC*
1992 Hydroponic What Have You DNC*
1993 Music Polygram DNC*
1994 Grassroots Polygram #193
1995 311 (also known as The Blue Album) Capricorn #12
1997 Transistor Capricorn #4
1998 Live Capricorn #77
1998 Omaha Sessions What Have You DNC*
1999 Soundsystem Capricorn #9
2001 From Chaos Volcano #10
2003 Evolver Volcano #7
2004 Greatest Hits '93-'03 Volcano #7
2005 Don't Tread on Me Volcano #5
* Did not chart on Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart

Singles

Year Title Billboard Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock
1993 "Do You Right" - #27 - Music
1993 "Feels So Good" - - - Music
1994 "Lucky" - - - Grassroots
1994 "Homebrew" - - - Grassroots
1995 "8:16 A.M." - - - Grassroots
1996 "Don't Stay Home" - #29 - 311
1996 "Down" #1 #19 311
1996 "All Mixed Up" #4 - 311
1997 "Transistor" - #14 #31 Transistor
1997 "Prisoner" - #21 - Transistor
1998 "Beautiful Disaster" - #21 - Transistor
1999 "Come Original" - #6 #39 Soundsystem
2000 "Flowing" - #17 - Soundsystem
2000 "Large in the Margin" - - - Soundsystem
2001 "You Wouldn't Believe" - #7 #32 From Chaos
2001 "I'll Be Here Awhile" - #15 - From Chaos
2002 "Amber" - #13 - From Chaos
2003 "Creatures (For a While)" - #3 - Evolver
2004 "Beyond the Gray Sky" - #39 - Evolver
2004 "Love Song" #59 #1 - 50 First Dates [Soundtrack]
2004 "First Straw" - #14 - Greatest Hits '93-'03
2005 "Don't Tread on Me" - #2 - Don't Tread on Me
2005 "Speak Easy" - #22 - Don't Tread on Me
2006 "Frolic Room" - - - Don't Tread on Me

Filmography

Year Title Format
1996 Enlarged to Show Detail VHS/DVD
2001 Enlarged to Show Detail 2 VHS/DVD
2004 DVD

External links

 

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