Artist bio

Nebraska-bred, L.A.-transplanted funk/rock/pop combo 311 burst on the scene in 1993 with the genre-bending album Music, and has continued to ply its trade through hard-hitting live shows and word-of-mouth popularity growth in the ensuing decade.

The group formed on a basically unique hybrid of rock guitars, reggae and funk rhythms, rapped lyrics and soaring vocal harmonies. Through Music and ganja-clouded followup Grassroots, the quintet perfected the sound, scoring minor underground hits with "Do You Right" and "Homebrew" but generally building a fanbase through relentless touring.

The big breakthrough came with a self-titled third album in 1995, as a slicker production courtesy of Ron Saint Germain smoothed out their sound ("All Mixed Up") but still allowed it to rock with precision ("Down"). The five musicians had also grown and become more musically proficient, leading to a branching out on 1997's Transistor, which found them running through genre experiments with less of an ear toward blending than in the past. The album failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, though the group's fanbase stayed strong, and eventually 311 would return to a refined version of its original sound for Soundsystem and From Chaos.

Though the conventional wisdom is that Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against The Machine were the true progenitors of the rap-rock hybrid sound that exploded in the late '90s with hundreds of platinum-selling faceless bands, 311's take on a similar hybrid was unique, and the group's early body of work will always have its place in rock's pantheon, having helped bring the '90s some of its own dialects to speak within the larger language of rock music.

Albums by this artist

From Chaos (2001)

Soundsystem (1999)

Transistor (1997)

Grassroots (Recommended) (1996)

Concerts

October 27, 1999
The Metro, Chicago

311

Soundsystem

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

311 Soundsystem Capricorn, 1999 RiYL: Red Hot Chili Peppers's Californication, Bad Brains, a happy Rage Against The Machine

In the early '90s, the Nebraska funk-pop quintet 311 quietly released some of the most compelling albums of the decade in 1993's Music and 1994's Grassroots.

The band had built up a following through those grassroots that exploded with the success of its third, self-titled joint in 1995. But then it got weird. 1997's Transistor was a mixed bag of styles, with a feel of experimentation without focus. And as the '90s draw to a close, here comes Soundsystem, 13 tracks that 311 spent a year creating in their L.A. studio. The carefully-crafted result shows the band's continued devotion to their music, but it features more stale moments than their classic earlier work.

For example, in the album's second song, "Come Original," vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum raps with a faux-reggae accent that all entertainers need to heed his words and "come full range." While calls for originality in music are well-meant, this comes off as a bit haughty. In the past, his shtick went something like "Fuck the naysayers 'cause they don't mean a thing / 'cause this is what style we bring." But now, he seems to want to teach those naysayers a thing or two about how musicians should behave -- methinks it better to teach by example.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a naysayer myself, and to be fair, this album has a few great examples of vintage 311: the bouncy rush of "Flowing," S.A. Martinez' cocksure rapping on "Strong All Along," Timothy J. Mahoney's crunchy loops and tear-it-up guitar solo work throughout the album.

But though most of the other songs are perfectly produced 311 songs, they sound almost too much like perfectly produced 311 songs -- there's not a strong enough sense that the band is onto something completely original, or unrepetitive.

What Soundsystem does well is further establish 311 as a career band. They are not dependent on radio hits, but have five strong, successful records under their belt. And the full year of touring they plan to devote to supporting this album is the real attraction here: 311 is an amazing live band, known for working clubs into frenzied masses of sweaty musical bliss without the use of an opening act.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.