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Chad Sexton, the diminutive drummer for 311, made sure to leave no sensibility unoffended when searching for the correct group to compare his stoner-friendly crap-metal ensemble to in a recent interview with MTV. “I think we have the same appeal as a band like the Grateful Dead. We have some Deadheads in the band, and when they stopped touring, Phish kind of took over for them, and maybe Dave Matthews Band has some of that same appeal as well. We can jam on our [songs] like those bands, but I’d say we’re kind of a band between–and I’m not comparing us to these bands, but just in the level of status and accomplishment, and that they’re still together–U2 and Phish. It’s somewhere in the middle of that, and we’re hoping to define that a little better over the next couple of years.” While no one would call me a big U2 fan, I don’t think its fair to bring them up when trying to explain what a concert draw your shitty band is. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to place 311 between Phish and the Kottonmouth Kings?
It’s a weird phenomenon: We keep playing, and kids are having a great time every summer.
We’ve picked up a comparable following, I guess. We wanted to make sure we tour every summer, regardless of our records, because we’re here to play live music. We don’t want to spend a summer getting away from the people.
And soon the people will be blessed with another full-length, this one helmed by Bob “Some Kind Of Mixer” Rock!
So far, [the record is] sounding like 311, just with Bob Rock helping us get the roadmaps and the energy of the songs down, in how he’s recording it. We’ve experimented a lot in recent years and shifted this way and that way, and with the current climate out there, with record sales, it could be a coincidence that [our sales] just went down, down, down because of the Internet, or maybe we’ve been too experimental. Maybe we should get back to the basics — the 311 basics.
Judging by their drum sound on songs like 2004’s “First Straw,” Dr. Rock sounds like the perfect fit.
In high school, I wrote a two-out-of-ten review of 311’s Transistor for the teen page of my local paper, which ran the same day as their headlining show. Mark McGrath, of opening act Sugar Ray, actually called out the piece on stage, finding fault in claims like “bevy of crap,” “tuneless drivel,” and “Vanilla Ice performing at Disney’s Tiki Tiki Room.” Over ten years later, they’re still playing godawful reggae-metal, and I’m still being paid to say they suck. Some things never change.
311 Are The New Grateful Dead, Drummer Chad Sexton Says Before Tour With Snoop Dogg [MTV]
311 – First Straw [YouTube]
Some things never change.
Only if Mark McGrath stops staring at a stain on the wall enough to record a YouTube complaint back later today.
“And I’m not comparing us to these bands, but just in the level of status and accomplishment, and that they’re still together.”
Makes sense. As for “comparing”, although he announced he is not, I can’t say this really bothers me. All he’s done is admitted they’ve released more crap than humanly possible, they still tour and they still have a butt-load of fans who enjoy their music. Big deal, and go them.
At least they haven’t reached the level of smug self-importance that U2 have managed to pull off.
@Hubert Cumberdale: the thing is, how is he NOT comparing 311 to the bands if he’s comparing their level of “status and accomplishment?” What doesn’t fall into “status and accomplishment?” Artistic merit?
@Anthony Miccio: Really all his “not comparing” caveat does is calm fans who’d be worried that the band was planning to stop sounding like a special ed Bad Brains.
Just to be clear, 2/3 of those bands aren’t still together. And in terms of status and accomplishment, each of those three has played to crowds hundreds of thousands deep, had hit singles (well, not Phish), lasted several decades, and all without ever needing their drummer (or, drummers) to call attention to all that great success to MTV.
Also, note to MTV – 311 is not funk rock. I don’t really know what funk rock is and the wiki [en.wikipedia.org] hardly clears things up. Jimi Hendrix was a funk rocker? Wasn’t he just a rocker who played some funky guitar? The only folks I can think of that actually fit the funk rock bill are Les Claypool and Funkadelic. Isn’t 311 just straight up wuss-ska? I haven’t listened to them since I was told in middle school that 311 is a KKK reference (no regrets).
I wrote some pretty disparaging things about ‘em in an alt-weekly preview several years ago, and a bunch of young ex-frat/nu-yuppie dudes who came into my buddy’s bar for a liquid lunch read the piece and spent some time deciding whether or not to drive over to the paper’s office and kick my ass. Apparently, more Clamato bloody marys won out.
@GhostOfDuane – My friend from Omaha says that “311″ there is like “420″ everywhere else. I’m not sure why they need their own number.
311 never really offended me before, but that “Last Straw” vid made we want to chop my ears off.
The incessant guitar on “Down” makes me want to die. It NEVER STOPS. It’s like the girl from The Ring.
Ghost of Duane – I thought Maggot Brain pretty much defined “funk rock” for all time.
What’s really depressing about 311 for me is how much Dub Trio’s last album and set reminded me of those fuckwads. So sad to see a good band go wrong.
This leaves me perplexed. I think some guy put “My Stony Baby” on a mix tape for me in high school. This bands cheeseball basslines (and really, their sound as a whole) makes me want to set my stereo on fire for ever having tainted with that crap.
If I still had the stereo.
Or the mix tape.
As someone raised on modern rock radio in the early 90s (as opposed to someone who said “what the hell is this crap?” and dove into the indie scene) I really can’t hate too much on 311. I hated what they stood for and the people who loved them (see also: DMB), but, with time, my feelings toward them have mellowed and I can even enjoy a few of their catchy songs (see also: DMB).
Having said that… “Love Song” is possibly the greatest abomination ever committed to a movie soundtrack.
@GhostOfDuane: I was going to post some sort of an anti-311 rant but you’ve summed them up quite nicely: “wuss-ska”
Thanks for pointing out how much they suck on so many different levels. I thought I was the only one who loathed their “funk rock”.
311’s “Grassroots” can be put up against any other album out there and blow it out of the water.
I will admit, their sound on the last 3 albums has been unfortunate, but everything else before that was some of the best music put out to date.
I respect your opinions though. Diff strokes for diff people, right?
311 is the omaha police code for indecent exposure, not weed
they aren’t a special ed bad brains. quite frankly bad brains blow them and anyone else out of the water – but though influenced by bad brains, they both go in very different directions.
i understand why so many people hate 311 – i used to be a big fan and no one knows how god awful they can be better than me. Their last record is probably the worst record ever put out by any band, including boy bands and the like.
phish is way more accomplished – u2 is awful
the latest dub trio record rips and so do their shows
and grassroots is still fresh and extraordinay
great piece of journalism though – from the local paper to some unknown blog and you call 311’s career into question?