I've always been on the fence about 311. They're definitely good musicians and proficient technically on their respective instruments. Their music always felt pretty good as background music at parties, but on closer listen the one word that comes to mind is "Lite." Metal lite. Rap lite. Rock lite. Dub lite.
But I went into last Saturday's show with an open mind, ready to give these Omaha transplants a chance. Plus they had English Beat and Matisyahu to bolster the lineup.
First, a few words about Coors. I know there's a back way to get to this venue, but I have yet to find it (if anyone has a tip to get there faster when there's a big crowd, give me a holler via a comment). Essentially, there's one way in, one way out. So it's always a headache to drive to this venue. After creeping along for a half a hour from the 805 to the parking lot, my wife Lisa and I sauntered up to the ticket window to grab our guest passes. A huge line awaited us, stretching about a football field long. I wanted to see English Beat (even though I know it's not '80 and it's not the original lineup), but instead spent 50 minutes in line with the sounds of Dave Wakeling's voice off in the distance. He plays locally pretty often (I believe Mr. Wakeling lives in North County), so I'll get another chance to see this band soon.
After fighting traffic and lines, Lis and I finally made our way into Coors. To their credit, they do carry a local microbrew now (Coronado), but it will cost you $13 for 22 ounces. I grabbed a beer scuttled to a spot in the general admission pit area just in time for Matisyahu. This is a solid reggae band, but lead singer Matisyahu is a bit preachy for my tastes. I get the whole link between traditional Hasidic Jewish beliefs and reggae (Zion and such), but I'd be better pleased if these guys let the music bring me to a spiritual place instead of long-winded diatribes and endless banter between songs. That said, Matisyahu is obviously a gifted MC and vocalist. Music with a message is fine (emphasis on music), but dub/reggae is the band's strength.
Now back to the headliners 311. I wanted them to be good. I really did. I admire their daring attempts at mixing rock, dub, funk, rap and reggae. I also admire their willingness to politicize lyrics and their non-ego-driven world view. I also enjoyed talking with Tim Mahoney to preview the show. He was a down-to-earth, easy-going person and is a talented guitarist.
As soon as lead singer Nick Hexum emerged donning a sleeveless muscle shirt emblazoned with "The Clash" (somewhere Joe Strummer is rolling in his grave), I knew we were in trouble. The crowd was really into it, and they should've been. 311 plays SoCal music.
But my biggest fears about 311 were confirmed. Not hard enough to be good metal. Not stoney enough to be good reggae. Not soulful enough to be good hip-hop. When I say "soulful," I'm referring to music born from strife and overcoming obstacles. While I'm sure 311 has hopped hurdles in its career, this is middle-class music made by the children of middle-class America.
RECAP
Venue: Lousy traffic control and ticket pick-up along with high beer prices, but I've come to expect that from Coors.
Sound: Actually quite good for a large venue. Coors usually gets bounce back from the brick wall at the back of the amphitheater, but I didn't experience any echo.
Crowd: Overly enthusiastic, but you can't ever fault the normally stoic San Diego crowd for getting into live music.
Performance: Disappointing. Simply, 311 are a bunch of well-meaning cheeseballs. Matisyahu was solid, but preachy. And English Beat gets a pass.
To quote Fishbone: Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe. Just one monkey's opinion.
Friday, August 24, 2007
311: 'Anything goes'
So I'm a bit behind in posting, but I have show reviews of 311 and the Warped Tour along with photos on the way. Here's the story on 311 which ran in U-T:
The members of 311 found success playing 'all the types of music we like'
By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
Aug, 16, 2007
Reggae, rock, rap and funk: 311 boldly goes where a lot of other bands have gone before. They just do it all in one song.
Since joining forces 17 years ago in Omaha, Neb., Nick Hexum (vocals, guitar), S.A. Martinez (vocals, turntable), P-Nut (bass), Tim Mahoney (guitar) and Chad Sexton (drums) have unabashedly melded diverse genres in their music.
“Our sound stems from all the types of music we like,” guitarist Mahoney said recently after the sound check at a festival in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “Everybody (in the band) loves reggae music. Everybody loves Led Zeppelin. Everybody loves Bob Marley. And everybody loves funk and all types of good music. It basically stems from everybody in the band wanting to play the music that they love.
“It's like chocolate and peanut butter: two great tastes that taste great together. Reggae and rock. We're big fans of Bad Brains. Bad Brains was originally who turned me on to reggae. Everyone's been into these hybrid type of bands. Why couldn't we have rap over rock? It totally made sense to us to put a hard rock guitar riff over a dancehall groove. It's just an attitude of anything goes.”
After testing their hybrid formulas on fans in their hometown of Omaha, the quintet moved to Los Angeles. With the band's sunny harmonies between vocalists Martinez and Hexum and their hard-rocking reggae tunes, 311 always sounded like a Southern California band. So Los Angeles was a good fit.
“It was a good time to leave Omaha,” Mahoney said. “I was 20, and there comes a time when you need to leave your hometown. I love Omaha. I'll always have a place there. But it was good for us to get out of there as a group and as a band. We struggled when we got to L.A., eating ramen every day. But it was great.”
And that's when their career started to take off. Nashville-based Capricorn Records signed 311 to a record contract (with major label distribution), releasing the band's 1993 debut, “Music.” The album established 311's basic blueprint for writing songs and combing genres: Add hip-hop rhyme schemes to Mahoney's edgy rock riffs, include a bit of reggae soul and James Brown funk, and encapsulate it all with positive lyrics. Like the music itself, 311 crossed boundaries, drawing fans from the jam band scene and the burgeoning rap rock movement of the mid 1990s.
Ultimately, rap rock or nu-metal gave 311 its biggest boost into the mainstream market. Giving people a softer alternative to Rage Against the Machine and Korn, 311 found a home on alternative radio with 1995's self-tited disc (with hits like “Don't Stay Home” and “All Mixed Up”) and 1997's “Transistor.”
“We always want to improve and grow, as individuals and as a band,” Mahoney said. “I think we're fortunate enough to have fans that have stuck around and stuck by us. And we're really fortunate to have people who will follow us through wherever we end up meandering with the music.”
Although sales have dropped since the band's 1990s heyday, 311 continues to develop its songwriting with more intricate song structures and a more devout fan base through constant touring. Since 2000, the band has held annual concerts on 311 Day (March 11 or 3/11) in New Orleans (except 2006 after Katrina, in which the show migrated to Memphis). The 311 Day events are epic, stretching five hours and encompassing 60-plus songs.
“It's almost exponential after you've been playing with the same guys for a while,” said Mahoney, who plays as part of the Summer Unity Tour Saturday at Coors Amphitheatre with Matisyahu and English Beat. “It's pretty rare to find a group of people you can work with like that. It's been so long, it's really all we know. Everyone has their personal lives, but we've had this bond for 17 years.
“Each record, we continue to be inspired. As long as we continue to be inspired to play music, play music together and write music that we're honest about and that we love, we'll be all right.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
The members of 311 found success playing 'all the types of music we like'
By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
Aug, 16, 2007
Reggae, rock, rap and funk: 311 boldly goes where a lot of other bands have gone before. They just do it all in one song.
Since joining forces 17 years ago in Omaha, Neb., Nick Hexum (vocals, guitar), S.A. Martinez (vocals, turntable), P-Nut (bass), Tim Mahoney (guitar) and Chad Sexton (drums) have unabashedly melded diverse genres in their music.
“Our sound stems from all the types of music we like,” guitarist Mahoney said recently after the sound check at a festival in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “Everybody (in the band) loves reggae music. Everybody loves Led Zeppelin. Everybody loves Bob Marley. And everybody loves funk and all types of good music. It basically stems from everybody in the band wanting to play the music that they love.
“It's like chocolate and peanut butter: two great tastes that taste great together. Reggae and rock. We're big fans of Bad Brains. Bad Brains was originally who turned me on to reggae. Everyone's been into these hybrid type of bands. Why couldn't we have rap over rock? It totally made sense to us to put a hard rock guitar riff over a dancehall groove. It's just an attitude of anything goes.”
DETAILS
Summer Unity Tour: 311 with Matisyahu and English Beat
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Coors Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista
Tickets: $16-$37
Phone: (619) 671-3600
Online: www.tickemaster.com
After testing their hybrid formulas on fans in their hometown of Omaha, the quintet moved to Los Angeles. With the band's sunny harmonies between vocalists Martinez and Hexum and their hard-rocking reggae tunes, 311 always sounded like a Southern California band. So Los Angeles was a good fit.
“It was a good time to leave Omaha,” Mahoney said. “I was 20, and there comes a time when you need to leave your hometown. I love Omaha. I'll always have a place there. But it was good for us to get out of there as a group and as a band. We struggled when we got to L.A., eating ramen every day. But it was great.”
And that's when their career started to take off. Nashville-based Capricorn Records signed 311 to a record contract (with major label distribution), releasing the band's 1993 debut, “Music.” The album established 311's basic blueprint for writing songs and combing genres: Add hip-hop rhyme schemes to Mahoney's edgy rock riffs, include a bit of reggae soul and James Brown funk, and encapsulate it all with positive lyrics. Like the music itself, 311 crossed boundaries, drawing fans from the jam band scene and the burgeoning rap rock movement of the mid 1990s.
Ultimately, rap rock or nu-metal gave 311 its biggest boost into the mainstream market. Giving people a softer alternative to Rage Against the Machine and Korn, 311 found a home on alternative radio with 1995's self-tited disc (with hits like “Don't Stay Home” and “All Mixed Up”) and 1997's “Transistor.”
“We always want to improve and grow, as individuals and as a band,” Mahoney said. “I think we're fortunate enough to have fans that have stuck around and stuck by us. And we're really fortunate to have people who will follow us through wherever we end up meandering with the music.”
Although sales have dropped since the band's 1990s heyday, 311 continues to develop its songwriting with more intricate song structures and a more devout fan base through constant touring. Since 2000, the band has held annual concerts on 311 Day (March 11 or 3/11) in New Orleans (except 2006 after Katrina, in which the show migrated to Memphis). The 311 Day events are epic, stretching five hours and encompassing 60-plus songs.
“It's almost exponential after you've been playing with the same guys for a while,” said Mahoney, who plays as part of the Summer Unity Tour Saturday at Coors Amphitheatre with Matisyahu and English Beat. “It's pretty rare to find a group of people you can work with like that. It's been so long, it's really all we know. Everyone has their personal lives, but we've had this bond for 17 years.
“Each record, we continue to be inspired. As long as we continue to be inspired to play music, play music together and write music that we're honest about and that we love, we'll be all right.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)