311 Music

It’s very rare that the music industry finds a music act that can endure years of hard work and trials. Such groups are very hard to find. And if they do come out, you can’t be certain that these music acts are no one-hit wonders.

311 proved to be not among these musical acts. After getting together back in the late 1990s, the group has been through some mix-ups with members, fire and near-destitution experiences. By through it all, the band has remained dedicated to their music, dreams of success, and growing fans that’s why up until now, they are still enjoying the fruits of all their hard work.

After finalizing their band line up, composed of Tim Mahoney, Nick Hexum, P-Nut, and SA Martinez, they recorded and released three albums—Dammit, Hydroponic, and Unity—under their own music label, What Have You Records.

After they have made quite a name for themselves and their music in the Midwest, they decided to try their luck somewhere else. They moved to the West Coast and lived in California where they found it very hard to get a record deal. They were on the brink of poverty when they landed a deal with Capricorn Records.

All their eight albums ranged from alternative to rap to funk to reggae to heavy metal. The success of their albums can be highly attributed to their extensive touring all over the US and other countries to promote their albums.

Their first album Music was released in 1993. Though its single Do You Right received fair airplay and reached number 27 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts, the album did not do very well on the charts.

The second album Grassroots did better. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and took the 193rd spot on the Billboard 200. Tracks from this album started to get the attention of college students, making it quite a contender on college charts. It was during this time when, while doing extensive tours, the group started to develop a solid fan base.

Their biggest-selling record was their self-titled album. The first single Don’t Stay Home reached number 29 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart. The follow-up single Down did better at the charts as it received heavy airplay. The song reached number one. The next single All Mixed up also did well, reaching number 4 on the Modern Rock Track Chart. The success of the tracks propelled the album to reach platinum status in 1996.

311 didn’t stop touring heavily in the US. This further increased the solid fan base they have. In 1997, they released Transistor—which landed at the number 4 on the Billboard 200. Popular tracks like Beautiful Disaster, Transistor, and Prisoner, the album also dealt with more weighty subject matter such as world affairs (”Borders”), spirituality (”Inner Light Spectrum”), and mysticism (”The Continuous Life”). The album quickly went platinum despite weaker reception compared to their previous ones.

Come Original, the first track from their fifth album titled Soundsystem reached number 6 on the Modern Rock Track chart. Its video was heavily requested in MTV’s Total Request Live.

Because of the success of the past three albums, 311’s first couple of releases was able to reach gold status.

311 released their sixth album From Chaos in late 2001. The record debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200. Its first single’s music video featured NBA sensation Shaquille O’Neal and enjoyed great success in MTV.

2003 saw the release of Evolver—their return to the heavy-metal sound they were initially known for. From Chaos included tracks that veered away from heavy metal to reggae. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200. The single “Creatures (For A While)” reached #3 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Their cover of The Cure’s Love Song, which was used in the romantic-comedy flick top billed by Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reached number 1 on the Modern Rock Track Chart.

Don’t Tread On Me was the title of their eighth album. It was released on August 16, 2005 and had one successful single—Don’t Tread On Me—that reached number 2 on the Modern Rock Track Chart and number 1 on the Radio and Records.

Their ninth album is called Uplifter and will be released on June 2, 2009.