Formed in 1990, 311 broke out onto the music scene with three records in two years. Front man SA Martinez, guitarists Nick Hexum and Tim Mahoney, bassist P-Nut, and drummer Chad Sexton added their unique sound to the Midwest with the records Damnit!, Hypochondriac, and Unity. Produced on the independent record label What Have You Records, 311's popularity grew, and their fan base overflowed into the rest of America.
Moving away from their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, the band soon settled down at a house in Van Nuys, California to try and jump into the mainstream. Their efforts were successful as they were soon signed by Capricorn Records. Backed by a reputable recording company, 311 released their first CD album Music in February of 1993. Determined to make the best of their good fortune, the band immediately went on tour to promote their album.[p]Unfortunately, early on in their tour all of their instruments were lost as the tour bus caught fire. Undeterred, the band missed only one show, and playing instruments donated by their fans, continued their tour. With support like this, 311 could hardly fail in their quest to unleash their melodies upon the world. Come 1994, the band was touring full time and moved into their RV rather than maintaining the un-used house in California. In July of that year, 311 released their second record Grassroots followed quickly by a third in 1995, the self-titled 311. Now with a considerable fan base, 311 made it onto the national scene with their single Down.
Getting radio play by September of 1996, Down also made it to MTV and eventually hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart. Solidly in the eyes of the public, another single, All Mixed Up soon shot to #2. Fueled by the success of the album, 311 released a follow-up video called Enlarged to Show Detail. Featuring video footage from sell out concerts as well as music videos and interviews, the video followed the album to platinum sales numbers. In the years from 1997 through 1999 the band released four more albums. The platinum selling Transistor, a re-make of their earlier albums under What Have You Records entitled Omaha Session, a collection of concert recordings in 311 Live, and finally, their fifth true album, Soundsystem. With such ambitious production it was only a matter of time before 311 vaulted back to the top of the charts.
The release of From Chaos in 2001 immediately put 311 back at #10 on the Billboard Top 200 Sales Chart. With not one, but three hit singles from this album, 311 was back in the limelight. With the songs \'You Wouldn't Believe at #7, 'I'll Be Here Awhile at #15, and Amber at #10 this album has sold its way to Gold status. 2003 saw the release of Evolver and the launch of a new Tour by 311. With a mixture of classic 311 melodies and new age rock, the band has another possible platinum record on their hands. Practiced shows and years of professional touring make for incredible concerts with ticket demand regularly eclipsing available tickets.
