Early recordings (1988–1992) 311's first independent release was the
Downstairs EP, which was recorded in 1989 in Nick Hexum's basement. Unlike many of their releases, it had no cover art. It features the song "Feels So Good," which was recreated/remastered in the album
Music and is a staple of most of 311's live shows. In 1990, 311 produced 300 cassettes of their second independent release,
Dammit!, recorded at IEV Studios in
Papillion, Nebraska. In 1991, Tim Mahoney replaced Jim Watson on guitar and 311 released their third independent release,
Unity, recorded at Rainbow Recording Studios in Omaha. 1000 CDs and 500 cassettes of Unity were printed; they were distributed through consignment and sold at shows. The band began to headline shows in local clubs, such as the Ranch Bowl and
Sokol Auditorium. In 1992, Doug "SA" Martinez, whose nickname stands for Spooky Apparition and who had been making various appearances with 311 over the past years as a vocalist, was officially asked to join the band. 311 recorded a six-track demo, called
Hydroponic, also recorded at Rainbow Recording Studios, and moved to Los Angeles. Within their first few months, 311 was signed to
Capricorn Records.
Music and Grassroots (1993–1994) Their first major record,
Music, was released in 1993. The single "
Do You Right" received
airplay on
modern rock stations and reached No. 27 on
Billboards
Modern Rock Tracks chart. However, the album failed to chart at the time. The album was produced by
Eddy Offord, who famously produced
Yes and
Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Financing their own tour, the band drove around in an old RV borrowed from Sexton's father and towed a Volkswagen bus which held their equipment. After tackling a steep incline while en route to an Omaha show, the RV caught fire. The only door out of the vehicle was surrounded by flames so the band jumped through the fire. All of their equipment and possessions were lost, though no one was seriously injured. The band continued their tour using borrowed equipment. The following year, they released their second studio album,
Grassroots.
Mainstream breakthrough (1995–2001) In 1995, 311 released the self-titled
311 (colloquially known as "The Blue Album"). Produced by
Ron St. Germain, the album was recorded live in contrast to their previous two albums in which all instruments were recorded separately. The first single "Don't Stay Home" was a modest success, reaching No. 29 on
Billboards
Modern Rock Tracks chart. But the follow-up single "
Down", which was released 14 months after the album, received heavy
airplay on mainstream radio, and the accompanying
music video was on
MTV's
rotation. The song hit No. 1 on the Modern Rock chart. The band made their network television debut on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on August 23, 1995. The third single, "
All Mixed Up", enjoyed almost identical success, reaching No. 4 on the Modern Rock chart. their highest position on that chart. The album went
platinum. In 1998, 311 released
Live, a
live album from a 1997 performance in
New Orleans, Louisiana. 311 also released
Omaha Sessions, a
compilation album from their early independent releases. In 1999, 311 released their fifth major album,
Soundsystem. The song "
Come Original" reached No. 6 on
Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart. The second single, "
Flowing", featured ''
American Pie's''
Eddie Kaye Thomas in the
music video. Since 2000, the band has recorded every album at
the Hive, a
North Hollywood, California, recording studio they purchased in 1995. The sessions for
From Chaos, 311's sixth major record release, were the first to be held there.
From Chaos was released in late 2001. Its first single, "
You Wouldn't Believe" featured basketball star
Shaquille O'Neal in the video.
Evolver and ''Don't Tread on Me'' (2002–2006) 311's seventh major release,
Evolver (produced By Ron Saint Germain), came out in 2003. In summer 2003, 311 launched their inaugural Unity Tour. The tour included openers
G. Love & Special Sauce,
OAR, and
Something Corporate. In 2004, 311's
cover of
The Cure's "
Love Song" became a No. 1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also reached No. 59 on the
Billboard Hot 100, In mid-2005, 311 kicked off their third annual Unity Tour with openers
Papa Roach and
Unwritten Law. On July 20, 2006, 311 kicked off their Summer Unity Tour, playing 37 shows in 27 states and featuring opening bands
Pepper and
Wailers. After completion of the tour, 311 announced they would be taking a break from recording.
Uplifter and Universal Pulse (2007–2011) In January 2007, 311 stepped back into their Hive Studios with Nick's younger brother Zack Hexum. They recorded a cover of
Toots & the Maytals song "Reggae Got Soul" for the soundtrack from the film ''
Surf's Up'', which was released on June 5, 2007. Their Summer Unity Tour in 2007 included supporting acts
Matisyahu and
The English Beat. In 2008, they featured opening acts
Snoop Dogg and
Fiction Plane.
Uplifter, 311's ninth studio album, was released on June 2, 2009. The album, produced at 311's Hive Recording Studios in Los Angeles by
Bob Rock, debuted at No. 3 on the
Billboard 200, the band's highest chart position in the U.S. to date. The band followed up the release of the album with tours in Summer and Fall 2009. They have completed their Spring 2010 tour, which included 311 Day 2010, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. A Summer tour with
The Offspring began in June 2010. 311 also held a 2010 fall tour. 2009's Summer Unity Tour featured opening acts
Ziggy Marley and
The Expendables, and 2010's featured supporting act
The Offspring and opening act
Pepper. In early 2011, 311 finished recording their tenth studio album called
Universal Pulse at the Hive in Los Angeles, with producer Bob Rock. The album was released July 19, 2011. The album's first single, "Sunset in July" was released on June 3, 2011. Universal Pulse is their shortest album yet, only having 8 songs. In 2011,
Sublime With Rome and DJ Soulman & DJ Trichrome were the openers on the Unity Tour.
Stereolithic, Archive Compilation and Mosaic (2012–2017) In summer 2012, 311 embarked on their tenth annual Unity Tour with Slightly Stoopid, SOJA, and The Aggrolites. On August 24, 2012, Doug "SA" Martinez told Phoenix's
Up on the Sun that an eleventh 311 studio album was in the works and planned for release in 2013. However, on July 15, 2013, they announced the album would be released on March 11, 2014, to coincide with 311 Day 2014. The album was produced by Scotch Ralston. On July 2, 2013, 311 started their eleventh annual Unity Tour with Cypress Hill and G. Love & Special Sauce. The tour ended on August 4, 2013.
Stereolithic, the band's first independently released studio album since 1991's
Unity, was released on March 11, 2014. On November 18, 2014, 311 released a live album,
311 with the Unity Orchestra – Live from New Orleans – 311 Day 2014. The album documents part of the 311 Day 2014 concert wherein the band was accompanied onstage by a symphony orchestra for nine songs.
311 Archive, a four-disc compilation album featuring 81 previously unreleased songs, B-sides, and demos, was released on June 30, 2015. As of February 2016, according to
Nick Hexum, 311 was working on a new album, and in February 2017, the band revealed the new album's title,
Mosaic, on their PledgeMusic update feed. Six song titles were released to the public, "Hey Yo", "Island Sun", "Extension", "Too Much to Think", "Syntax Error", and "Too Late"; the first two were debuted at 311 Day 2016. 311 invited their fan base to submit a photo of themselves to be featured on the album artwork.
Mosaic was released on June 23, 2017, and was met with positive reviews. It was their 12th studio album and their 10th consecutive to debut in the Top 10 of US
Billboard 200. It debuted at number six, with 39,000
album-equivalent units, of which 37,000 were pure album sales. On March 9, 2017, the band released "Too Much to Think", the first single from
Mosaic. Following that, 311 released the singles "Too Late" and "Perfect Mistake"
Voyager and Full Bloom (2018–present) In 2018, 311 and
the Offspring toured together on the Never-Ending Summer tour. That summer, the Offspring released a cover of 311's "
Down" and 311 released a "reggaefied" cover of the Offspring's "
Self Esteem". Hexum states that 311 had "the bulk of an album written" and is working with producer/co-writer
John Feldmann of
Goldfinger on some tracks. Later that summer, Mahoney confirmed that they were working with both Scotch Ralston and John Feldmann on
Voyager.
Voyager was released on July 12, 2019. The documentary
Enlarged to Show Detail 3 was released to theaters for one day only on March 11, 2019. On March 11, 2020,
PRS Guitars asked the band if they were planning to make a new live album or follow-up to
Voyager. Guitarist Tim Mahoney said, "This year is all about playing live and celebrating 30 years. Although we do have a few blocks of time set aside for new music writing and recording, the soonest for any new release would be 2021." As part of their 30th anniversary tour, the band was scheduled to co-headline a North American trek with
Incubus in the summer of 2020, but it was cancelled because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. On May 16, 2022, P-Nut announced via
Twitter that he would be taking a hiatus from the band after they had finished their upcoming tour schedule. On November 30, 2022, P-Nut followed up with an announcement also via Twitter that he would not be taking a hiatus, after having had discussions with the band and having seen support from his family and fans. On June 7, 2024, 311 premiered the music video for "You're Gonna Get It", their first new single since 2019. The music video, directed by
Brian Bowen Smith, sees Hexum as a
bare-knuckle pugilist fighting in an underground arena, reminiscent of the 1999
David Fincher film,
Fight Club. Hexum said of the track: "The story behind the lyrics to 'You're Gonna Get It' is going back into the mindset of when we were young, and dumb and doing a lot of crazy stuff. Sometimes getting away with it, sometimes with consequences. And I'm going in and out of the first person saying to myself, 'get your stuff together! Or else you're gonna get it.'" On September 18, 2024, 311 announced the release of their 14th studio album,
Full Bloom, along with its second single, "Need Somebody". The album was released on October 25, 2024. The band took to Instagram, describing the album as "311 on steroids." ==311 Day==