March is usually associated with such grand traditions as St. Patrick's Day and the NCAA Basketball Championship (a.k.a., the least productive time period in most American workplaces), but there's one annual event that often goes overlooked - 3/11 Day. Unfortunately, no one has formally designated this an official holiday as yet, but at least it falls on Friday this year.
For the record, 311 Day is an annual celebration by Omaha, NE natives and rock/ska band 311 and their fans, that takes place on March 11th of every year. Since 2000, 311 has played a concert in different location each year to celebrate the date, with a set that's much longer than the typical 311 show, showcasing a variety of rare songs to please even their most hardcore fans.
So, in honor of 311 Day, let's take a look at the band's body of work - keep in mind: this is a band that has been around since the late '80's, really hit its stride in the mid-'90's and has remained musically relevant ever since. Case in point: how many of you saw the 2004 romantic comedy "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore? You may remember this little ditty from the soundtrack:
While it's a cover of a song originally performed by The Cure (a band I'll save for a future post), it shot to #1 on the Modern Rock charts and had some serious airplay (at the very least, in my car/on my iPod).
My first memory of 311 takes place in the summer of 1995 and their self-titled album (also called "The Blue Album" that featured "Down", "All Mixed Up", and "Don't Stay Home". Remember, this was during the height of the Seattle grunge scene, dominated by bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden - so for a band from Nebraska that played a hybrid of Reggae, Ska, Hip Hop and Hardcore Rock, the fact they were able to bust through and remain relatively popular for 17 years is a pretty remarkable feat.
Three years later, 311 was back with "Transistor", with much of the same rock/ska/hip hop/hard core dance hits that launched them into the mainstream, such as "Beautiful Disaster", "Transistor", and "Prisoner".
1999 saw 311 release their 5th studio album "Soundsystem" that was highlighted by "Come Original" and one of my personal faves "Flowing". The band came roaring into the 21st century with album #6 "From Chaos" that yielded two more hit singles" "You Wouldn't Believe", "I'll Be Here Awhile", and probably my favorite 311 song ever "Amber".
The albums "Evolver" and "Don't Tread on Me" followed in '04 and '05, that book ended a Greatest Hits package, and their last "big" hit - the aforementioned "Lovesong". But that hasn't stopped them from putting out even more great music, even for the youngest fans: they appeared with reggae legends Toots and the Maytalls on the soundtrack for the animated film "Surf's Up" singing "Reggae Got Soul". 2009's "Uplifted" failed to register any chart hits, but since then, 311 continues to tour regularly, becoming a staple on the summer concert circuit, and is still being discovered by new fans as well. They even have an annual Caribbean cruise that features 311 performances, and lots of fun in the sun - exactly the type of atmosphere their music creates, without the sunburn.
311 is due back on the road this summer, and I highly encourage you to check them out. If you go, or if you've seen 311 live, please send us your review.
Happy 311 Day - and keep an eye out for 4/20!
UPDATE: You can check out all of the songs listed above on 311's Facebook page: 311 on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment