311

311 formed in Omaha, Nebraska in 1988, building a sound that merged reggae rhythms, hip-hop grooves, heavy guitar riffs, and funk bass into a genre-defying mix that anticipated the nu-metal and rap-rock movements by half a decade. Nick Hexum's guitar work balances clean reggae-influenced strumming with heavier power chord passages, typically playing a Fender Stratocaster — often a hardtail model — through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier for the heavier sections and a clean channel setup for the reggae and funk material. Tim Mahoney provides the heavier guitar counterpart on Gibson Les Pauls and PRS Custom 24 models, also running through Mesa Dual Rectifiers with the gain pushed considerably higher. P-Nut (Aaron Wills) is one of the most technically accomplished bassists in modern rock, playing a Warwick Thumb bass with a slap-and-pop technique that draws from funk and hip-hop. On their self-titled album (1995) and Transistor (1997), produced by Scotch Ralston at the Hive in Omaha, the band layered Mahoney's distorted riffs beneath Hexum's cleaner chord work, creating a sonic depth that distinguished their recordings from the simpler reggae-rock bands that followed. The interplay between SA Martinez's turntablism and the live instruments gave songs like "Down" and "All Mixed Up" a textural complexity that rewarded repeated listening. Live, 311 are known for marathon sets and tight musicianship, with Hexum and Mahoney running stereo amp rigs to fill arenas.