Maia Stern | March 11, 2024
What better way to spend March 11 than with 311 bringing love and nostalgia to the Tiny Desk. The members of 311, who have been a band together for over 30 years, strolled into NPR HQ and barely needed much rehearsal time before playing four of their most beloved tracks. The band has been performing these songs for decades, and you can tell it all just comes naturally. "This kind of reminds me of being in my dad's basement, being back next to the pool table, but it smells better here," said lead singer Nick Hexum, who felt right at home and back to his roots at our office space.

311's self-titled album came out in 1995 when I was entering my peak angst stage. The songs on that album were the perfect soundtrack to all the pre-teen feelings I wasn't able to fully express myself. I also heavily related to what remains to be my favorite lyric of all time from the band's 1997 album Transistor: "I do, I don't, whatever."

311's Tiny Desk set started off with the song that lyric comes from, personal favorite "Beautiful Disaster." The band continued with classic "All Mixed Up" before chilling out a bit with "Amber." Then, as Hexum said before the band's final track, "Down," it was "back to the rock." Listen out for SA's changed lyric honoring my and Tiny Desk's shared hometown: "Fall in love with your teachers, on the wax we are self made / Check the technique, 311 in D.C."

SET LIST
"Beautiful Disaster"
"All Mixed Up"
"Amber"
"Down"

MUSICIANS
Nick Hexum: vocals, guitar
Tim Mahoney: guitar
SA: turntables, vocals
Chad Sexton: drums
P-Nut: bass

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer/Director: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#311 #nprmusic #tinydesk