Exclusive: 311's Nick Hexum on the Golden State Warriors and his training regimen
The band known as 311 was formed close to 30 years ago in 1990 in Omaha, Nebraska. Now based in Southern California, 311 continues to mix rock, rap, reggae and funk into its own unique hybrid sound. 2019 will mark 20 consecutive headlining summer tours for 311, all while having 12 studio albums -- over nine million albums in the U.S. alone -- to its credit.
Prior to the release of its 13th album via BMG, 311 will be hitting the road for the Sounds Of Summer tour with co-headliner Dirty Heads and special guests The Interrupters, Dreamers and Bikini Trill. The tour kicks off in Dayton, Ohio on July 2nd and is scheduled to run through August 20th. As part of Live Nation's National Concert Week, $20 tickets for the Sounds Of Summer tour are currently available for select shows through May 7th.
I had the pleasure of interviewing singer/songwriter Nick Hexum by phone and was able to sneak in a few sports questions within our chat. The rest of this interview will be broadcast as part of a future edition of the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast. In the meantime, more on 311 -- vocalist Doug "SA" Martinez, bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills, guitarist Tim Mahoney and drummer Chad Sexton -- can be found online at www.311.com.
I'm curious if there is like a band fitness regimen or something, because of the fact that you guys are all still in great shape and most bands are not doing two-and-a-half-hour live shows like 311.
Nick Hexum: You do have to think of yourself as an athlete. You know, I try to watch documentaries and read books about people like Mick Jagger like, "What does he do?" He's got a trainer that helps him stretch out, get really limber and warmed up before he gets out there. He does lightweights and stuff like that.
So I think of myself as an athlete and I know that I need to have my my engine running when I get out there and be in good shape. I just got done... I still kind of a mixture between cardio, and I do everything to the beat because to me being a musician when you do stuff to a beat it's more like dancing rather than work. So when I'm on the elliptical... I have playlists that are in a certain tempo depending on what I'm doing, and I'm always doing it to the beat and then setting the resistance just right to have my heart-rate up like 160 for 30 minutes. I just did that this morning and then I moved over to weights and then I do some apps. So that's like a typical thing that I'll do pretty much every other day. And then I also have like a couple basketball games, I'm in two different leagues. I like to surf, so it's a big part of my life.
But earlier in life, I realized that when I worked out, it helped my brain be more relaxed and that I felt to be somewhat crazy stir-crazy when I didn't work out. So it was almost more about mental health for me than the physical side of it. But now I just turned 49 years old and the fact that I can school people half my age on the basketball court feels pretty good. (laughs)
Do you have a favorite team in the NBA? Unfortunately growing up in Nebraska you only had college sports.
Nick Hexum: Yeah, I'm just a big sports fan in general. I like to place small wagers on games, so I'm kind of like a fickle fair-weather fan. I mean, I was a big L.A. Kings fan and I happened to have season tickets the year that they won the Stanley Cup. So that was my biggest fan-boy sports experience. But right now I'm putting in small bets on hockey and basketball.
I love to see the Golden State Warriors, just the way they work so well together, you know? I mean, the strength-in-numbers philosophy, to see that on-screen is kind of the way we work in our band. I have a lot of respect for that.