311 is one of the biggest bands from the ’90s that incorporated ska and reggae influences in their music. They also mixed hip-hop, reggae, hard rock and whatever else they felt. And they did it with positive, hippie vibes, not the dreary, angry tone that many alt-rock bands brought to the music at the time. Their musical diversity and message of unity and inclusivity has given them an extremely loyal fan base few bands from that era enjoy.

We already interviewed 311 bassist Pnut earlier this year, so this week, we talk to lead singer Nick Hexum about the band’s legacy, their relationship to ska and reggae and the various weird moments they’ve interacted with culture. And there are many of them, including the infamous Investigate 311 sketch on The Eric Andre Show, the 311 Milk Challenge, and happening to play their first ever show with Fugazi.

We also talk about Nick’s ska workout videos, the legacy of Limp Bizkit, and how maybe it wasn’t a great idea for 311 to drink beers backstage at that Fugazi show. Plus Nick tells us about his love for The Untouchables, and even sings us a little bit of their excellent reggae-pop tune, “What’s Gone Wrong.”

Most importantly, we ask Nick if Jeff Rosenstock can play the 311 Cruise!

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If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music.

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.