In a career spanning over 30 years, Nick Hexum has developed a well-earned reputation for blending genres. With elements of hard rock, rap, punk and reggae mixed into their sound, 311 remains one of music’s most distinctive acts. During a conversation with The Pier, Hexum revealed how reggae specifically came on his radar.
“So first time I heard it was when I went to England with my grandparents,” the 311 singer explained. “Me and my sister were very fortunate. Our grandparents took us on lots of trips. And I went to England, and it was a featured album in, was it HMV? One of the big record stores that they had was Bob Marley’s Legend album. And it just, it looked interesting. They might have had it playing. And I picked it up and brought it home.”
Once back in his hometown of Omaha, Hexum immersed himself in Marley’s classic compilation album.
“It took me to someplace different,” Hexum recalled, adding that Marley opened the door to further iconic acts. “I got obsessed with The Clash at 13 years old, would have been slightly after that. So I started hearing more reggae there. The song ‘(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais.’ ‘Police and Thieves’ was one of the first songs that I ever performed in a rock setting – well I mean, I did piano recitals, but other than that and singing in choir and talent shows and stuff like that. But the first band performance I had included ‘Police and Thieves,’ the reggae [tune], which was a cover of Junior Mervin’s song.”
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According to Hexum, it was “the groove” of reggae music that drew him in.
“I remember the very first time me and my buddy Kurt Grubb, we played ‘Police and Thieves.’ I was playing the guitar on the downbeats,” the rocker remembered. “And Kurt was like, ‘No, on the upbeats. You gotta wait a second.’ And then that was, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, OK. So in reggae, you play on the other beats that the other instruments aren’t playing on.’ So that’s what I did.”
Nick Hexum’s ‘Exciting New World’
Hexum’s thirst to bend genres inspired his latest project, a trilogy of solo EPs that see the rock star delving into country, folk and bluegrass sounds.
“It is a kind of an exciting new world,” Hexum admitted. “And it’s something that I’ve always had a taste for going back to like K.D. Lang’s Ingenue album is just a really beautiful alternative country with the pedal steel and the lush production. I really just loved that.”
“But I think maybe I was kind of denying my Midwest-ness a little bit,” the singer continued, “by sort of staying away from anything that was at all country. But I did always kind of like that kind of stuff. And then when I started hearing more… It sounds timeless because the instruments came from, mandolin and banjo. These are things that have existed way longer than the electric guitar. So there’s just a timelessness about it that is just very appealing.”
