Snowboarding has become winter’s equivalent to extreme warm weather sports like in-line skating and skate boarding. Since 1989, snowboarding has experienced an unprecedented boom in the United States and across the world. During its early stages, there were less then 75,000 snowboarders across the U.S. As an initial estimate this number may seem significant, but it hardly compares to the predicted 12 million at the end of 1996. This group is not entirely made of men either, as females help make up a major part of this growth in participants. In 1989, the ratio was close to 9:1, males to females where as today it is closer to 3:2. There was also a period of time where the ski resorts were worried about the decline in guests and ski-related activities. Things have changed! Snowboarding has been credited with bringing the young and old alike back to the mountains in overwhelming numbers.

311 is one of the most explosive and experimental up-and-coming bands in the rock world today. Fusing hard rock with funk, rap and reggae, the band has created quite a potent musical cocktail. Growing up in the Midwest – Nebraska to be exact, where the East meets the West – has proven to some extent to be the perfect breeding ground for the sound of 311, as well as their many dimensions.

One of the most explosive and experimental bands in the rock world today, 311 fuse hard rock with funk, rap and reggae to create their own personal and very potent musical cocktail. Blending razor-sharp musicianship with such a diverse mixture of musical styles, 311 exhibit quite an aggressive attitude, both musically and politically. Drawing on a grassroots fan base that incorporates many different lifestyles and view points has helped catapult the band to Platinum record status and a #1 song at Alternative radio.

One of the most explosive and experimental bands in the rock world today, 311 fuse hard rock with funk, rap and reggae to create their own personal and very potent musical cocktail. Blending razor-sharp musicianship with such a diverse mixture of musical styles, 311 exhibit quite an aggressive attitude, both musically and politically. Drawing on a grassroots fan base that incorporates many different lifestyles and view points has helped catapult the band to Platinum record status and a #1 song at Alternative radio.

As a Los Angeles-based quartet, 311 have covered a lot of territory since their inception. With music influences that range from Sly and the Family Stone to Bob Marley, this Omaha-born band mixes hard-rock, funk, rap and reggae into a very potent music cocktail. Since the release of their debut, Music, in 1993, the band has released an album per year while supporting a nonstop touring schedule – selling out clubs and theaters nationwide, thanks mostly to their massive grassroots fan base. As the band prepared to embark on a national tour with Cypress Hill and The Pharcyde, Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton and Tim Mahoney invited me to their Laurel Canyon home to discuss life, music and the world of 311. Blending their razor-sharp wit and diverse musical knowledge with an aggressive attitude, the band has taken a rare musical ideology – the music path of positive outlook.