311 chose its name based on the police code 311 (for indecent exposure) after the group’s original guitarist was arrested and fined for skinny dipping. A rumor about the band’s name being related to alleged ties to white supremacy were found to be untrue, and addressed in their 1997 song “Electricity”.

The band formed in 1990 in Omaha, Nebraska, defining their sound as ‘hybrid music’ in which they fuse hip-hop, heavy rock, reggae and dance hall. Their first gig was opening for the legendary DC hardcore band Fugazi.

311 released an EP and two albums independently and found enough regional success in the midwest to sign with Capricorn Records and relocate to LA. In 1996, “Down”, the second single from their third album with Capricorn, hit #1 on the US Alt Rock chart and achieved modest success in Canada and Australia.

Over the next fifteen years, the band scored seven more top 10 Alt Rock hits in the US including their 2004 cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong”, which reached #1 and crossed over onto the Hot 100. In 2005, 311 were thrust into the media spotlight when Creed vocalist Scott Stapp entered a Baltimore bar and drunkenly attacked the band and one member’s wife – first vocally, then physically.

As of 2022, 311 has had eleven consecutive albums reach the top 20 in the US, with six being certified Gold or above.