Nick graduated early from high school at seventeen. He moved to downtown LA in search of a musical career. When Nick returned to Omaha for Tim and Chad's graduation - they got together and formed the band, "Unity". In '88-'89, Chad and Bones(their keyboardist at that time) moved to Hollywood and tried to get a recording contract. However, this was unsuccessful.
Chad moved back to Omaha and got up with P-Nut and Jim Watson(original 311 guitarist). Nick was asked to join their band. In '91 they parted with Jim and added Tim as lead guitarist. During that time, SA was making guest appearances at their live shows. Then finally, in '92 they added SA as a full member of the band and they all moved to LA. 311 was born.
3eleven signed with Capricorn Records, and have since made 6 albums with them. In '93, their first record, "Music" was released. This is my favorite album of all time. However, there was little fan fare with it's release. In '94 they released "Grassroots". 311 developed an incredible following from the release of this album and from the intensity of their shows. In '95 311 released "311"(blue album), their self-titled album. With the release of the hit "Down" from the Blue Album, 311's success began to spread. They finally started getting the attention that they deserved. By '96 3eleven's fanbase had increased greatly, and the media finally began to give them some attention. The Blue Album has gone triple platinum - selling 3,000,000 copies. Then in '97, 311 released "Transistor", which contains 21 songs and debuted on the Billboard Charts at #4. In '98, 311 released a Live album, which contains 14 tracks from their Transistor Tour. Also in '98, they released an album titled "Omaha Sessions". This album is a collection of the band's material written and recorded between '88-'91. It contains songs from albums off of their independent record label, What Have You Records: '90 Dammit, '91 Hydroponic, and '92 Unity. This is only available through 311's official website. I recommend picking this one up. Definitely worth having. Their most recent album is "Soundsystem". This album was released in October '99. This album is truly a masterpiece. 311 went on tour after the release of this album and are enjoying it more than ever!!
After the Blue Album, 311 released a full-length, home video called "Enlarged to Show Detail". These were home movies of 311 and their concert footage. I definitely recommend picking up a copy, it is hilarious!!! 311 plans to release ETSD 2. This will be out November 2001.
