311 brings 30th anniversary tour to Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica

Despite the fact 311's rock, rap, reggae and funk musical stylings seem about as far away as possible from The Rolling Stones, drummer Chad Sexton acknowledges a connection in his DNA to the classic rock band's recently deceased percussionist Charlie Watts. "He's the type of guy that you kind of learn from in terms of crafting songs that will go over to the masses," said Sexton, calling from Long Island, New York. "He's a great example of playing for the song. Drummers can learn a lot from that aspect. "It's a huge loss, and I'm really glad that he had such a long career because that gives a lot of us behind him some hope that we can continue through the decades as we age and kind of just go until something stops you." Formed in 1990, 311 — Sexton, Nick Hexum (vocals/guitar), Tim Mahoney (guitar), SA Martinez (singer, DJ) and P-Nut (bass) — was planning to mark its 30th anniversary together last summer touring the country with Incubus. Instead, like everyone else, the group had to pivot during the coronavirus pandemic into a digital world finding its footing livestreaming shows while still celebrating its milestone. In a unique move that its diehard audience completely ate up — starved for any live music in any form — 311 revisited its catalog performing via livestream the band's first six albums — from 1993's "Music" to 2001's "From Chaos" — in their entirety from the safety of the group's North Hollywood studios. "As a musician, I loved going over and reviewing records in their entirety," Sexton said. "It was a fun thing for me. It was enjoyable, and I was happy with most of the things I was writing on the drums at the time. The songs sounded good. It was a good experience. "It's funny how that works out after not being able to go on tour for our 30th to kind of reviewing our history." That history includes 13 studio albums, 10 of which reached the top 10 on Billboard's Top 200 Sales Chart and sold more than 9 million copies in the U.S. The alternative band's top 10 radio hits include "Down," "All Mixed Up," "Amber," "Love Song," "Come Original," "Beautiful Disaster," "Don't Tread on Me," "Hey You" and "Sunset in July." Because 311 dedicated all of its pandemic time to livestreaming, Sexton said they haven't worked up any new material. Odds are fans won't mind seeing a career-spanning show, which has included deep tracks, such as "Visit" and "Eon," when the group returns to Northeast Ohio for a Saturday show at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. Considering that next year, despite Watts' death, The Rolling Stones plan on celebrating the band's 60th anniversary with a new tour, does Sexton think 311 will be around for another 30 years? "Well, I try not to think about it too much," Sexton said. "I'm just trying to keep going until something stops us. That's kind of the attitude. I have high hopes. It would be certainly a great feat to be around that long in a musical group, for sure." Contact John Benson at ndiffrence@att.net. IF YOU GO WHAT: 311 with special guests Iration and Iya Terra WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, 2014 Sycamore St., Cleveland TICKETS: $32 to $99 INFO: livenation.com