Trivia / 311

• Black Sheep Hit: "Amber".
• Breakthrough Hit: "Down" marked the moment the band entered the map on the music industry.
• Creator Breakdown: While 311 is usually known for their positive, upbeat lyrics, Soundsystem includes songs (particularly "Flowing") with lyrics reflecting the self-doubt and lack of direction that Nick was dealing with at the time.
• Doing It for the Art: "This song would still be played if no money was made."
• Fan Community Nickname: "The Excitable Ones" or "The Excitable Crew".
• Meaningful Release Date: Stereolithic was released on March 11th (3/11).
• What Could Have Been: After the rumor that the band was named for the Ku Klux Klan, they started writing a song entitled "Fuck the KKK". This eventually morphed into the song "Electricity", which is a cry for tolerance and unity. The opening lyrics explain why:
  "This song started as a rant against haters,
  But that'd be giving in to the instigators"
  • Speaking of the album "Electricity" is in, Transistor was planned to be a double album with a whole story concept behind it.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Or in this case, recording; when Adam Sandler requested the band cover "Lovesong" for the 50 First Dates soundtrack, they happened to be on tour and couldn't get to a recording studio in time. They ended up recording most of their parts on a mobile workstation with Pro Tools during rehearsals or soundchecks.