Vocalist S.A. Martinez talks about how welcoming the 311 fanbase is ahead of Des Moines show

It’s been 30 years since rock band 311 released their debut studio album “Music,” introducing audiences then and fans to come to their blend of hip-hop, reggae and funk.

“That was like the first,” vocalist and DJ S.A. Martinez told the Des Moines Register in a phone call from his home in Ojai, California, on Monday. “The first big release you're a part of. The first time you were really in these studios in LA. First time working with some well-known producer. And that record still sounds amazing.”

He and band members Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton, Tim Mahoney and P-Nut come to the Horizon Events Center in Clive Sept. 19. They’ll be joined by alt-rockers Awolnation and rock act Blame My Youth.

Martinez spoke to the Des Moines Register to discuss a new 311 album in the works, hearing The Smiths for the first time as a young adult and the band's fan base.

Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Des Moines Register: Your band, 311 has long been loved by fans for many reasons, including the band’s inclination to promote positivity. How did 311 become so synonymous with this message?

S.A. Martinez: There is one thing Nick (Hexum) will say every night at the close of the show: “Stay positive. Love your life.” It’s kind of became a mantra, and it does get linked to the band. But I also think there's something that just resonates between the band and the fan base. There is a kind of a welcoming committee, so to speak, or a welcoming vibe within the fan community. It really is just one that is endearing and you feel included, and there's outreach within the community. I'll never forget. We were playing, it was maybe the 311 Day after (Hurricane) Katrina had happened, maybe a year or two after the fact, and we had landed in New Orleans and word trickles through the grapevine that there's a group of fans that are helping rebuild some structures. It’s things like that, little things that really add up to bigger things.

Des Moines Register: How did growing up in Omaha, Nebraska2, influence 311’s sound, or affect the kind of music you were exposed to?

S.A. Martinez: Personally, I was just a music head. I really didn't know it. I thought we all were. Just like I thought everyone could sing. I remember growing up and going to school and then slowly realizing, “Oh, not everyone sings. That’s so weird.” I lived in the record stores. Music was a big part of our family life, too. I have three older sisters, everyone, they were all singers, all into music. My dad was a musician. Mom played piano. I lived and just breathed music. Mostly what was on the radio. Slowly as I'm maturing and you're going through those adolescent phases, then you get turned on to more eclectic music. I was very receptive to that because I grew up in south Omaha, which is like blue collar working class and the set I rolled with early on in junior high was kind of the stoner crowd into AC/DC, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Def Leppard. All these heavy bands. I actually played bass in an AC/DC cover band and then I discovered The Smiths and then I lost all those friends. Kicked out of that band. I remember where I was when I heard The Smiths for the first time. I remember the song. I remember doing a double take, like, “What is this? Why haven't I heard this before?” It was so unique sounding and then I really went on the road of musical discovery from that point forward, and really haven't stopped and kind of been chasing that high ever since. I wouldn't say Omaha per se had anything but I will say maybe the social milieu that we kind of surround ourselves with and that we want to associate with.

Des Moines Register: I’ve read from a few other publications that there is a new 311 album in the works. Is that so? What can you share about it?

S.A. Martinez: The process had started maybe a year, maybe two years ago… there'll be songs from one album cycle that just get shelved because we just didn't have time to finish them or whatever and then like, “Oh, yeah, isn’t there that song from ‘Soundsystem,’ or lyrical ideas or melodies.” There is some of that that has resurfaced for this record. There's a few songs that were still lingering around and then we've been working with various people… there’s a lot of great, great, sick, new emerging rock bands. In the past couple years, I’ve just been sideswiped because for a long time, I wasn’t feeling anything coming out. There wasn’t any band that was really doing for me. All of the sudden, there’s a handful of bands I’m really digging. The pendulum is swinging again. That’s exciting because it inspires us to get out of our chairs, get to work again.

Des Moines Register: It’s been 30 years since 311’s debut studio album “Music.” What are your favorite songs off the album, and why?

S.A. Martinez: I love that whole entire album because that was like the first. The first big release you're a part of. The first time you were really in these studios in L.A. First time working with some well-known producer. And that record still sounds amazing. It holds up. The production on it is so crisp, so clear… I can't say I have a favorite-favorite. It was such a great experience — that whole time period — moving out (to) California, all living together. And then all the subsequent experiences collectively, individually, we all had and kind of vibed off of. That first album, it's an amalgamation of many of the songs that were on the first three EPs, plus there were some new songs that we were able to write for that record. So we were really honing those and getting those tighter, those songs.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at PBarraza@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 311 - from Omaha - to perform at Horizon Events Center in Clive