311

Fans of the band 311 will be happy to know that P-Nut and his bass guitar have reconciled.

Exasperated by the grueling live sessions that went into recording "From Chaos," the band`s sixth album, P-Nut was tempted to give up the instrument he`s played for 16 years.

Then he got married, and put the bass aside.

"I took a vacation, actually a honeymoon with my new wife (not that I had an old one). And I was away from my bass for two weeks," P-Nut, born Aaron Charles Wills, said in a recent interview from 311`s studio in Los Angeles.

"Getting back to it feels really, really cool. I have to teach myself the instrument all over again, and it`s been a lot of fun."

The five members of 311 had "tons of fun" recording the new LP, said P-Nut. However, he conceded, "From Chaos" evolved from sessions that were sometimes less than smooth.

"We recorded the basic tracks in nine days, and those nine days were ... as difficult as it`s ever been to play bass," he said. "It was rough for me. I`d go home and I`d just be like, `(Sigh) Oh, I don`t want to play bass anymore.` And then I`d wake up in the morning and laugh at myself for being such a (lightweight).

"The challenge," he said, "was playing it all live in the studio, because usually we record separately, which doesn`t have as live of a feel."

With the live-band approach, last used on 311`s self-titled 1995 album, "It sounds like a show now - you can feel the emotions of everybody playing together," P-Nut said.

But "it was really, really difficult playing it all at once. Every time anybody messes up, you have to stop, especially (drummer) Chad (Sexton). He`s got to get a perfect take, no matter what. So it got frustrating, for sure. Probably more so than it`s ever gotten for me."

PRODUCER RETURNS

The new album, on Volcano Records (which acquired 311`s previous label, Capricorn, in February), also marks the return of Ron Saint Germain, who produced the band`s self-titled LP, also known as the "Blue Album."

Although the band has had its own studio since 1999, "From Chaos" marks the first time 311 recorded album tracks there.

"We didn`t record the basic tracks here, (because) the room`s not good enough," P-Nut said. "It`s more of a mid-sized room. It`s good for guitar solos and vocals and stuff. Mostly, we did it at Sound City, where Nirvana recorded `Never Mind` - a big, huge room, sounds a lot better."

Despite the label change, P-Nut said, 311 went into the recording sessions determined to triumph. "We just prepared for the best, and said that this wasn`t gonna be a problem, no matter what. If we have a label or not, we`re gonna record this album.

"That was one of the coolest things about working with (Saint Germain) again. Even though he knew that we were having label troubles, and we couldn`t really pay him (outright) ... he knew we were good for it. He worked on a trial basis with us, and fell in love with the music."

A SKA SONG, TOO

The new album finds the former Omaha, Neb., band focusing anew on mellower sounds.

"We concentrated more on the melodic songs than we usually do. It goes with our maturing. We`ve always had lighter songs, but these seem to be some of the best ones we`ve ever written," he said.

"We wanted to write more timeless songs, instead of just physically difficult ones like I tend to lean toward." Among the album`s lighter songs is the hook-heavy, ska-flavored "I`ll Be Here Awhile."

"That song is 10 years old," P-Nut said. "We were just sitting on it, knowing that when things improved on the label side, we`d drop things like that. It also needed to evolve a little bit.

"What`s funny is, we`ve always been called a ska band but we`ve never made a ska song. Maybe we`ve had a couple of (song) breaks but never a whole rock-steady song like that."

But make no mistake, the bass player added, "we still have as hard of stuff, if not harder stuff, on this album than any other album."

Among the LP`s hard-edged songs are two - "Full Ride" and "Wake Your Mind Up" - co-written by P-Nut and drummer Sexton.

"It was a first, just Chad and me writing the music," P-Nut said. "I like doing that with every member just to see what comes out differently in me and in them."

HELP WITH LYRICS

With "Wake Your Mind Up" - which P-Nut says is distinguished by syncopated rhythms and "takes a higher skill level to play" - the band also marked another milestone.

"That`s the first time that we`ve brought in other vocalists to help (311 singer-rappers) Nick and SA write lyrics - Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas and Tre, formerly of Pharcyde. They really had a lot of fun with it. They`re so innovative, and so funky."

P-Nut, who was born in Indiana but grew up on Omaha`s south side and who took up bass at age 11, says he got his nickname while jamming with friends when he was 14. "I was rocking out and they said my head looked elongated like a peanut when I was playing real physically."

The avid basketball player said that, out of consideration for his bandmates, he limits his hoops on the road. "I know that (on tour) I can`t really take a day off. You don`t want to let everybody down by screwing up your ankle. You just gotta lace up your shoes real tight."

It`s the sort of band-comes-first attitude that makes 311 special, he said.

"You`re always compromising and making sure you`re happy as well as everybody else is. That`s why we`ve stuck together so long, is we`re not afraid of conflict. And if it`s gonna happen, we`re gonna talk it out."

(C) Copley News Service

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Author: James Healy