2902: How 311 Has Stayed Together for 35 Years — Nick Hexum on Sobriety, Fitness and Creativity

In this episode the guys sit down with Nick Hexum, lead singer and co-founder of 311, just hours before a live show. Nick opens up about how the band has stayed together for 35 years, his path to sobriety in 2005-06 and how the band stuck by him through it, bringing weights on the road since 1993 and having a full gym dressing room on every tour, and why exercise was his earliest tool for managing anxiety and depression. He covers the study showing dance and exercise outperform SSRIs for depression by one and a half times, how he syncs his workouts to BPM-specific playlists, working with a vocal coach who saved his career, losing his youngest brother to an overdose and finally writing a song about it, Shaq showing up to their music video during the NBA playoffs with two left shoes and a siren on his SUV, meeting Joe Strummer of The Clash and finding a 311 sticker on his boom box, the Rick Rubin creativity principle of audience coming last, and his new Americana solo project with mandolin and fiddle. He also shares his thoughts on AI in the music industry, how the Grateful Dead touring model saved them from the Napster collapse, and why he surfed ten-foot Santa Cruz waves the day before this interview.

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GUEST LINKS

Nick Hexum: https://www.instagram.com/nickhexum
311 Official: https://www.311.com
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0:00 - Intro
1:59 - How 311 has stayed together for 35 years — democracy, gratitude and knowing you're better together
9:06 - Nick's sobriety journey in 2005-06 and how the band helped him get there
11:17 - Bringing weights on the road since 1993 — gym dressing room on every 311 tour
13:09 - Why outliers and creative people are more drawn to self-medicating
16:32 - How the music industry changed through CDs, Napster, Spotify and now AI
20:57 - Why the Grateful Dead live touring model protected 311 from the Napster collapse
25:47 - The inspiration behind Amber and how it was written in one hour on a Saturday morning
29:58 - Writing a song about losing his youngest brother to an overdose
36:41 - Exercise 1.5x more effective than SSRIs for depression — the meta-analysis
43:16 - How Nick syncs his workouts to BPM-specific playlists for different exercises
47:17 - Breaking through fear as the key to growth — busking and surfing ten-foot waves before this interview
51:21 - How Nick warms up before a show and why working out 90 minutes before performs better
54:05 - Working with a vocal coach who saved his voice
57:42 - Three teenage daughters and the 90s resurgence making him the cool dad again
59:27 - First big purchase after getting signed: a 1969 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors that caught fire
1:01:23 - The Shaq story — two left shoes, an illegal siren through LA traffic and the NBA playoffs secret
1:04:36 - Nick's current fitness routine — F45, trail running in Topanga Canyon and tour prep