Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the vocalist and guitarist for the multi-platinum

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

and The Nick Hexum Quintet.

Early life

Born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, to father Dr. Terry Hexum and mother Pat, Hexum went to Westside High School in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. There, he played in the school's concert jazz band, and was a member of several local bands like The Extras, The Eds, and The Right Profile. In 1988, Hexum moved to Los Angeles to pursue music with his band Unity, including

Chad Sexton 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

, Ward Bones, and Marcus Watkins. However, this group soon parted ways. Hexum moved to Germany for a brief stint in 1990; while there, he got a call from Sexton, who was back in Omaha. Sexton's band Fish Hippos had a gig with

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

and he invited Hexum to join the band. Hexum agreed, but said they needed to change the band's name. At that show, they announced from stage that their name was

311

311 began playing together in 1990. Hexum was considered the band's manager and also did the legwork of organizing their schedule. He took out a student loan and used the money to get time at Rainbow Studios in Omaha to record their first independent album, ''

Dammit! 311 (pronounced "three eleven") is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson, bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills, and drummer Chad Sexton. Watson was repl ...

'', released under his own record company, "What Have You Records". The band released three albums, ''

'', ''

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

'', and ''

Hydroponic Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plan ...

''. In 1992, the band felt they'd done all they could on the local scene and moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal. They signed to Capricorn Records. Since then, 311 has released 13 major label records. They have performed over 2,000 shows in 27 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Hits include "Amber", "Down", "You Wouldn't Believe", "Creatures (For a While)", and many more.

Personal life

Hexum has three siblings: Angela, Zack, and half-brother Patrick. His parents are divorced. Patrick died fighting an opioid addiction. Hexum was in a relationship with

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

from 2000 to 2004. Hexum married his wife Nikki on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

2008; they have three daughters. Their oldest daughter, Echo, was born in a home birth on August 29, 2009. Their second daughter, Maxine, was born May 1, 2011, which was also Nikki's birthday. Due to the absence of the family's midwife, Hexum performed the delivery. Their third daughter, Harlow, was born September 16, 2014. Harlow starred in the TV series ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...

'' as Alya Fitz. Hexum has contributed to the charity collaboration

Band of Merrymakers Band of Merrymakers is a holiday music supergroup created by hit songwriters Sam Hollander and Kevin Griffin in 2014. The group was established with the philanthropic goal of raising awareness and donations for non-profit organizations and c ...

Discography

with 311

*''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1991) *'' Hydroponic EP'' (1992) *''

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'' (1993) *''

Grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *''

Transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...

'' (1997) *'' Soundsystem'' (1999) *''

From Chaos ''From Chaos'' is the sixth studio album by 311, released on June 19, 2001. In 2000, before this album was recorded and released they left Capricorn Records and switched to Volcano Entertainment as their permanent label. Singles from this album i ...

'' (2001) *'' Evolver'' (2003) *'' Don't Tread on Me'' (2005) *''

Uplifter ''Uplifter'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band 311, released on June 2, 2009 by Volcano Records. It is the band's first album in nearly four years, the longest gap between albums in 311's career. ''Uplifter'' was produced by Bob R ...

'' (2009) *''

Universal Pulse ''Universal Pulse'' is a mini-LP and the tenth studio album by American rock band 311, released on July 19, 2011 on 311 Records/ ATO Records. It clocks in at almost 29 minutes, making it the shortest album 311 ever released, as well as their fir ...

'' (2011) *''

Stereolithic ''Stereolithic'' (stylized as ''STER30L1TH1C'') is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band 311, released on March 11, 2014. It is the band's first fully independent studio album release since 1991's ''Unity''. ''Stereolithic'' is also ...

'' (2014) *''

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

'' (2017) *'' Voyager'' (2019)

with The Nick Hexum Quintet

*''My Shadow Pages'' (2013)

with
George Clanton George Clanton (also known by the monikers Mirror Kisses, ESPRIT 空想, and Kid's Garden) is an American electronic musician and singer-songwriter known for his involvement with the vaporwave music scene. He established his independent record ...

"Crash Pad" b/w "King for a Day"
(2019)
"Under Your Window" b/w "Out of the Blue"
(2019) *
George Clanton & Nick Hexum
' (2020)

Guest appearances

The Urge The Urge is an alternative rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their music combines several genres, including hardcore punk, Heavy metal music, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, rock music, rock, and rhythm and blues. Consistent touring throu ...

- '' Master of Styles'' (1998, vocals on "Jump Right In") *

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

- ''

'' (2001, vocals on "Stay On") * Goldfinger - '' The Knife'' (2017, vocals on "Liftoff") *

Dirty Heads Dirty Heads is an American reggae rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Their debut album, ''Any Port in a Storm'', was released on September 23, 2008, by Executive Music Group (Fontana/Universal). Their newest album, ''Midnight Control' ...

- '' Swim Team'' (2017, vocals on "So Glad You Made It") *

Neverending White Lights Daniel Victor (born September 20, 1979) is a Canadian recording artist and producer from Windsor, Ontario, best known for the collaborative music project Neverending White Lights, which features instrumentation performed mostly by Victor, with ...

- '' Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies'' (2006, vocals on "Age of Consent") *

Disco Fries Disco Fries is an American production duo consisting of Nick Ditri and Danny Boselovic. History In late fall of 2004, Danny Boselovic and Nick Ditri met as roommates in their freshman year at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Nick grew up ...

- ''

Autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

'' (2015, vocals on "Head in the Clouds")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hexum, Nick 1970 births Alternative rock singers Midwest hip hop musicians American people of Norwegian descent American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Living people Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Musicians from Madison, Wisconsin Nu metal singers Rappers from Nebraska Rappers from Wisconsin Reggae rock musicians Lead guitarists Rhythm guitarists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 311 (band) members