311's Nick Hexum Announces Moon-Themed EP Trilogy

04-23-2025

(TS) Nick Hexum, the enigmatic frontman of alternative rock legends 311, has shared Full Memories, the second EP to be released from Hexum this year. It serves as the second installment of what is a trio of lunar themed EPs, the first of which, Waxing Nostalgic, was released in February and featured "Lonely Existence." Full Memories - which Hexum produced and co-wrote with the help of collaborators Ben Kweller, Alan Hampton (Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham), Rami Jaffee (Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers), Joel Martin and Kenny Feinstein (Water Tower) - is a reflective and surprisingly earnest statement from the singer-songwriter. Stream it here

While discussing the release, Hexum says "Full Memories is my second collection in a trio of moon-themed EPs: Waxing Nostalgic, Full Memories and Waning Time." The third and final EP of the trilogy is slated for release this summer.

Hexum continues, "Full Memories contains five tunes that veer further into americana/bluegrass instrumentation. The opener, 'Just to See You Smile' is a simple acoustic romantic tune about wanting someone's enjoyment of life to rub off on you. It features Nick Drake-style finger picking and mellotron flute. For the writing of this one I was joined by a good friend, the extremely talented Alan Hampton. 'Careless' is a full-on bluegrass jam about coming to grips with one's carelessness. It's fun to hear how bluegrass can rip with punk intensity. Definitely new territory for me." 'Where I Belong,' co-written with my sister, is about how just like many objects in life, people need to find their match to feel complete. It's a slow baritone acoustic based song that is meant to be played on the porch in the evening."

Hexum wrote EP standout "Please Explain" with his friend from Texas, indie stalwart Ben Kweller, who has a long history of oscillating between different genres. Whether it's alt-rock, folk, punk, country, or 70's piano ballads, the throughlines in Kweller's work are his unshakable melodies and pointed lyrics. Hexum says "'Please Explain' is probably the most country tune I've done and it's a song about the desire for a family member to open up to you and tell you what's really going on with them. I was joined in the writing process by one of my favorite alt-pop songwriters, Ben Kweller."

For his part in collaborating with Hexum on the song, Kweller explains "Nick and I share this thing they call the 'hungry student mentality' - we love to learn new things and when we get inspired, we go all-in and figure it out almost to an obsessive degree," Kweller says with a laugh from his Dripping Springs studio. "When Nick called me and said 'Yo BK, I'm going down the country music rabbit hole and I think I'm gonna release a solo collection of rootsy tunes - oh, and I'm also teaching myself how to play pedal steel!' I wasn't surprised at all. I was like, yep, this sounds right. Let's get to work."

The two hopped on a zoom and went over a few ideas and within the hour they had the song's skeleton completed. "Nick came up with this great verse melody that reminded me of something from the 60's, like an early Glen Campbell thing. So away we went. 'Please Explain' is that feeling of just wanting to know the truth no matter if it's good or bad. I don't care if you did something horrible or you never want to see me again, just tell me what's going on in your head because not knowing is far worse for my heart than the thing itself."

Featuring a pastiche of bluegrass, americana and country, fans of Nick might be surprised to hear the EPs surprising swansong, a cover of Chappell Roan's "California." Speaking on the recording, Hexum says "'California' is a Chappell Roan cover that I chose because I really related with the lyrics. It's a story about being a midwestern kid who moves to California to pursue big dreams but having mixed feelings about it. This is exactly what happened to me at the age of seventeen before I moved back to Omaha to start 311 with my high school friends. Of course it worked out just fine but at the time I did feel like a failure. Her song captures it well. For this song I was joined by Rami Jaffee (Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers) on keyboards, as well as my long time friend Joel Martin on pedal steel."