S.A. Martinez Interview

AoS: Your new record is scheduled to be released next year. How far along are you in the writing and recording process?

SA: Oh, uh, we haven’t even started (laughs). We’re touring right now, and we might work on a couple of songs this summer, but we won’t really get into until we get back.

AoS: Reggae plays a great part in your sound. Do you consider that to be your greatest influence genrewise?

SA: It’s one of them. We pull from a lot of different sounds and whatnot, and it’s something that we’ve all been fans of for a long time and will continue to be and incorporate into our music. I don’t see that element going out of fashion with our sound.

AoS: You have a very lengthy catalog of songs. What is your favorite to perform?

SA: Oh, I don’t have any favorites. I enjoy playing songs that we haven’t played in a long time. There’s so much that I love about all the songs that we do. I really can’t pick a favorite.

AoS: Your live show is one of the most energetic out there and it never lets up. How are you able to do this for such a long time, especially with a tour like this where you’ll be playing fifty shows?

SA: How we do it is that we love it, man. It’s what we do, and we really enjoy playing live, and it’s how we got to the point where we’re at. It’s just been a grassroots build up since day one and that’s how we’ve done it and how we continue to do it.

AoS: This past winter you took your first lengthy break from touring in quite awhile. Will this be a new thing for you in the near future to come or are you back on a continuing touring plan?

SA: Well, I mean we toured last year and we decided to take almost a year off, and I see it as something that we realized…well, I’ll put it this way, touring is best in the outside for us in the summertime. We get a lot out of it and a lot of miles out of playing in the summer, and our fans do to, and I just think if you look back on the history of rock and roll, and see bands like the Grateful Dead, and Phish, and whatnot. Those bands made it on the road during the summer months. So that’s kind of how we see things unfolding, and it’s the best time to be traveling anyway. Who wants to travel in the winter?

AoS: You’re playing your hometown of Omaha, Nebraska in a few days and then playing close to your adopted town of Los Angeles with a show in Irvine in late-August. Which are you more excited to play?

SA: I’m excited about both of them. I’m excited to see family and friends, and the show in Irvine we’re going to have some more people in that package. I’ll be excited about that one because it’s going to be closer to home , and I’m going to thoroughly enjoy seeing family and friends in both spots.

AoS: This is your 15th anniversary of being an official member of 311. What is the most important moment to you from over the years?

SA: Oh man, just doing this. We’ve had so many. I’d say one of the highlights has been one of our first sold-out shows, that was a rather big show outside of Omaha, and that was in Atlanta and this was on maybe our second album and we had very little commercial exposure but we’d been touring and we’d been getting this groundswell of support, and I remember we were on the bus and the show was a couple weeks away but we’d got word that we’d sold out the club and that was like, “Dang!”

AoS: If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

SA: To see through time.

AoS: Coming from Omaha, do you prefer Marlon Brando or Fred Astaire?

SA: That’s a tough one. I’ll pick Fred Astaire.

AoS: What was the last record you listened to?

SA: The last record I listened to was My Morning Jacket.

AoS: Any last words for fans or anyone reading this?

SA: Pay attention and keep breathing.

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