The outing will kick off in Chicago on June 29. So far 18 cities are scheduled to be visited through the end of July.

311, before taking the Unity Tour on, will have some US festival appearances and headlining dates in April as well as June.

“Uplifter” the ninth album from 311 was released last summer, debuting in the No. 3 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart. It was the highest charting album for 311 ever. The set was recorded with Bob Rock (Motley Crue, Metallica), the highly regarded hard rock producer.

Currently The Offspring are working on an album to follow up “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace” from 2008. The band is planning to take a studio break to participate this summer on the Unity Tour. According to a recent press release, fans will be able to hear new material in the forthcoming shows.

The most recent studio album from Pepper, “Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations,” was released in 2008.

Their latest set of shows will be kicking off in Santa Cruz on February 23, followed by two additional stops in California. The outing of 11 cities will include opening support from The Wailers for five of their shows and wrap up things with a “311 Day” special concert at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on March 11.

The ninth album from 311, “Uplifter,” was released in June. Bob Rock, the hard rock veteran producer who has also worked with Motley Crue and Metallica, produced the set. According to Nick Hexum, 311 vocalist and guitarist, the result was a louder direction on the band’s latest effort.

Earlier this year Hexum said it evolved towards a sound that was more aggressive, but we didn’t push it. Early on we had a group of songs that we thought would make this album our heaviest so far. He loved the reggae stuff. We are able to find a way of merging the funky reggae with the heavy side. “Hey You” does that pretty well I think.

After we finished I realized there aren’t too many bands that get away putting so many different styles on one album.

“Uplifter” is the first new material collection from the band since “Don’t Tread on Me” in 2005.

Typically during the show, billed as a 311 concert ultimate experience, the band plays an extended set list of five hours and features their hits as well as rare tunes, classics and covers. A special effects show and state of the art lighting is part of the event. Past shows have also included marching bands, drum lines, stilt walkers, fire twirlers, aerial acrobats and circus performers.

March 11 has received so much support that New Orleans’ mayor officially proclaimed March 11 to be “311 Day” in New Orleans.

“311 Day” in 2008 drew over 14,000 fans from 13 countries and all fifty states. The 2004 “311 Day” show was released as a DVD called “Live From New Orleans.”

Tickets for the Las Vegas 2010 show will be going on sale via Ticketmaster on October 31 in addition to the box office for Mandalay Bay and resort website.

More information on 311 as well as “311 Day” is posted on the band’s website.

The band will be kicking the trek off in Temecula, CA on November 11 and visit 19 cities, wrapping things up in Austin, TX on December 8.

Opening acts on the outing will be Kottonmoth Kings and State Radio. In addition for their Atlantic City, NJ show on November 21, Slightly Stoopid will open. Further ticketing information as well as additional information on the opening acts is available on the band’s website.

The ninth album from 311, “Uplifter,” was released in June. Bob Rock, hard rock veteran (Motley Crue and Metallica), produced the record. According to Nick Hexum, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, it resulted in their latest effort having a louder direction.

Hexum said it evolved into a sound that was more aggressive than usual. We didn’t push it but early on in the process we had a set of songs where we were thinking this would be our heaviest album yet. He loved our reggae material. We were able to find a way to merge our funky reggae side with a heavy side. I think our song “Hey You” does a good job with that.

Once we had finished, I realized not too many bands are able to pull off having this many different styles on a single album.

The Omaha, NE based band comprised of Nick Hexum, vocalist and guitarist, Tim Mahoney, guitarist, S.A. Martinez, vocalist, P-Nut, bassist, and Chad Sexton, drummer, always did know how to effectively use volume. Their tendency for mixing reggae, metal, dance hall, funk, hip-hop and everything else is still evident on their new album, their first since “Don’t Tread On Me” released in 2005.

“Mix It Up” emphasizes reggae. On “Golden Sunlight,” guitarist Mahoney is found strumming oriental modalities while on “India Ink” he busts sitar sounds out. The sprightly drumming of Chad Sexton drives “It’s Alright,” along with P-Nut’s slap bass funk in contrast to the heavier and menacing “Something Out Of Nothing.”

On the melodic and poppy “Too Much Too Fast” Martinez and Hexum contribute some pleasing vocal harmonies, while “Two Drops In The Ocean” leaves you begging for sand beneath your feet and a cold drink.

Overall, there’s something old something new, and something quite familiar in a few cases. On “Jackpot” the syncopated guitar is reminiscent of the band’s older funk metal on “Unity” and “Homebrew.” The pseudo marimba sounds from “My Heart Sings” harkens back to “Amber” from 2001.

The stylistic hopscotch in theory doesn’t make a lot of sense, but in hearing it does work perfectly.

The Unity Tour will visit 25 cities, kicking off in Santa Barbara, CA on June 5 and run through August, wrapping up back on the coast of California with shows in San Diego on August 11 and in Irvine, CA on August 12.

The band’s summer dates will follow the forthcoming spring headlining run kicking off in Tucson, AZ on April 15 and traveling for a month through the Midwest and South. The 19 city trek will wrap up in Springfield, MO on May 15.

On “Uplifter,” the band’s ninth studio album, 311 worked with Bob Rock, veteran producer of hard rock who has also worked with Motley Crue and Metallica. It’s the band’s first studio album since the release of “Don’t Tread on Me” released in 2005. “Uplifter” is due out on June 2.

Nick Hexum, the band’s guitarist and lead singer said, he brings the best out in 311. He doesn’t try putting signature sounds on what he does. He tries just accentuating a band’s strengths.

Despite the musical pedigree of Rock, according to Hexum on the upcoming set fans will get more straight rock and roll.

Hexum said, we were getting a lot more into reggae. Now we are ready I think to have a heavier sound. It is definitely a blend. There will be reggae and hip-hop. I would characterize lots of the new stuff as heavy but up-tempo.

On June 24, the outing will kick off in Phoenix then travel from West to East Coast, wrapping up in Austin, TX on August 2-3 with a finale of two nights. Fiction Plane, special guest, will be opening the shows, which primarily will take place in amphitheaters.

311 is wrapping their spring jaunt up. It included “311 Day,” the biggest annual event for the band, held in New Orleans. According to the band’s website, this year’s festival drew in 14,000 fans from 13 different countries as well as all 50 states to hear five hours worth of music.

During their touring break, the band will be working on a new album and will likely be previewing some new material on the Unity Tour, according to Nick Hexum, 311’s guitarist and singer.

The upcoming album will follow “Don’t Tread on Me,” the band’s 2005 set. The title track was a hit single.

A few weeks ago Snoop Dogg reached Billboard 200’s Top 3 with “Ego Trippin’,” his ninth solo album. “Sexual Eruption,” the lead single, has been a big hit on radio, including dance, hip-hop and R&B. A sample for the song and a couple others from his new album are streaming on the MySpace page of Snoop.

311 is wrapping their spring jaunt up. It included “311 Day,” the biggest annual event for the band, held in New Orleans. According to the band’s website, this year’s festival drew in 14,000 fans from 13 different countries as well as all 50 states to hear five hours worth of music.

During their touring break, the band will be working on a new album and will likely be previewing some new material on the Unity Tour, according to Nick Hexum, 311’s guitarist and singer.

The upcoming album will follow “Don’t Tread on Me,” the band’s 2005 set. The title track was a hit single.

A few weeks ago Snoop Dogg reached Billboard 200’s Top 3 with “Ego Trippin’,” his ninth solo album. “Sexual Eruption,” the lead single, has been a big hit on radio, including dance, hip-hop and R&B. A sample for the song and a couple others from his new album are streaming on the MySpace page of Snoop.

During the US tour, the band is expecting to play around 10 shows. The outing will kick off in Las Vegas on February 22. Concerts so far have been confirmed for Tallahassee, Fl; Cypress, Fl; Richmond, VA; and Tulsa, OK. The outing will wrap up with 311 Day on March 11 in New Orleans Arena.

The billing for the event is “The Ultimate 311 Concert Experience.” According to their website, the band plays an extended set that includes special surprises. The last event drew fans from five countries and 48 states.

In the meantime, the rockers from Omaha have been hard at work in Hive Studio in Los Angeles working on an upcoming album. Band members are in their initial writing phase. No release date has been named yet.

Over the summer, 311 went on a major tour of the US in support of “Don’t Tread on Me” the band’s eighth studio album from 2005. It peaked in the No. 5 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart and the title track was a modern rock hit.

311 has been making their own band of funk, hip hop, reggae and rock music for over 17 years. Early in their career they were able to build up a grassroots following from their dynamic live shows and relentless touring. They have sold over 7 million Us albums.

The outing will be featuring Matisyahu, the American Jewish reggae musician, on most of the dates. The trek will kick off in Tucson AZ on June 21. Cities that have been added to the tour’s schedule recently include Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Lake Tahoe, NV; and Baltimore, MD. The tour will wrap up on August 29 in Seattle. Most of the concerts will take place at outdoor venues.

Particle, The English Beat and other opening acts will be performing as well at selected shows. 311’s website lists the different artists that will be appearing for each date. Tickets for most of the shows are on sale currently.

311 is best known for their blend of reggae, rock, funk and hip hop. According to an announcement made for the tour, each night they will vary their set list, playing songs from each of the band’s eight albums. The band is encouraging their fans to plan road trips for seeing multiple shows.

Summer Unity Tour last year was the biggest outing for 311 to date. According to a recent press release, they had sold out shows for Holmdel, NJ, Atlanta and Denver.

The band is based in Los Angeles but originally from Omaha, NE. They continue to support “Don’t Tread on Me,” their latest album from 2005. The title track from the album is streaming from the MySpace page of 311.

311 has been playing for 17 years. The platinum selling band has reached Billboard 200’s Top 10 with four of their albums. Six of their songs have also been modern rock Top 10 singles, including “Don’t Tread on Me,” “Love Song,” and “Down.”