Best known as a member of the rap/reggae/pop group
311, singer and guitarist
Nick Hexum is also a laid-back jazz- and soul-influenced solo artist who performs with his brother, guitarist
Zack Hexum, in the
Nick Hexum Quintet. Born in Wisconsin in 1970,
Hexum grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where played in his high school jazz band and formed several local rock bands. After a brief stint in Los Angeles in the late '80s,
Hexum returned to Omaha, where he formed what would eventually become
311 along with his friend
Chad Sexton. During the '90s and early 2000s,
Hexum toured and recorded with
311; they released several highly successful albums. In 2004,
Hexum and his brother
Zac (who earned a jazz degree from North Texas University in 2000), toured in support of Presidential candidate John Kerry. In 2013,
Nick and
Zack paired up again for the debut
Nick Hexum Quintet album
My Shadow Pages, an album of all-original material written by
Nick. ~ Matt Collar