Chad Sexton and his 311 mates may be in the thick of writing and recording a new album with Bob Rock, but the drummer knows what is ultimately important to his band’s longevity:

I think we have the same appeal as a band like the Grateful Dead….We have some Deadheads in the band, and when they stopped touring, Phish kind of took over for them, and maybe Dave Matthews Band has some of that same appeal as well. We can jam on our [songs] like those bands, but I’d say we’re kind of a band between—and I’m not comparing us to these bands, but just in the level of status and accomplishment, and that they’re still together—U2 and Phish. It’s somewhere in the middle of that, and we’re hoping to define that a little better over the next couple of years. It’s a weird phenomenon: We keep playing, and kids are having a great time every summer….We wanted to make sure we tour every summer, regardless of our records, because we’re here to play live music. We don’t want to spend a summer getting away from the people.