311 and the Offspring are going on tour together starting next week, and the two bands have covered each other's hit songs to celebrate. The Offspring has offered up their take on "Down," while 311 decided to cover "Self Esteem." The songs are out digitally now and they're also available to pre-order on a limited-edition 7".
"It was the Offspring's idea, and a great idea," 311 frontman Nick Hexum told Billboard. He continued:
They said, 'We had the idea to cover your song, and we've done it,' and I was like, 'Wow! I have to hear this,' 'cause it's such a signature song. Were they going to cover it faithfully or rework it?' They reworked it just enough; There's punk to it, and Dexter [Holland] actually does a killer job of rapping SA [Martinez]'s parts in more of a punk rock style, with fast drums. We were so blown away, It was so my fun to hear that. So we returned the favor and reggaefied ['Self Esteem'], which is probably my favorite song of theirs. It'll be a lot of fun to give the fans new versions of these songs they love so much.
Catch 311 and the Offspring (with Gym Class Heroes opening) on tour when they hit the road on 7/25. And listen to their respective covers below.
