Nick Hexum is a busy guy, to say the least. Not only will he be working on a new album with his band, 311 — as well as touring with them this summer--he's also poised to release his first-ever solo record this fall!

The Nick Hexum Quintet (he's joined by a posse of amazingly talented musicians, including his own brother, Zack Hexum) will be releasing My Shadow Pages in October. It's a departure from 311's sound, combining a variety of different genres such as funk, pop, jazz and classic rock— and, so you can hear for yourselves, we've got the first listen to "Blame The Sky" from the upcoming set.

"I wrote this song with my brother, Zack," Hexum explains of the track. "We were initially throwing out lines to inspire each other with no particular theme in mind. As we went on, a thread came together. It's about seizing the day. Follow your dreams and believe in yourself. And if you need a reason why — blame the sky!

"Musically, the song is a funk workout," Hexum adds. "I wanted to have an uptempo jam that has a lot of breaks for my guitar soloing. This was a really fun one to record. It was the last one we cut and it was around midnight. We'd been recording all day so everyone was super loose and punchy. I remember feeling like we'd blown up the studio when we finished this one.”

So, let's hear it, 311 fanatics! What do you think of Nick's new tune? Looking forward to hearing the full album? Be sure to let us know what you think!