N8NOFACE All Over the Place.

Punk RockCommentary
Written By dick slaughter

Recently, N8NOFACE was gracious enough to invite me to his place in Long Beach, California, for a photo shoot and an interview. N8 is a synth-punk artist who’s been receiving a lot of well-deserved attention. He recently finished touring with Limp Bizkit and Corey Feldman, and he's landed the 12:45 p.m. slot at this weekend's Cruel World Festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. He’ll be performing alongside legends like Nick Cave, The Go-Go’s, and DEVO.

His songs often double as personal stories or therapeutic outlets— N8 uses art as a way to cope with and overcome life’s obstacles and steer clear of the traps of substance abuse. His performances are raw and often chaotic—just him and his synthesizer rapping, singing, and screaming into the mic, smashing it against his head, jumping around, and sometimes even going into the audience. It's pure spectacle and well worth getting to Cruel World by high noon.

Dick: So you are a patched member of the Punk Rock Fight Club? How did that happen? I'm barely a prospect.

N8: Yeah, I’m a patch holder. That’s my brother, Knucklehead Tom. Tom and I have been friends for around four or five years. I found out about him through way of the Internet, honestly. At the time I was getting clean, and I am a person who thinks if you follow the right people, that will keep you on your path. And Tom was about health and about not getting all fucked up and being a fighter and a warrior and taking care of your body first. To find that in punk was very different to me because I thought punks just liked to slam forties and get fucked up. But Tom knows how to have a good time. I am not taking that from him. But at the time I was thinking, this is someone I need to hitch my wagon to. and that was way before Punk Rock Fight Club Tom was training at this gym before Knuckleheadz martial arts and everything—it was about two years into our friendship, and he called me and said, “Hey, brother, I am going to start something, and I want you to be part of it.” And he just kind of brought me along for the ride, and I have been so honored ever since. A lot of the brothers were fans of my music even before I became a brother, and the club has just become my family now, and I love it.

Dick: So you just got back from a tour of Europe with Limp Bizkit. Tell me about that.

N8: - Fred Durst, I don’t know how he found me. He just hit me up on the internet and was like, I’m a big fan of your music, and I’d like to get down and do some stuff.” He was trying to get me on some early tours, but the timing just didn’t work out. Then he came up with this Loserville idea of just getting all these underdogs or cats that have had shit said about them, putting them all together, and doing this wild circus of a tour. You know it was tough for me doing synth punk. All the rap metal fans, you know, they wanted to hear Limp. There were a few shows where people were like, What the fuck is this? But the love far outweighed any of that. A lot of people really got it and liked it, and I got a lot of new fans from it, and it was really dope. Forever I love Limp Bizkit.

Dick: Now Cory Feldman, is he really playing that fucking guitar?

N8: OH YEAH, he is really playing, bro. You know, growing up, I was the kid who hated certain things, but as I get older, I love so many different styles of music, and one thing I will give to Cory is, whatever people say about him, he loves what he is doing. He is a real musician. Whether you dig it or not, he really puts passion in, and he wants to be in a band and wants to create. And no matter whether your frequency vibes with me or not, when I see someone who cares about what they are doing, I am on board with you, man. You are not just doing it for a money grab or whatever. You love what you are doing.

Dick: And he did whip your ass at Connect Four.

N8: Yeah, he did. He whipped my ass twice in a row, smoked me, man. HAHA

Yes, that is blood. - Photo ©dickslaughter.com

Dick: So you are at this Cruel World Festival. How did that come about?

N8: I don’t really know. I know some of the bands on the bill, we have crossed paths. Light Asylum and Provoker. But the Goth scene and the post-punk scene have always shown me love. It is a sound I really dabble in and like to fuck with. I am so glad that this festival embraced me. How or why, I don’t know; they just reached out to my booker and said, We want to have N8, and I am a huge Devo fan and New Order fan—I love them, so I am really excited to be on this bill. I am really grateful.

Dick: Yeah, it’s a great bill. Nick Cave and the Go-Go’s are on that bill.

N8: Yeah, and Garbage.

Dick: Wow, yeah, you can hang out with Garbage.

N8: Yeah, we will see. hahaha

Dick: Have you been to jail? And what or when made you decide to clean up?

N8: I have been to county jail; I have never done hard prison time. I was lucky all my circle went, but I was in and out of county jail in my twenties—just tons. I had been addicted and playing around with crack, meth, and cocaine since I was fucking eighteen, and even when I was working and making money, I was still always dabbling in it. Then at some point along the line, it just really sunk its fucking teeth into me, and you know, I lost everything. I had always just been a fiend forever. But I always did music; it was my passion and love for all these years, and finally, during COVID, I hit rock bottom. I was tired of seeing my lady crying for me, wondering where I was on four-day binges.

That Indentation on N8’s head is were he had been hitting himself with the mic - Photo ©dickslaughter.com

N8: It was Val, really, just coming home and seeing her. Normally, I would be dating a woman, and I would go out on a binge. I would come home, and they would throw bottles at me and tell me that they were going to go fuck and pay me back with vengeance, you know. But Val, God bless her, was the first person that, when I came home after a long binge—I mean, I was still in the doghouse for weeks to come, but she was the first to ever say, I'm so glad you are still alive. And she was bawling, and it made me bawl. I had done it to her a few times, but this time just floored me, man, and I was like, I've gotta fucking stop, man. I gotta stop!

N8: I will say this: after I stopped, my music started getting light. I mean, I had been doing music for years, and people knew about me. Travis Barker knew about me, and other big dogs had reached out when I was a fiend, but I was fucked up and didn’t care. But once COVID hit, I decided I was going to get clean. I just started receiving blessings upon blessings. I got a manager, I got a booker, and everything just started falling into place, and now for four years I have been able to live off the art. and I have never been happier.

Dick: And you are playing with Devo on Saturday

N8: Hell Yeah, I can’t wait.

Don’t Miss N8NOFACE this weekend at Cruel World and on the Stoner Tour of the US this July with Eyedress

N8NOFACE OFFICIAL

Don’t Miss N8NOFACE this weekend at Cruel World and on the Stoner Tour of the US this July with Eyedress

N8NOFACE OFFICIAL

Support my sponsors, the scene, and the bands by buying records. Show this article at checkout on your phone and receive 10% off all used merchandise at Vinyl Solution and Factory Records.

To make a booking, inquire about licensing, and purchase glossy, postcard-sized, signed, and numbered 'Dick Pics' for only 7 pounds, euros, or dollars, including postage for the first 4 photos. or if you are in a photo and would like me to email you a free, high-resolution copy, please contact me at dickslaughterphoto@gmail

On average, only one in a hundred readers is brave enough to share our stories on their page for their mom & boss to see—or better yet, send it straight to them.

BE THAT PERSON

dick slaughter
Previous

P-Funk Rock Bowling
Next

Bad Nerves with Norcos Y Horchata and Spiritual Cramp at The Loving Touch.