THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Interview with NNN
Long Beach
July 23, 2018
LONG BEACH, CALIF. – Pants off; Homer Simpson plush out.
That’s a succinct version of a recent set by Long Beach band NNN in a Norwalk backyard earlier this summer.
“I was uncomfortable at first; I wanted some leg space,” said bassist Coyote a bit sheepishly of why he shed his pants at that show. That’s not something he commonly does, by the way.
“That’s why we call him coyote – ’cause he’s wild,” drummer Bathory said for further explanation.
NNN – short for nothing and there’s no particular reason why the letter “N” was selected – play a brand of what the group described as punk with stoner influences.
The four draw inspiration from a mix of genres: Texas band ANS for Kross, crossover band Method of Destruction for Bathory, a wide range of bands from the nardcore scene for X-Ray and Rudimentary Peni for Coyote.
NNN's style of punk with quick tempo changes, borders at times on hardcore, although the group doesn’t tend to use the latter descriptor. Their style walks the line between ruminations on everyday life and the serious – with songs such as “Hear Me” and “Ski Masked Robber,” along with a new one in the works about someone accidentally knocking up his girlfriend. Vocalist X-Ray said on that latter track the lyrics are simply the result of a hypothetical question and nothing based on real life.
“There’s not really one general thing we like to write about, but I’ve written about stuff I like and stuff that kind of angers me,” X-Ray said. “We have songs about skateboarding. We have songs about telling off racist, homophobic people ’cause we’re not racists. We like everybody. And then we also have songs about random stuff. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie ‘Jeepers Creepers’? Well, we have a song about that. So it’s all over the place. It’s just stuff we like and stuff that makes us angry.”
“We take it serious, but not that serious,” added Kross, who plays guitar. “We just have fun with it.”
It’s a statement that largely sums up the band as it straddles four jokester friends who know each other through either school or mutual acquaintances – their crew has been nicknamed the “lame brains” – and a good amount of substance in the music.
“A lot of people make racist jokes and all that stuff and then they get mad that people get mad about it and they’re like ‘Oh, you’re such a weenie. You can’t take a little joke,’” X-Ray went on to say. “But it’s people like them that normalize stuff like that and that’s why it’s so normal to have racist and rape jokes when, really, rape jokes or racist jokes shouldn’t be normal.”
NNN, while still young, has already put out an EP, titled “Is Everything Alright At Home?” The nine-track release, coming in at roughly 12 1/2 minutes, was done with the help of X-Ray’s brother and officially rolled out in June.
It’s a milestone for any band to hail, especially considering some manage to crumble not long after getting off the ground. It's an especially large feat for a group less than a yeaer old, although the answer to when the band actually started is a bit of a toss up.
“A couple months ago,” Kross said in response to the question.
“I’d say about a year ago,” X-Ray said as his other three bandmates ask “What” in unified disbelief as they sit next to one another on a couch in the backyard of a quiet street in Long Beach. A boom box sitting atop a coffee table earlier played cassette tapes, such as The Adolescents’ self-titled debut and Kreator’s “Endless Pain.”
They ultimately land on the first practice being around the middle of January, so it’s official: NNN started in January.
New singles and more shows are what the focus is in the near future for the band. A full-length could very well be out at some point next year.
With three of the four members of the band working – they didn’t have jobs when they first started – it’s become a little more difficult to practice, but they’re working through that.
“People keep me going because I feel good when I know people enjoy our music,” Bathory said.
“Ultimately, it’s also just fun when we’re in the garage and we’re just vibing,” X-Ray said.
They’re looking to help revive the local scene in Long Beach, where it’s hard to put on backyard gigs before they’re shut down leaving the alternative to be mostly bars in it to drive revenue.
“We like the backyard shows because it’s supporting the scene locally,” Coyote said. “You help out a bunch of local bands and give them a chance.”
“If there is a show [in Long Beach] it’s at a 21-plus bar and that’s what sucks,” Bathory said. “I don’t really like 21-plus bars because it’s not all ages. It’s for the bar so they can get money and I don’t like that.”
Ultimately, he said if they can play, that’s all that matters – whatever the venue. That was the whole point of getting into punk and playing music to begin with for all of them.
“It gave me something to do, going to shows,” Kross said of punk rock. “I started listening to bands and I wanted to play too. Before that, I was bored; I had nothing.”
“We’re all from Long Beach, born and raised,” X-Ray said. “For me, what got me into punk a big part of it was my older sister when she was in high school and in the punk scene. Like every other kid, you look up to your sibling, the older one. I liked the aggression and the speed [in punk]. It doesn’t sound like anything else.”
That’s largely what drew Coyote in after a friend, nicknamed Skunk, turned him onto the genre in middle school.
“It was really fast; it was different from other music,” Coyote said remembering that point in time. “I never heard that type of sound before and I started getting more into it. The aggression and the way they described things in society, I could relate.”
It was the same for Bathory, who said that’s also how he fell into the scene in the first place. The drummer’s played in some six band and also currently plays in another band called Half Breed.
“They talk about problems at home and the struggles in the streets and I could really relate to that,” Bathory said of punk. “Growing up, it was pretty tough. But who am I to say ‘Oh, my life is bad.’ Everyone’s life is bad.”
It begs the question of what ultimately defines punk to get to the heart of why anyone falls into the genre to begin with. It's a hard answer to pin down.
“Some say ‘Oh, punk is to piss people off. Punk is anarchy,’” X-Ray said. “You could have punk with a point. You could write songs about shit that matters. You could write punk songs about shit that doesn’t matter. It could literally mean anything. What’s punk?.... Punk is punk.”
Keep In Touch
Instagram: @nnnrips
Music: EP on Bandcamp
Upcoming Shows:
• July 28, 7 p.m.; $5
5202 Firestone Place, South Gate
• Aug. 4, Doors at 6 p.m.; $3 or 2 for $5
2009 Crone Ave., Anaheim