Artist description N-GAUGE is a 5-piece band from the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington area. Unfortunately N-Gauge has since broke up, leaving Shannon Sharp, Jeff Naour and Alex Fields with two new members and a new band name, Suffergauge. Former lead singer, Justin Berger has gone on to create his own solo project entitled, Hypokritical. You can visit suffergauge at their website www.suffergauge.com and Hypokritical at hypokritical.tripod.com

Music Style rapcore

Musical Influences Rage Against The Machine, Dream Theater, Primus, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, 311, Metallica, Limp Bizkit, KoRn, Rollins Band

Similar Artists Rage Against The Machine, KoRn, Dream Theater, Rollins Band, 311, Limp Bizkit

Artist History N-GAUGE is based in Tacoma, Washington. Shannon moved to Seattle (from Texas) and decided to start up another band after being in many others throughout his life. He met their first singer, Paul. Then came Ragz on bass, then Cory on drums. Things were great. Around December of '96, we asked Alex (now the bassist and backing vocalist) to join in to add hardcore style vocals. So, we had a singing duo!Woohoo! We played shows and recorded our first demo titled "N-Gauge: Demo 1997" in August '97. That's how it went until the folowing December, when Ragz died tragically in a monster truck rally involving a jackrabbit and a blowtorch! Actually, he had to move to Japan with his job.(sympathy laughter! :)Ragz was and still is one of our closests friend and it was sad to see him go. (We miss you, man!) Oh Great! We lose our bassist and tight friend. What to do? Enter Alex. Alex had played bass in his old band ( in New York) so it was nothing new. He brought out hardcore attitude in all of us! Things were going good. Shannon started experimenting with more wierder guitar sounds and noises. Then, in February of '98 we asked Jeff (from California) to join as the rhythm guitarist. Jeff was a long time friend of the band. We knew that Jeff could deliver the "balls" needed in the band sound when Shannon went off on one of his noisy guitar tangents.Finally, after playing many shows, Paul also had to leave the country because of his job. We now needed a singer who could rap, scream, yell, sing, and have cool lyrics.Enter Justin! We found him in a newspaper ad. We tried him out and knew by the first song that he was our guy! So, finally, a steady line up! The rest, as they say, is history!

Group Members Justin Berger - vocals, aggression Shannon Sharp - 7-string lead guitar, strange noisesJeff Naour - 7-string rhythm guitar, chunkAlex Fields - 6-string bass/vocals, groove Cory Shiflett - drums, funk

Instruments 2 7-string guitars, 6-string bass, drums, mic.

Albums Empty Your Pockets

Press Reviews "The Northwest Airlifter" April 23, 1999McChord AFB, Washingtonby Lars AndersonMcChord airmen to 'N-GAUGE' in possible record dealAll of us have had life-long dreams. For some, they become a reality. For others, they are something they strive for all their lives, but never attain, or think they can attain. Well, for four local airmen, the dream may come true.Senior Airmen Shannon Sharp, 62nd Maintenance Squadron, Jeff Naour, 62nd Aircraft Generation Squadron, Cory Shiflett, 62nd AGS and Airman First Class, Alex Fields 62nd Services Squadron, along with Justin Berger, a friend who lives in Seattle, have formed the band, N-GAUGE and have been told a record deal may be in the works with Immortal Records (KoRn, Incubus, The Urge, Goodness, more).The group was contacted by Matt Thurston, a local scout for Immortal Records. He found the group's website and listened to some of the demos. Thurston liked what he heard, contacted Sharp and told him he was forwarding their demos to his boss in California.The band is pretty excited about the possibilities, said Sharp.Started in the summer of 1996, N-GAUGE has done a lot of local gigs to include venues in Pioneer Square, and other clubs in Seattle and Tacoma. The group has even performed here at McChord. (editor's note: N-GAUGE has played the O.K. Hotel, Planet Hotrod, Zak's, Mango's, Mothership + more)When asked about advice for future aspiring musicians, Naour said, "Don't give up; follow your dream." What sets this group apart from the rest? For starters, they use 7-string guitars, which is not common in the music world. According to the band members, it provides their band with a unique sound other bands don't offer.Sharp stated that they play heavy rock with funk and rap overtones."The lyrics are written by us and they talk about negative issues but with a positive spin." said Berger, who writes the lyrics. "We don't do ballads, though."Although most of the band will be getting out of the Air Force soon, Fields still has a one-year commitment to the Air Force. Most of the band will pursue degrees at local colleges when they leave the service.If you want to catch a live performance of this up-and-coming band, here's their latest schedule: May 15, Fort Lewis Talent Show; May 21, Planet Hot Rod in Fife; and the McChord Club on July 16. Their first CD is due out soon. For more information on the band, check out their website at:www.n-gauge.com

Additional Info If you are still interested in N-Gauge music please email me for copies of our old CD, "Empty Your Pockets". Thank you.

Location Seattle, WA - USA

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