Ever had a “feeling” about something?
Looked in the direction of somebody looking at you?
Do your dreams come true?
My name is Nick “BADBOOB” Rubinoff:
A mixed media, intuitive artist exploring themes of human nature, insanity, and intensity through a distorted lens of glitch and surrealism. Mediums include writing, videography, audio production, painting, drawing, street art, and clothing design.
Born and raised in the shadow of industrial Americana, I utilized the rusted steel factories, warehouse strewn streets, and Appalachian forests as inspiration for an abrasive yet psychedelic approach to experimental art.
There is something funny about making technical, hip hop infused bass music in the middle of nature where industrial labor once ruled the land.
The art is reflective of hip-hop, graffiti, and urban influences from living adjacent to major US cities, and also peaks behind the cloak of simple suburbia and the misty Appalachian back roads.
The art style revels in the punk-rock workflow of “expressing the emotion as quickly and efficiently as possible” and embraces the contrast between environments and influences.
Despite an interesting childhood, I discovered kick ass music (thanks to my family): The Clash, Jethro Tull, Santana, REM, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Radiohead, Metallica, Morcheeba, Sex Pistols, Portishead, Massive Attack, The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, James Brown, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Vampire Weekend.
And to my Grandpa (Dad’s Dad) who listened to classical music and only classical music: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff to my mother’s Aunt and father who loved Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Whenever a family member passed, I inherited a plethora of records, CDs, cassettes, or loaded MP3 players.
The early influences of music, film, and geographical surroundings provided the landing zone for distorted beats and intrusive glitch-scapes in my audio production.
In fourth grade, a night after school meant tuning to WDVE, awaiting the new My Chemical Romance single, or bumpin’ 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, the first album I bought with my own money. A Jewish, white suburban kid listening to “P.I.M.P” and “Poor Lil Rich”.
Starting drums in third grade, I experienced trouble finding bandmates with similar tastes. Heavily inspired by the likes of Slipknot, Suicidal Tendencies, Slayer, The Descendants, Minor Threat, TOOL, Korn, System of a Down, Rage Against The Machine, Death Grips, and Black Flag, I sought themes of aggression, politics, and dark human nature. Due to a lack of attention during childhood, I also desired to be a frontman- a difficult task for a drummer.
Despite a mental health collapse during the summer of 2013, I attended college.
For better, for worse.
Studying ‘Integrated Media’ and English at Ohio University, I became disillusioned with general education requirements and major requirements, and instead pursued the psychedelic underground: dropping out of school, dropping acid, throwing parties and shows, spreading the word of psychedelics, attending festivals, and learning electronic music production. The goal was to finance an underground music festival in Colorado or Pennsylvania, featuring experimental bass producers and psychedelic jam bands.
The rebellion was short lived and I spent years recovering from betrayal and attempted imprisonment, lodging me into a broken mental health system, once again. The same one that overmedicated and left me for dead.
Due to court cases, overmedication, hospitalizations, and incompetent doctors, I was immobilized, unable to cope with a daily routine.
But then the magic happened:
Following a ‘spiritual’ awakening with modern psychoanalysis and IV Ketamine, I returned to life with a new perspective and insights regarding narcissism, repression, spirituality, intuition, and psychedelics.
In between serving restaurant tables, delivering food orders, and psychoanalytic sessions, I manage a portfolio, The BADBOOB, featuring essays, short stories, and interviews; multimedia glitch, video production, photography, street art, and Ableton music production.
Themes of grit, darkness, and decay are pervasive throughout my works, primarily related to a percieved pandemic of biological narcissism, a confusing and intense childhood, and the impact of industrial decay merging with the hearty promises of artificial intelligence.
During a chaotic childhood, violent media was an escape from a household of confusion and repression. Anger and resentment could be easily channeled into the brain blasting episodes of South Park, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, Family Guy, or MADTV’s claymation bloodbaths.
Although my parents were strict, Mark and Betsy brought me into the world of The Terminator, The Godfather, Rambo, Pulp Fiction, and Excalibur from a young age. A taste for cinematic blood and gore; squibs, food dye, and corn syrup.
Not before long, I stumbled upon horror classics like The Shinning, Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Amityville Horror, The Ring, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This interest in fictional death and decay would soon become an obsession, as well as a pervasive interest in true crime series like Forensic Files or FBI Tapes, where I receive many ideas for my short stories and screenplays.
I enjoy themes of nostalgia, technology, and repressed trauma, primarily through the exploration of 1990’s and 2000’s technology like the PlayStation 2, CRT TVs, and vintage cameras like my Canon ZR830. Flip phones and qwerty keyboards. Not to mention my love for influences like Newgrounds, eBaumsWorld, and addictinggames.com, the social media pioneers like Myspace roosterteeth.com and the dawn of Facebook and Twitter.
The mid 1990’s to early 2000’s provided the rich landscape of the internet through forums, blogs, articles, videos, gifs, memes, and music. A sea of endless possibilities. I hope to recapture this exciting atmosphere with my own vintage style website in the spirit of childhood influences that shaped my adult life.
With an interest in Modern Psychoanalysis, psychedelics, consciousness, rave counter-culture, philosophy, narcissism, and the macabre, I attempt to synthesize portals to underground worlds & subconscious dimensions.
I believe art and modern psychoanalysis may save the world!
Will you help me?
Are you THE BADBOOB?
FAQ:
Who is your psychoanalyst?
Dr. Anthony Tereo
tel:+12159223040
221 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, 19106
My life was saved by Modern Psychoanalysis.
What is your music production setup?
MacBook Air 2020 (1.1 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5)
Ableton 10 Studio
Komplete Audio 6
Audio Technica M50X
2x Kali Audio LP-8
Shure SM58 w/ 5 core desk stand
LG DVD/CD Player
Pioneer DDJ-SB2
– Paid Audio Plugins:
Valhalla Vintage Verb, Serum 2, Trash 2, Native Instruments Standard Library, Skanner XT
What is your video production setup?
iPhone 16
Canon ZR830 Mini DV
Canon T4i DSLR
Decaying Electronics Dirty Video Mixer
Lullaby Machines Glitch Enhancer
Zenith Z Television
Sony DVD Player
-Software:
Ableton 10 Suite (audio software)
Final Cut Pro (editing software)
Serato DJ Lite (DJ software)
Audacity (glitch)
Hyperspektiv App (glitch)
–Lens:
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens
Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 (Kit Lens)
THE BADBOOB 