For local music fans who see one show a year, the unmissable band is coming, so get off the couch and head to Hangar 9 tonight to get in shape on the dance floor as N.I.L.8 puts on its one-of-a-kind punk-funk rockfest.

This is not a band that formed last year playing covers of bands whose members are corpses, this is a band who has paid its dues, and paid them hard. And more importantly, these are just some hilarious kick-ass musicians who are fronted by a man whose voice is likely one of the most powerful this area has ever seen lead vocalist/songwriter Jeff Williams.

The Springfield golden-boy foursome known as N.I.L.8 has been playing seriously since about 1987, but they are a much closer knit quilt than even 10 years of road-rock can sew.

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My brother Bruce, the bass player, and Walnuts, the drummer, (a.k.a Gary), we’ve known each other since we were like 10, Williams said. But we really got serious about 10 years ago. We were messing around before that.

In the spring, rumors abounded that Atlantic records was taking a serious look at N.I.L.8. But while the band has had much success selling its unique mix of Dead Milkmen-ish trip-rock grooves, Williams does not see a major record deal on the short-term horizon.

I don’t think the major labels know what to do with us, he said. They want a hit-song kind of thing, and I’m not sure we have that yet.

Williams said many of the record labels that have approached him come on strong and then chicken-out when it’s time to put the pen to the paper.

They show interest, but then they say they’re not signing anybody right now, he said. It’s like they’re wincing and don’t want to come out and say they can’t sign us.

That’s OK, though, because the band is content on its current label, which has done the band a lot of good.

When you go sign to a major label, it can be cool if they’re really gonna push you, he said. But if two weeks later they sign someone else who they really want to push, you’re in a spot and there is nothing you can do.

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N.I.L.8 is coming off a summer break, and Williams said the guys are eager to get back to work.

We’ve taken some time off, which hasn’t been good because Walnuts (the drummer) has decided to start eating a lot of Mexican food, he said. We played at Thurston’s in Chicago, and he was stinking up the place. It was god-awful.

N.I.L.8 fans provide a ton of positive feedback, but Williams said his most memorable compliment came from one of his personal heroes.

Jello Biafra [of the Dead Kennedy’s, Bile and various side projects] heard Six Inch Extension,’ (N.I.L.8’s first full-length CD) and sent us a letter, he said. When I saw it I got a boner. I was like Oh my god this is amazing!’ I wanted to frame it.

Williams said the band’s success sparked in 1989 when fate stepped in and got the band its first record deal with Fundamental records (who distributed the early European releases of such bands as the Butthole Surfers and Henry Rollins).

The main reason Fundamental (Records) approached us was that we were playing in Chicago and some guy was trying to impress this girl by saying, I’m going to try to talk to these guys after the show about a (record) deal,’ he said. And this representative from Fundamental overheard that guy and came running up to us after the show to beat him to the punch.

The band’s awe-inspiring 1997 release on Fuse records is titled Doug, and is named after someone who is close to the band’s collective heart.

He’s a friend of ours we grew up with. He moved up to San Diego, and we stay with him once in awhile, Williams said. He has been known to put on one of our CDs and destroy his house.

Williams said when the band surprised Doug with the news, he didn’t know how to express his unbridled joy.

We sent him the posters and stuff, and he was having a major emotional thing, he said. Now everybody has been calling and leaving messages on our machine hoping we will put them on our next album.

While Doug is the band’s most recent release, they plan to start recording again soon.

In January we’re gonna go into a studio and record whatever songs we have at that point, he said.

As anyone who has witnessed N.I.L.8 live could likely guess that Williams does not cite Motley Crue and Poison as his big 80s musical influences.

Old punk rock was what got me into wanting to do the band thing, he said. The first thing that made me want to get into a band was like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks.

N.I.L.8 has already been to Carbondale twice this year, and Williams said it’s an experience he doesn’t mind repeating.

I like playing down there the people are ready to laugh, he said. And there are a lot of people we know from Springfield who go to school down there.

One of two yet-to-be-announced acts will open the show at about 10 p.m. A $3 cover will be charged starting at 9 p.m.