On the eve of Gingerfest – the 15-act punk extravaganza to remember the ginger ninja – BMA caught up with Lamexcuse member and co-organiser Aaron “Gaffers” Gaffney to learn about the festival’s history, and discover what these plucky tykes have in store for us all.
Why Gingerfest exists
“Gingerfest was born from a need to firstly commemorate our friend Nick ‘The Ginger Ninja’ Schreiber in the only way he would have wanted,” Gaffney says.
“The festival idea (and even the name ‘Gingerfest’) was actually something he wanted to get off the ground when he was still with us, and had even begun working with Luke (Chop Dog) Griffis [who takes care of Gingerfest bookings] on shows for touring bands such as, but not limited to, Clowns, The Bennies and The Decline, and even Pour Habit all the way from Compton, USA.
The good it does
“Firstly, it keeps alive the spirit of inclusiveness, friendship and camaraderie that Nick lived through and through,” Gaffney says.
“Secondly, it’s a chance, once a year, for people from all corners of Australia united by their shared love of punk music and culture, to come together, make friends, catch up with old friends, and most importantly enjoy the bands.
“And lastly, it’s good for Canberra! It brings a lot of people here from interstate who otherwise might not come here.”
How the lineup formed
“Generally speaking, we like to pick a couple of well known headliners,” Gaffney enthuses. “A few bands that Nick was particularly fond of, up and coming solo artists, a couple of band reunions, and this year we even managed to get our first international act – the amazing Jeff Rosenstock with his full band from Long Island, New York.
“We started planning in May/June of this year and the team/committee had a long list of bands to approach,” Gaffney reveals. “The final lineup was picked based on availability, willingness and our best guess at whether Nick would approve.
“We’d been in discussions with Melbourne’s Bodyjar about playing for the last few years. In fact, they all knew Nick and I were ‘on board’ from the early days, but due to other circumstances were unavailable on previous Gingerfest dates.
What punters can expect
“A fun, inclusive boutique music festival with a wide range of music throughout the punk genre/ethos, coupled with delicious beer selection courtesy of Six String Brewing Co, and a range of popup food options at the very cool MOLO live venue,” Gaffney says.
Anything else?
We highly recommend you get your tickets ahead of the day, via moshtix:https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/gingerfest-2018-w-bodyjar-hightime-jeff-rosenstock-usa-special-guests/106419 . There will be limited tickets available at the door (and our door person I’ve been told also has Ginger hair).
RSVP to event via Facebook, which also hold all the details, here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1779747105394042/
Gingerfest rolls out at MOLO Live @ ANU on Saturday December 15 and features:
Bodyjar
Hightime
Jeff Rosenstock (Band) [USA]
Epic Flagon
Lincoln le Fevre & the Insiders
Bagster
ebolagoldfish
Nerdlinger
Sketch Method
Dan Potthast (USA)
Hanny J
Don McFadden
Azim Zain
Yvette Vials
Ben the Red
