Birthday Bash: Erkstock

How do you know Eric Scaresbrook (aka Erk from Erk FM) and how important do you think dudes like him are in keeping Sydney's live music scene vibrant?

IsyV (Hard As Nails, singer/songwriter): We officially met Erk at a Women of Metal/Rock event held at The Lucky Oz last year and he has since been a familiar face rocking out at a lot of our gigs. Erk has featured Hard As Nails in a number of his podcasts since that time including a lengthy chat with me where he let me rave on for almost an hour! He is an absolute legend and has been a big supporter of our music and the development of our sound. People like Erk are so vital in keeping the scene vibrant as they support us little guys, and girls! Especially Erk, he is a BIG supporter of female-fronted bands. Just look at the lineup of Erkstock!

Brad Thomas (Foundry Road, drums): Foundry Road and Eric started working together in 2010 after a mutual friend of ours purchased a copy of our 2009 release and debut album, The Flood Of Isolation, for him. Eric passed our music along to podcasters from around the world and with his help our music has reached as far as the UK and United States. Eric is known to be tireless, interviewing and reviewing bands and ensuring that the little bands are represented, but also making sure the larger, more established bands get a run as well. His efforts of podcasting/reviewing and going to gigs inspire others to do the same, which is what the Sydney live music scene needs right now!

Emmy Mack (Smokin' Mirrors, lead singer): We met Erk at a gig we played at Lewisham Livehouse and he approached us for airplay on his podcast. It's so rare these days to find people with the dedication to live music that Erk has. He's the kind of dude who'll go to a gig just to support the bands – even if he's never heard of them before. The live music scene could definitely do with more Erks!

If you were to suggest a replacement for the traditional Happy Birthday song, what would it be and why?

IsyV: Um, I'm going to have to say our track, Icecream, especially for Erkstock. It's one of Erk's favourites; he has jumped on the mic with me before to sing along and who doesn't want Icecream for their birthday. Plus it's got a killer riff!

BT: DETHKLOK – Happy Dethday \m/ (mostly because it's brutal).

EM: Happy Erkday? Erking Class Man? Let's dispense with the terrible puns and go with Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne, because Erk drives trains!

What's the most memorable birthday party you've ever been to?

IsyV: It would have to be Mirko's (Hard As Nails bassist) combined birthday party with his missus, Kelly, that we had a couple of months back. Being his first year in the band, it meant a heap for all of us to get together with his mates and his family and simply just hang out. There were so many shenanigans that night, including fire, funny faces, lots of man love and even a lil' midnight visit from the boys in blue. But what do you expect from a bunch of rockers?

BT: Back in our younger years, there was a birthday party at my house – of course, a former lineup of the band was present on the night and the band's friends – one of our friends Tim was found with his head inside the kick drum of the drumkit in the morning. Of course you can guess how Tim was awoken when he was seen there!

EM: Probably our mate's birthday a week after we first met our guitarist Alex. We were drinking a bit too enthusiastically and ended up naked, doing backflips into the next-door neighbours' pool. Unfortunately the neighbours didn't think it was as funny as we did.

Which other band are you most looking forward to catching on the night and why?

IsyV: Just one? That's hard. I love all these bands for different reasons but I have a soft spot for Smokin' Mirrors. These guys really rock out and for me represent everything a hard rock band should be: raucous, raw and most of all fun! And okay, I'll be honest – I love a bassist that takes his shirt off, I'm only human.

BT: Such a hard call! It's a fantastic lineup and with each of the bands offering something different...

EM: All the bands are going to kick arse, but we're particularly keen on catching Hard As Nails – they're great mates of ours and we always have a blast at their shows.