He might be listening to tunes up in punk rock heaven, but back here on earth his memory lives on. The late Nick Sofer-Schreiber, affectionately known as the Ginger Ninja, had dreamed of organising apunk rock festival, and the first annual Gingerfest is running with the idea, celebrating Sofer-Schreiber's life and the punk scene he gave so much of his time and energy to support.
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Held at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville and raising funds for Vision Australia, the bill includes 28 Days, The Snow Droppers, Clowns, Bagster, Born Lion and Triple J's Lindsay 'The Doctor' McDougall.
An avid music fan tragically murdered in late December 2013, the Ginger Ninja was a fixture at local punk rock events, becoming an important part of many bands' lives.
"It's got a lot to do with his personality, the person that he was," says Aaron Gaffney, festival co-organiser and member of punk band Revellers. "Even though he didn't play in any bands himself, he would support as much as he could."
"He would travel the country and even went over to the States at one stage, just following bands and supporting bands and making sure that he got to meet as many people as he could along the way."
Through the network of friendships and acquaintances that can form, especially in a scene like the punk scene, "he just managed to connect a lot of people together," says Gaffney. "He was a character. He was a very memorable person. If you met him once you would still remember, whether it was his hair or his energy, it was very infectious. Everyone remembered him and that's how it's going to keep on being I guess."
A driving force behind creating a festival in the Ginger Ninja's honour is to make a "whole lot of noise" and to keep bringing people together in theway they came into contact with him in the first place - through music.
"Gingerfest itself was something that he would talk to me about over the last few years as something he wanted to do. That's why we are carrying on that legacy and starting the first of what we hope will be many Gingerfests to come," says Gaffney.
From one of the Canberra bands on the bill, Johnny Barrington of Super Best Friends remembers the positive influence the Ginger Ninja had on him.
"He would have come up to you if you were in a band and you would have been taken aback by this short, curly-haired, red-haired dude. And I guess guys in bands would probably prefer a hot young girl coming up to them at first … but you sort of realised there was something different about Nick. Just this enthusiasm and unbridled passion for what you do."
To the Ginger Ninja, even though you might be a 25-year-old public servant who had a "crappy band on the weekend," you were still important. "It was a nice way to feel about it," says Barrington. "Putting on a festival and turning it into something that is an annual memory for this guy is a really fitting tribute for him."
"He'd be really thrilled to see the impact he's had on the music scene and that its continuing after he was taken away from us early."
The Ginger Ninja's death has also helped to bring a sense of community to the punk scene in Canberra. "The scene has grown from his death in a way," says Barrington.
THE FIRST ANNUAL GINGER NINJA PUNK ROCK FESTIVAL - GINGERFEST
When: December 6
Where: The Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Tickets: $27.50 + BF via www.factorytheatre.com.au
