Melbourne band Ruckus are the Australian Ambassadors for good ol’ American foot stompin’ country rock music. They know their instruments like the back of their hands, know how to party and have a good time, and may even show up on time for a gig once in a while! Bring your shit kickers and cowboy hats to The Espy this Friday, August 1st to see them live for round one of Emergenza Festival Australia. And before the show, check out our interview with the band.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME RUCKUS?
The name RUCKUS was derived from a hellishly bad evening in an establishment of ill repute where we played. The establishment, which shall not be named, is no longer!! That being said... we had nothing to do with it!!! Also... RUCKUS sounds like what it means—a little loud and maybe a little rowdy. Great music, fun, and dancin'!

WHO PLAYS WHAT IN THE BAND AND WHAT KEEPS YOU INSPIRED TO PLAY MUSIC TOGETHER?
The band is Mick Abrey, Bazza Tiplady, Craig Nicholls and Roly Kretchmer, and our main objective is to keep our audience happy and jumpin' first and foremost. The fact that we love playing together comes in very close second, and in fact if we miss a weekend playing we get shitty. We have a great comradery, and we are also good mates, and hopefully it shows on stage when we are together.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Stompin'. Country. Rockin'.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MAJOR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
Our musical influences are wide and varied, as you'd expect from different people. We are an eclectic bunch of buggers who love and listen to all different kinds of music, which influences how we play and what we bring to the band. As far as our sound and songs, probably... Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Sr. and Jr. to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence in the Seventies as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan. Slim Dusty and even Dolly Parton!! Great word smiths and presenters of their music, all. It's hard to say, we've all been around a while but our individual music influences are probably what make it so much fun when we are together.

WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE DONE TOGETHER AS A BAND?
All turned up on time to a GIG!!! WHAT THE!! That never happened!!! Yep, reckon it did once....

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT YOUR SHOW AT THE ESPY?
We are looking forward to putting on the best show we can in the time we have and getting the best crowd reaction possible. The Espy in an iconic Aussie music venue and... only ONE of us has ever played there!! We'd also love to win the night... Did I say that?? YEP... are you serious??? Never been more serious in my life!

WITH OTHER BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS AROUND, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE EMERGENZA?
An early version of RUCKUS—nothing like you see today—won a couple of battles in Tamworth, a country music festival many moons ago. This is something we have never done before, our opportunity to compete against all genres of music and maybe our chance to showcase who we are on the world stage.

For more details on the show at The Espy, August 1st, click here.