Who is EtaK?
Etak is a pinup artist who has an obsession with nosebleeds and black eyes who also moonlights as a keyboardist and spends her spare time sleeping and being a lazyass.
How did you get involved in music?
My dad was a musician, playing with bands like The Allman Brothers, so my childhood revolved around music. I still love rock from the 70's thanks to my parents. Vlixx started teaching me bass guitar and keys a while back and that's how I ended up playing music.
How did you get to the nickname Etak, what does it stand for?
Look at it closer and you'll find the answer.
Is Etak a part of your darker self or just an image? What of your true self is in it?
I am Etak. I have no image, I'm just myself. I think everyone has a dark side to them, why focus on a darker alter-ego when I can be both?
You are part of the of the cyber industrial act Helltrash, can you give an introduction to Helltrash?
It's the musical equivalent to a kick in the face by a stripper.
What is your role in that band and how did you get to join them?
I started out doing art for the band. For years I was their graphics artist, designer, and occasionally I patched up torn out crotches in their jeans. One day Vlixx asked me if I would like to be included in the band and I jumped at the opportunity.
Helltrash is a band with a very strong visual presentation, how important is that for today’s music scene and do you play a role on designing it?
I've seen so many bands live that come out on stage and play in their regular everyday clothes. It bores me! The most memorable acts I've seen always had an insane visual style. I believe having a strong self image is extremely important for any up and coming bands. Sadly the Industrial music scene is a bunch of the same being recycled over and over, so we constantly have to evolve our look. I'd love to take all of the credit for the current image of Helltrash, but it was a collaborative effort.
What can you put in music that is really you?
My voice. Duh.
What do you prefer creating music or being on stage?
Being on stage. When you're on stage you are presenting your final creation to the audience. You feel the music, you become emotional and (in my case) aggressive. It's such a rush.
Do you have any strange rituals before going on stage?
You'll usually see me making a mad dash for the bathroom within seconds of going on stage. I always have to pee at the last minute. Half of the last tour I spent the whole time on stage trying not to pee myself. I'm going to pull a Fergie one day, it's just my destiny.
What are rolemodels for you? Both in music as personally and what influence did they have on you?
The biggest role models in my life musically are David Bowie and The Prodigy. Like most girls my age I fell madly in love with David Bowie in the movie Labyrinth when I was maybe four or five. I started listening to his music not too long after and I became infatuated with everything about him. As for The Prodigy, I have Liam Howlett to thank for introducing me to the alternative culture. Keith Flint or whoever dresses that boy is a contributing factor to my personal style. As for non-musical influence, I'd have to say the graffiti artist Banksy.
Everybody has an addiction, what is yours?
Collecting vinyl toys. I've had such a bad problem with buying them that I was put on a "vinyl toy budget" and was only allowed to buy two a week. Both my mom and my grandmother have always collected toys, I guess it was bound to hit me sooner or later.
You are also a designer, how do you work on your designs, how are they created?
I collect inspiration pictures like baseball fanatics collect baseball cards. My inspiration pictures are everything from high fashion photoshoots to vintage ads to pictures of animals. When I have to work on something I'll dig through my inspiration pictures and find maybe 10 that I love and come up with an idea that best represents what I want to portray. Then it's just me sitting at my computer with my tablet battling my asshole cat who likes to sleep on my monitor and put her tail in the middle of the screen for the next few hours until I have a completed product. Tada!
Your favorite subject to draw seem to be ladies with big boobs, what is so great about drawing those?
Hellooooo!? They are ladies with big boobs, what isn't great about that? I used to not draw big boobs, my girls were very angular and emaciated and I was heavily influenced by the art of Brian Froud. Somewhere along the line I discovered how fun it was to draw curves and I got a better response from people. My only complaint is that I would doodle my girls while at work and someone always had to come along and draw an awful looking penis somewhere near their face.
What are your goals and dreams in life, how do you think to achieve them?
My biggest dream is to be successful with my art, and I don't mean working in a graphics agency. There are so many pinup artists out there who have made a name for themselves and I would love to do just that. I'm working my ass off to achieve those goals as we speak. I just have to keep on drawing and refusing to stop.
You are a gamer as well, what is your favorite game today and why?
My favorite games of all time are Eternal Darkness, Fatal Frame, Rule of Rose, Kingdom Hearts, and the Final Fantasy series. I play games more for the story than anything else, my favorite genres being survival horror and RPGs. If you'd ask me what my current video game obsession is, I'd have to say Okami. I jumped on the Okami bandwagon a little too late, but I absolutely adore the graphics and the gameplay. The story is really well done and the "brush strokes" concept is unique.
How does the ultimate Etak day look like?
The ultimate day!? Well let me tell you. I would wake up and discover that my bedroom had magically teleported into a themepark and my two asshole cats have turned into giant bags of money and I run around all day riding rides and pushing little kids out of the way so I can be first in line and buy crap I don't need and eat funnel cakes until I puke on myself.
Any last words for the readers?
Come and get me.
www.myspace.com/helltrash