CARLOW BAND Sissy's main mission in life, it would appear, is to transform the midlands into the prime rock 'n' roll region of the er, world . . . well, OK then, Leinster.
"Everyone thinks Dublin is the place to be but we're quite happy playing local gigs," says the band's guitarist Justin Kelly. "Dubliners are spoilt for choice when it comes to venues and it's easier to get record companies and the press to come and see you, but the fans seem to be much more into it down here.
"We've gigged solidly for the last six months in our own area," he adds. "We bought the Hot Press yearbook and found that there was at least one good venue in every town. Last year we did about 90 gigs in four months - we were gigging about four or five times a week including twice on a Sunday."
Singer Claire Noons, for her own part, feels that bands in the metropolis have a communications problem when it comes to

presenting themselves before the punters.
"It's like there's a wall between them and the audience," she suggests. "Even though our music is serious we still like to get a good relationship going with the people who come to see us. It's like the teacher in the classroom thing - you've got to get them on your side."
Despite the connotations of their moniker, the band insist there's nothing wishy-washy about the music they make: "It's good rocking music, enough to get you off your toes," Kelly avers. "But there are mellow, gentle nuances in it and we can appeal to quite a wide audience. We did a gig in Kildare a few months ago and there were people in their late 60s and early 70s. It was like playing for 150 bingo goers but it was great - people were coming up to us after, saying how much they enjoyed it."
growing reputation
Together for about a year, Sissy have been enjoying a quietly growing

reputation on the homefront, frequently hitting the airwaves, as well as the road. "We got a bit of airplay with a song called 'Elvis Called But You Were Out'. Fanning played us about four times a week for two weeks on the trot and Mike Moloney did a bit for us as well."
In its original incarnation the band featured Kelly on vocals, but things changed when they "got wind of this girl Claire Noons from Rathangan."
"The original idea was to have her on backing vocals," explains Kelly. "But she turned out to be a really crappy backing vocalist so she started doing her own stuff and it worked out much better. We wanted to get 20 or 30 good original songs. It's a lot of pressure on a band to write songs. So if one of us can write, it takes the heat off the others."
Though their press release, in dismally unoriginal fashion, describes their sound as being akin to "Janis Joplin on '90s drugs", Claire's own tastes are less dramatic. "My influences would be more Janis Ian and Sinéad O'Connor," she says. "I'm not into much of what's going on now. It's extremes of stuff that people can relate to. I think Irish people can be cynical but perhaps that's down to our insecurity."
Not too cynical to welcome Sissy with open arms, one hopes. n