Fuzzbusters

The Deputy Fuzz, in their own words, consist of the unholy trinity of The Girl, The Boy and The It. The Girl, Bee (for Bronwen) is the giddy-voiced vocalist with blazing red hair, shiny bracelets and Hello Kitty T-shirt, while James is the cute wide-eyed Drummer Boy and The It is Kidd Jones, the long lanky guitarist possessed of a cynical drawl and an irreverent dress sense. The three combine and exploit their shared interests in tacky pop, retro-cartoons and good old indie rock like The Pixies and Pavement to create something so vibrant and unusual that some may find it frankly unsettling.

The 'Fuzz are a breath of fresh air in an oft-monotonous music scene, but not everyone immediately takes to their skewed sense of style and humour. So, they were very surprised to find themselves getting anywhere near the hotpress Bacardi Band Competition final.

"For the Bacardi heat I wore my stupid blue wig, and Bee was wearing little wings," Kidd Jones (aka Mark) informs. "Before we went onstage we said to ourselves, okay, we've got no chance - let's just go out and have some bloody fun! We ended up playing a lot better than usual, and couldn't believe we got into the final."

I also fondly recall the fetching 'bunny ears and lacy red bra ensemble' he sported for the Ignition Unsigned showcase in the Music Centre once upon a time.

"I've still got the ears," he reassures. "You've still got my bra, and I'd like it back," Bee reminds him.

"People probably think we're the most egotistical people when they see us in the gear, but it's not as though we look like rock stars," Jones reflects. "We look like muppets. Total muppets."

"We're not exactly easy listening," he says. "We don't see ourselves as technically accomplished, at all. We're a bit ramshackle, but we feel a little naivety gives us a nice sound."

"It also makes it easier to play live," James adds. "We don't have to worry about twenty minute guitar solos and stuff. We can have fun with it." "We definitely have an aversion to 'technical' excellence, but I think a healthy dose of ignorance is good," Jones smirks.

They describe their sound as 'quirk pop/rock', while incorporating a punky aesthetic with rock thrash-outs, and high-pitched chunks of pop culture, "It sounds a bit schizophrenic, because all three of us have input into the songs."

When Bee and James cite Britney Spears and 'N' Sync as among their current listening, I ask if they're just being ironic? James furrows his brow in genuine earnest ,"I do think N Sync are alright - their album's really good to listen to, the production is good, and it's better than Boyzone."

So what if Louis Walsh offered you the chance to participate in his new 'rock band' project? When the laughter dies down, Kidd Jones considers, "It would be interesting if he took on the task of managing a proper band, that was already fully-formed, as opposed to constructing them. He certainly knows his shit as a manager." Bee adds "He lives behind James' house, so we've been opening the window and playing extra loud.""We don't know how good we are. That's why the Bacardi thing kind of shocked us,' James says. "We get a reaction, alright, so I suppose it's a case of 'love us or hate us, you can't ignore us. Which is good. Bands like the Manic Street Preachers have a very hardcore following, while a lot of people probably hate them. A lot of people don't like us, cause they think we're taking the piss, or not serious enough. We're a band without a political conscience," Jones declares.

Bee adds, "One of our friends described us as a band coccooned from social realities, which I think is quite accurate." But as the chief lyricist, James pipes up, "Our lyrics aren't just words that rhyme. They do have a story, we just don't feel the need to get all angsty about it."

Speaking of angst, they've got a quote they prepared earlier on the subject of JJ72. "When they were growing up, they read a lot of books. When we were growing up, we watched a lot of TV," Jones asserts.

James qualifies, "Good luck to them, cause they're not crap and they seem like nice people. And if you think about it, we've got a lot in common with them, as regards our background and so on. We just have a different way."

So world domination, then? "We're probably not gonna take over the world, but we'll make a dent, I hope."

Deputy Fuzz appear at HQ at the Irish Music Hall of Fame, Abbey St., Dublin for the final of the Hotpress Bacardi Plugged competition on Thursday, 5th April