MIDAS Band Profile

The story begins in Rotherham - home of the Chuckle Ryan Jenkinson, thisGIRL's garrulous drummer, has just hit the nail firmly and vehemently on the head on all that is great and infuriating about his band.

While many are tempted down the path of least resistance in the pursuit of a quick buck, thisGIRL have, with their new album UNO, fiercely defended their right to avoid easy categorisations, creating a noisy little world of their own and pilfering ideas from every single one of the worlds known genres. And a fair few that haven't been invented yet, too. Its contrary, baffling but most of all one of the most exciting muddles for those willing to dig a little deeper than just a surface sheen and catchy chorus.

Brothers, David Seaman and William Hague - near the turn of the century. The four school kids who would become thisGIRL were all ploughing away with break-time bands, until a Skunk Anansie gig at the Sheffield Octagon brought them all together as like-minded, bloody-minded souls. thisGIRL was born. Or rather Girl was, but that soon to be scuppered when word-of-mouth about this exciting new band started to fly out of the bands home town and landed with a crash onto the doorstep of Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. He quickly put a stop to Girls existence, clearly worried that the teenagers would be mistaken for his lipstick-smeared old glam stompers of the same name.

Tours with the likes of Biffy Clyro (soon to be returning to Scotland courtesy of Beyond), Glassjaw, Pitchshifter, Hell Is For Heroes (and again…), Cave In and The Used followed, the band only stopping long enough to record their debut album Short Strut To The Brassy Front in 2002. Their reputation grew, but they bided their time, continuing to hone their craft by playing anywhere and everywhere, from tiny clubs, to Brixton Academy with the Deftones and in front of 40,000 people in Finsbury Park with limpbizkit - a show liable to go down in thisGIRL history thanks to their unusual tactic of actually encouraging nu-metal fans to throw bottles at them. Cue mischievous grins all round, and one very soggy, presumably rather pungent stage.

"When you get onstage you're a different person," says Liam. "I think we've all got our alter-egos onstage. You're not going to go on and have a cup of tea like you would at home." It wouldn't be long before the music industry came calling, offering them the world. Barely out of their teens, it would have been easy for the band to be blinded by the chequebooks and promises being thrust at them. But they waited. And toured some more. Built up an increasingly devoted fanbase and kept the A&R hoards waiting a little longer.

"In the time you do that you can see all the hares," says Ryan. "We're the tortoise and there's all these hares that get massive and then they're gone. Were still doing it for the right reasons, toddling along, were happy, the people who come to our gigs are happy."

"Its like one of them elastic band balls that you used to make at school," adds Chris. "It takes five years to build up but when you've built it, the satisfactions so much better."

Eventually, they, somewhat inevitably, swerved off the path of received wisdom and signed with Drowned In Sound, who pretty much promised to give them a free rein to do whatever the hell they like. Chris Tsangarides - producer for Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and, um, Shaznay Lewis from All Saints - came on board for UNO and declared that he wanted to help them make an album that sounded absolutely nothing like any of the bands lapping up the attention right now. Scenes and trends were to be avoided at all costs. There was to be no computer trickery, the band just plugging in, playing, and recording the raw chaos that got them this far. It was about straying wilfully away from the herd, avoiding fake-ness and embracing the chance to be the black sheep of the rock world.

"Its awkward music for awkward people," says Liam "Its colourful, its got loads of colours and loads of emotions. We can make you cry or we can make you smile!"

"Or we can vomit on your lap", grins Ryan. "We act on instinct, we do exactly what we want to do. There's something there to pick up on, but you've just got to be willing to look for it. We work on more than one level."

So what happens now? Inevitably, thisGIRL are itching to get back out onstage where they belong. Despite playing at Brixton Academy, the London Astoria, Finsbury Park and huge festival shows, they still dream of returning to the Sheffield Octagon, to play at the venue that started it all. But whatever they do next, you can be sure they wont be doing it under the influence of anyone but themselves.

"Were proud of going our own way," Ryan concludes. "We didn't compromise for anyone."

For more information on thisGirl why not drop them an email : info@thisgirl.co.uk. Make sure you keep an eye on their movements over the next few months as with support possibilities such as The Lost Prophets the world is going to be a much happier place for thisGirl. You have been warned…

Simon Hay esq.