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Fresh from their success of being on the BBC, and gigging around the country(including play gigs throughout Dublin, and playing a hugely successful new years gig in the Garavogue,and reaching "the holy grail" (aka the late late show....but it's not a much of a grail as it used to be) things have really started to happen for Petronella. So, as per usual, the Ursuline magazine has to get some story out of it-with that strange introduction, read on for an interview with Petronella's lead singer and guitarist, Tabby Callaghan.
How did Petronella first get started?
"Emm...alright...Petronella first started in late 97/early 98. We started off really by...well I used to work in a pub called The Weir, and myself and Dominic have been playing music since we were no age anyway. We just kinda...well, Dominic met up with a guy called David Irwin, who was our first drummer, and we decided that we'd give it a go, cos I was itchin to play anyway-so that's when it started really...around then."
Where exactly did ye get the name Petronella from...it's not the most common of words, is it?
"Ah...the myth is far better than the truth, believe me! Emm...I dunno...we were going along this middle of nowhere, and we stopped off at this petrol pump, and Dominic rolled down the window, and the petrol pump attendants name was Ella, so he shouted out "give us some petrol Ella"....ah no, I'm only joking, we got it from a book.
What's been the best moment of your life as a band together?
Tom Jones. RDS. Definitely
And the worst.......?
Oh god...emm...this one time, when we were recording our single "Drowning". We recorded it, and we weren't happy with it, and it was the day before we were going up to get it finished and mixed, so we said screw it, and rushed into the studio, spent 24 hours solid recording right, and then we had to get up at 7 o clock that morning, drive down to Enniskillen with the new DAT tapes, only to find out that the DAT tapes we brought down weren't compatible with yer mans equipment. We had to drive back from Enniskillen to Sligo, take yer mans machine, bring it back down, only to find out that when we loaded it in, that yer man couldn't work with it because the recording was so crap!...so that was hell!
Do any of ye suffer from stagefright?
Ehh...not really no. Stage delight, or stage might is more like it!
What was it like doing the "Stars For a Night" show? Were ye nervous, or did ye just treat it as another gig?
Emm....it was unbelievable, y'know. It was a great experience like. Em-it was a taste of showbiz really- we got to meet loads of famous people, and 36 thousand people knew who we were after it, so it was major exposure.
Do you think you're brush with fame has changed ye in anyway, or are ye still the same lads ye were before all this?
It's made us more determined. It's just like a taste of ice-cream, you know-you want more like-No, it hasn't changed us, its obviously let us know that we have something that maybe a lot of other bands don't, so we're lucky in that respect. But it hasn't changed us...a lot of people think it's changed us but it hasn't.
How did ye get the gig with Tom Jones?
The lads from Westlife kinda. Their manager is Louis Walsh, who's friends with Peter Aitken who runs the gigs, and they were looking for support bands, and Kian kinda pushed us into it. So we owe that one to him.
Do ye get any people hassling ye around the town, or do people leave ye alone?
You get the odd sarcastic fella- I mean, I was in Equinox there a couple of weeks ago, and this guy was like " ah yeah-you were in that programme "stars in their arses" isn't it?" You get that every now and then. I'd say about 96% of people in Sligo are genuinely behind us-you know-and they're genuinely kinda good on ye lads-so it's good really.
What's been the most frightening aspect of fame for ye?
Getting the dole cut off!
Who has influenced ye the most musically?
Backstreet Boys and Michael Jackson
The backstreet boys?!!
Joke! No-emm for me Jimi Hendrix was a huge influence on me..I mean everything from Jimi Hendrix to Britany Spears-I'm listening to everything know what I mean? So everything that I listen to kind of influences everything I do, you know. I mean talking to peoples the same you know-it's everything really. Everything influences everything-there's no one thing that clicks kinda.
Are there any plans to release anymore singles after "Drowning" or, an album possibly?
Yeah, but not 'til we're signed though. 'Til we sort out a record deal. We're going to release an album next year.
Is there any sign of one coming through for ye?
Yeah-we have three deals on the horizon.
What would you be doing in you weren't in Petronella?
Oh god...umm....I wouldn't be! I wouldn't be doing anything. I wouldn't be alive!
What would be the best and worst presents you got?
Best and the worst present has to be…well, the worst one I ever got was from my brother-he got me a pair of socks from the pound centre last year at Christmas. That was the worst…and the best one was…I dunno…oh yeah-when I was about 6 me mum got me a bike-only thing was it was for a 3yr old-and there was no air in the tyres-it was just solid rubber-it fell apart on me after a week!!
What's your favourite song?
Favourite song-oh...umm...I've so many I love- my new favourite song is the new one from Lenny Kravitz-"Again" it's called. That’s just class.
And your least favourite?
(Starts to sing)"Cos tonight baby, I wanna get freaky" or Bob The Builder.
Would you be against bands playing cover version as opposed to their own songs live?
No, I'm not-I'm against bands getting respect for it-I don’t think bands deserve respect for cover versions. It doesn't really happen that much anyway, but I'm not really against it. It's more interesting to see an original band-but it's interesting to see how a band can do a cover too. It's all pub music-covers-I mean, I enjoy going into watch covers as well-you know-I love it! But for me personally, doing our own stuff is more satisfying, because we're good at it!
Is there any advice that you'd give to anyone who's in a band, or thinking of starting one?
Well, basically just to find your style-you know-I mean for a band to find its style to work on it, and to stick to it. And not to listen to any bull that goes on around them-just to follow their own instincts and do their own thing-be true to themselves-and enjoy it.