HOW DID YOUR NAME ORIGINATE?
It was a friend of a cousin who came up with the name. We had been playing as the Diver Sisters and didn’t like that too much so Damien thought of two or three names but the minute he said Screaming Orphans we went…yes…that’s it as we had been a family band with our mother as lead singer and our father as sound man and manager so we sort of branched out and became “orphans”. The screaming bit suited also as at times our harmonies especially live can wander towards screaming. The main thing about the name is that it didn’t really represent a female band, we never wanted to be known as a girl band, we wanted to be a band. It was also a name we could grow into. People either loved it or hated it but the main thing was they always remembered it.
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WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST GIG AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE THERE?
I think the first gig as Screaming Orphans was in Gibney’s in Malahide (Dublin). Our Dad drove us up as none of us could drive at the time.
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WHEN WAS YOUR LAST DAY OFF AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT?
I haven’t had a day off in 12 years so I really can’t remember my last proper day off. We have been touring in America pretty constantly for the last 10 years and what would seem to be a day off is never one as we do everything ourselves (manage, booking agent, tour/business manager) so there is no such thing as a day off. You have to be constantly available.
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WHAT IS SOMETHING APART FROM YOUR WALLET OR PHONE THAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR VICINITY AT ALL TIMES?
My sister Angela as she gets lost all the time so if she’s not in my vicinity I get scared.
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WHICH SONG BY ANOTHER ARTIST DO YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN?
This is a really hard question as there are so many great songs but I think if I had to pick one of the many it would be Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.
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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SURREAL FAN MOMENT?
I think it has to be when a fan got a leg tattoo of our logo Doris. That may seem not anything out of the ordinary but we have a very detailed logo (see below) and it was a really good copy.