Wish List

It's not often that I listen to a band for the first time and wish that I owned a record label so that I could snag that band, sign them and make them huge but SXSW this past March proved me wrong.
Before the conference I took preparation to another level and decided to make the SXSW website my new favorite home. I spent days listening to every band that was on the bill for this years indie fest and took notes on which ones I liked and then made our itinerary according to that. One of the top bands on my list was Sissy Wish from Norway. Our intern contacted Sissy Wish's manager to let them know that we'd be at the show. Now of course the first night of SXSW is always a debacle of sorts; you get into Austin, get your badges, get to your hotel to primp and then try try try to hit all the shows and meetings that were on the schedule for that night all the while fighting traffic and ignoring phone calls and text messages that just might throw you off. We always bite off more than we can chew on the first evening, and the entire week for that matter. On our agenda for that evening was X-Wife, Black Moth Super Rainbow, the Eenie Meenie Records Showcase, Oppenheimer, Trances Arc, HarMar Superstar, Pink Nasty, hanging with our Money Mark friend and last but not least Sissy Wish. All of which we actually managed to do! Now Buffalo Billiards is one of my most secretly coveted venues in Austin despite their heinous rules and regs. The bottom floor is well, billiards but upstairs is this ginormous ballroom accentuated by a gorgeous bar that sits dead center. This is where Sissy Wish was playing. We got there a smidge late because that's how we roll but once we walked in we were so pleasantly surprised, the lead singer Siri had that stage and the crowd captivated.
There were people dancing and staring and even Rollingstone Senior Editor David Fricke was there and enjoying the set. Sissy Wish is America's answer to pop music, their melodies are poppier than God but because the music is so well thought out and not made in the cookie cutter pop box of this country it's just fantastic. Something that both 14 year olds and music snobs alike could sink their teeth into. And Siri, the center of this band was very Bjork meets Karen O but with more umph and sweetness.
After seeing them I was baffled, why wasn't this band signed in the United States?
The following day we met up with Sissy Wish and their fab manager Tonje and got the whole story. First off, this is their first time ever playing outside of Norway! Now this bands is no small beans in Norway, in fact Sissy Wish's lead lady in February of 2005 was awarded a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen) in the category of ”best female artist” and has had the honor of releasing three of the most critically acclaimed records in Norway. Goodness.

They are in the process of trying to get over to the United States and boy will you be lucky when they do!
Sissy Wish has recently released her 3rd album, "Beauties Never Die", on Sony BMG in Norway this past March.
www.sissywish.com
www.myspace.com/sissywish