WITH their trademark style and sound, Trash Monroe have been gathering fans over the years.

The popular Southend band – who are due to release a new single – reckon they’re at their strongest point ever.

Since forming ten years ago, there have been several line-up changes, but frontwoman Melany Dantes thinks they’ve found a line-up that clicks into place perfectly.

She explains. “The line-up we’ve got now personally – and I would say that – is the strongest we’ve had. We’ve been going for about three years now. We’re happy and settled and I think this is going to be for the long-term.

“We choose people based on their passion for music really, that’s why we’ve got such an eclectic bunch now – people are always based on how passionate they are not how good they are – although obviously they have to be good too, but that can always be improved on, you can’t make someone be passionate.”

The band are due to release single S.O.B, and played to a home crowd at Chinnery's last week before embarking on more gigs around the county and further afield. They have also made it through to the final 100 of competition Band Crusade.

The contest sees bands up for the chance to record – with the aim of the competition organisers lending their muscle to pit them against the more commercial releases for a Christmas number one, and get live music back in the charts.

“We’d done battle of the band kind of things before a long time ago,” explains Melany.

“We decided way back that’s not something we wanted to do. We see art as art and so many competitions are about how many friends vote for you on Facebook.

“But they’re not doing that – they’re doing it for the right reasons and that’s why we got involved. Even if we don’t win we don’t mind, we just want someone to win and get somewhere with it, that’s the important thing about the competition.

“It’s not about whose is the best band or who wins, but about getting real music back out into the charts.”

Melany says the band’s success and  sound is largely due to the band’s makeup – with plenty of different tastes and influences coming through in their music.

“The music is not what you expect from what you see when you look at the image,” she says. “But I think it’s unique because we’re not trying to be like any other band.

“In a broad sense, we all in one way or another are into rock music, so guitar-based music, but also individually we’re all influenced by so many different genres – we like a bit of pop, punk, some of us are into metal. It’s hard to say who exactly we’re all influenced by, because it’s such a broad range.

“One person described us as an A&R man’s nightmare because on paper it shouldn’t work, but somehow it does, and I think that’s what gives us an edge.

The people we’ve got in the band now are all very honest, real people and they express themselves in that way without trying to be fashionable or anything.”

Her own position fronting the band is also something she sees as an advantage, although she can’t bear the idea of the band being categorised solely on that.

“We never use that as a gimmick,” she says. “We see ourselves as a band, not a female-fronted band.”

Trash Monroe are due to release S.O.B later this year. Visit www.facebook.com/Trashmonroe