CINDY Cawthorn was waitressing at the German themed Wild Brumby Distillery at Thredbo when she was asked to sing a song with local band, The Hip Replacements.

"We thought it would be fun to have this waitress bring out some drinks, whip a mic out of pocket and start singing with the band, a bit of fun for the audience," band cofounder Jeremy Paul said.

"We did it, rehearsed it, all of a sudden Cindy appeared in her Austrian costume, sang a couple of Stones songs and the whole place went wild.

"So when we needed a new lead singer for the band a few months ago, Cindy was an obvious choice."

The band- founded by Jeremy along with Wayne Kirkpatrick and now comprising the two originals on bass and drums respectively, Mike Horneman on lead guitar, Caroline Fox on keyboard and backing vocals and Cawthorn on lead vocals - is looking forward to introducing its new lead singer when it plays at Jindabyne's Banjo Patterson Inn this Saturday,  September 14.

"We have had a few months away with various things going on and bringing Cindy into the fold and rehearsing, so this will be something of a relaunch for the band," Paul, from Crackenback, who was a founder of iconic 80s/90s bands Divinyls and Air Supply, said.

"We are basically a pretty casual blues rock band that plays music from the 80s and 90s, but because we now have Cindy, the repertoire has changed. Her voice allows her and us to do new and different songs, we’ve been refreshed.

"We have kept our best and favorite songs and added some new and interesting hard rocking tunes. Cindy has the sound of Melissa Etheridge and Bonnie Reitt, very distinctive."

Jeremy said the band, known commonly as "The Hips", wasn't about playing loads of gigs, but just choosing when and where to play, for the sheer fun of it.

"We are excited to play in Jindabyne Saturday night and also will be at the Cooma Motor Fest November 2 in Cooma."

Cindy, who was born in the Blue Mountains but has been living in Jindabyne for nine years, said she was also excited to make her public debut with The Hip Replacements.

"I would not have thought when I did that waitress appearance with them, that I would be joining them full time," she said.

"But it has been amazing. Everyone is welcoming and we get on just great."

Cindy is only the second lead vocalist the band has had, following in the footsteps of Stuart, who held the position for 13 years. Obviously, she is the first female.

"We have had quite a few changes to the lineup over the years, but the core of Wayne and myself has remained the same," Jeremy said.

"Stuart had other bands he was playing in and the gigs we do are more long term, so we needed a lead singer with more time for the rehearsals.

"With big production and sound systems provided by Mike, who has a recording studio in Cooma, we can play at bigger events, for example for the Cooma Car Motorfest and are looking forward to that in coming months."

WIth a name like Hip Replacements, one could be excused for thinking the band was a bunch of older musicians and named for that reason, but Jeremy said it was more about "not talking outselves seriously".

"At first everyone was of older generations," he said. "We had Reuben Rose on keyboard, the same age as Wayne and I. The fun with it was that we don’t take ourselves seriously. There is nothing sadder than older people pretending to be young rockers.

"But people come and go and we got our second keyboard player Sue Sell, head of music at Snowy Mountains Grammar and younger. The third was our current key player Caroline Fox, a fantastic musician and vocalist and fun to have on board and she is also younger.

"The original guitarist was replaced by Gunther Gorman, who had played with Daddy Cool, one of the seminal Australian bands, a renowned Australian guitarist.

"He was replaced with our youngest ever member Michael Horneman, who family is very well known in the local and Canberra music industry. Now Stuie Hodges has been replaced by Cindy but Stuie is still a visiting member of the band.

"Everything is very friendly, not at all like professional bands, it is a healthy happy environment."

For Cindy, who has spent her adult life using all three major topics she studied at school - music, human movement and home economics - playing with The Hips is "fantastic."

"I don’t think I am a superstar, I just enjoy what I can do however I can do it," she said.

"My influences are Bette Midler , Barbara Streisand. I love Pavarotti, am really into Iron Maiden and a big fan of Rob Zombie."

Cindy had singing lessons from her youth into her 30s, joined a three piece outfit at18 with a drum machine, and then a five piece originals band which toured a lot.

"We supported Alice Cooper, Choirboys, Noiseworks, Tool, Radiators, Baby Animals. I met John Farnham in Port Douglas.

"I was also working fulltime as a personal trainer, owned my own fitness centre and worked as a maximum security prison teaching fitness to the employers, self defensive thing," she said. "I have been very lucky and now I feel lucky to be singing with the Hip Replacements."

For more information visit www.thehips.com.au