Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Where’s Mary Jane
For the sake of transparency, I’m Ajax, I get to be the spokesman for the band, and I’m also the founder and bassist for Where’s Mary Jane. I’m the grubby son-of-a-bitch that produced our albums.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I was a kid with a small transistor radio with a single, hard-wired ear bud listening to whatever was playing on the AM band. I didn’t know the artists or genres back then, but I remember how certain songs could completely change my mood and make an ordinary moment feel special. If I recall correctly, it was a blend of pop, disco, and folk music being piped over the airwaves.
The 1970s was rife with bad fashion sense and political upheaval on a global scale. Here in the U.S. we were feeding America’s youth into the war in Vietnam while across the pond, the IPOB struggled against the Nigerian government in a civil war that left millions dead, and that era also had Northern Ireland going through what was possibly the most violent and deadly decade of “The Troubles”—all set within the background of the United States and the Soviet Union trying to keep that delicate balance with their nuclear arsenals to avoid that pesky possibility of mutually assured destruction with the SALT talks. Fun times to be a fucking kid when “Peace, pot, and micro-dot” was a teenage anthem and rock and roll songs were written about drugs, girls, and drugs named after girls.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
It started as curiosity. I loved listening to music and eventually wanted to understand how those sounds and emotions were created. I was a late bloomer and started playing the bass guitar when I was 14 years old. The e-string on my bass was deeper than my voice. The first band I got into sucked canal water, but it was fun playing with other musicians that were far better than I was, that chemistry is what put the hook into me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Where’s Mary Jane grew out of a desire to blend honest storytelling with an eclectic blend of music from the streets. The project became a space where I could explore personal experiences, observations, and emotions without limitations. It’s constantly evolving, just like the people behind it. Keeping the lyrics as raw as the people that inspired it.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
There are elements of alternative rock, heavy metal, metalcore, a bit of rap, and a lot of emotionally driven songwriting. It’s atmospheric enough to get lost in but personal enough to connect with on a visceral level…what I like to call “Streetcore”. Hard and unforgiving.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I’ve learned that perfection often gets in the way of authenticity. Some of the most meaningful moments in music come from imperfections and honest expression rather than trying to make everything flawless.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
The bass guitar is usually where ideas begin for me. I’ll sit there and thump out basslines and from there, it’s all about the chemistry with my bandmates. The hardware, instruments, and effects are secondary, I have the privilege of working with extremely talented session players. More than any specific tool, though, is having the freedom to experiment with the band, that is truly the fuel for the process. Hitting a groove when everything pulls together and we’re all looking at each other completely lost in that moment. Magic.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
A tune called Touched by Vast. I was puffing on a stogie with a glass of whiskey last night listening to that tune during a thunderstorm.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Experiences shape everything. The highs, lows, uncertainty, growth, and everyday moments all find their way into the music. I think the more honest you are, the easier it becomes for listeners to find pieces of their own story in lyrics.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
No deep meaning in any of our material, memento mori. We just hope people dig it. Stories from the streets of Waikiki to downtown Phoenix, that soft white underbelly in every city that you only see after the sun goes down and the streets come alive and the air is electrified. It doesn’t matter what city or what country you come from, there’s that connection or common thread that pulls us together.
William Butler Yeats once wrote “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.”
I love that. Everyone’s got a story worth hearing.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Patience. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, and every challenge, mistake, and breakthrough becomes part of the journey. Consistency and authenticity matter more than chasing quick results. Some songs write themselves and some evolve over time. You don’t get to choose, you go with the flow.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Doesn’t matter, open mic night in front of 12 people to a gothfest with 3000 leather claded vampires moshing in central Phoenix, it’s all good.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Jimi Hendrix. Does that really need an explanation?
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website, Spotify, IG, links)
There’s our website where you can stream our tunes for free:
You can also find Where’s Mary Jane on all major streaming platforms and social media channels like Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, ReverbNation, AppleMusic, I Heart Radio, blah, blah, blah.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
It would be killer to connect with more listeners around the world and bring our songs to a larger audience. I think that’s the beauty of music, it’s the perfect marriage of art and science. You can take a sheet of music and place it in front of any musician on this planet, and regardless of language or culture, they’ll see and play it with the same passion. Same goes with a mathematical equation, the methodology is constant and transcends barriers and gets solved. That’s fucking divine.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Beyond the songs, we’re constantly learning and growing, and trying to keep it real. We’re just humbled by shit in general and the randomness of the things that happen in life.
Alan Niven (former Manager for Guns-n-Roses) was digging our shit during a practice session in Chandler a while back. We got to bullshitting with him not knowing who he was and I’m hitting the dude up for pasta recipes and places to eat in Prescott. If I knew who he was at the time, would the conversation have been different? I’m thinking probably not, we’re just two guys talking about food. It’s a wild and crazy world.
Our rhythm guitarist was in a bar in Chicago and runs into Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick. He shows him our website and Bun sees and points at my pic (back when we had our bios up) and says “I know that fucking guy!”
I’m thinking what the fuck? Do I owe you money or something? Got any good pasta recipes Bunny boy?!
Anyway here’s our link: www.wheresmaryjane.net
Last words? Yeah, if it ain’t crawlin’ up your leg, let it ride.
