HAZELDEN

HAZELDEN
Posted Apr 25, 2007.



Mary Jane Snow:†im mary jane . singer, songwriter and guitarist
Matt McJunkins:†matt . bass
Pete Vasquez: your mom

What is your myspace?
MJS: its really cool actually. ive met a lot of super sweet people thru our page, and i cant wait to tour around the world so we can play in all the different cities we have friends
www.myspace.com/hazelden

If you had to pick the best venue to play at , what would it be?
MJS: it would have to be the big day out festival in Sydney , australia. I have a huge crush on craig Nicholls from the vines so theres a chance he might be there and i would get to make out with him
MM: the wiltern definitely
PV: anywhere, anytime

What makes people want to listen to your music?
MJS: it sounds good, its different than what other people are doing? i don’t know really. haha i don’t even know if they want to listen to it actually. regarding performances though-- you know lot of pop singers and current rock acts plaster the walls with pictures of themselves tap dancing like before they were born or something, as if it were natural to be a performer. but its different for me because i started playing accordian when i was young, like 6, but it wasnt until later that music became something i knew i had to do, more out of necessity than anything else. im naturally extremely shy, so I really have to go through something to be able to get up in front of an audience.. people are curious about that i think ,well maybe.. it seems like a lot of times tragic lives are glamourized in rock, and people start to feel they need to do crazy things in order to be special or to have had some messed up past or else theyre boring. and i dont really represent that kind of thing at all . ive been though a lot but its not all awful, some of it’s funny and some of it’s sad, good, cool , whatever. i think i just have a particular way of explaining what ive done or the way i see things.

What inspires most of your lyrics?
MJS: my life, thoughts, the world, people i meet, places ive been, stories i read, love ,boredom, fantasies

Where do you think your band will be in five years?
PV: we’ll be in outer space recording our third and best album with your mom

Where have you been playing lately and how has your response been?
MM: well its a lot better now that mary jane finally got an amp that works!
MJS: matt youre so mean! haha. um, we’ve been playing clubs around hollywood . we have a couple gigs lined up at the derby in los feliz b/c its 18+ . the response has been good. i can tell people like us as a band cause u know, my little brother told me he saw people tapping their feet. but really i would like to start playing for larger audiences. it would be fun to play a high energy show with thousands of screaming kids puking all over each other. just kidding about the puking part i mean.

Do you have any upcoming shows?
we’re playing the derby on may 15. but keep checking our myspace page cause we might be playing an outdoor festival in corona, and then in orange county or long beach and possibly a spaceland or safari sams gig .

Whats the best thing about music:
PV: your mom

Is there anything you want to see happen thru/to music in the future?
i want to keep playing . right now its hard have visions about the future cause we have so many things to accomplish right this second. as far as the industry goes, i would like to have people come check us out... somekind of breakthrough for us as a band..

Are you doing anything to make those ideas happen?
MJS: yeah I mean, (laughs)
PV: (cuts in) im trying to convince mary jane to let me use a headset mic for singing. you guys say its too backstreet boys , but i swear to you if i start using a headset mic, five other indie rock bands are going to start using them tomorrow as soon as guitar center opens. im the one setting the trends here.
MM: only becoming the most bad a** band ever!

Any funny interesting stories?
Pv: i live in the kitchen

Have you ever been on tour, and how did it go?
MJS: we went to ventura and um, the guy says the check is in the mail. haha . actually we want to go on tour this summer and it would be cool if another band asked us to go with them since we dont have a booking agent yet.

What is the craziest thing a fan has done?
MJS: showed up at a show.

How did you come up with the title of your latest album, Toxic Shock Syndrome?
MJS: i lived in LA for 3 years

Has it gotten any radio play?
MJS: yeah , our single Home Alone Lost in NY got played on indie 103.1

How long did it take you from start to finish to make this record and how did it feel?
i wrote the first song in january 2006. its making me feel anxious because i still have a lot of limitations as an artist, one being that nobody knows who i am . nobody cares, its so sad isnt it matt?
MM: yeah

Mary Jane Snow, what a crazy name! Isn’t that street slang for pot and coke?
MJS: yeah i mean, ive had to deal with people who say crap like that my whole life. i think its probably the equivalent of having a name like STICK or harry (laughs) . but my parents were kinda hippies so i’m used to it. my sisters name is carrie ann paradise and my brother is PJ Sparkles.
PV: youre so rock and roll mary jane! take your shirt off!
MM:†yeah wheres the vines when you need em?
MJS: ok I really have to go. im rehearsing by myself tonight cause you guys are perverts (smiles)†. make sure you tell everybody to come to our shows so they can see me naked (laughs).
PV: what is she talking about
MM: i think shes talking about your mom