Mary Magdalan

Mary Magdalan Bio:



whats it like to be a woman in the genre that your in?

Its the ****....I mean, I couldn't ask for a better job. You know, its always a challenge when you do something that very few girls have done well, so every time I spit a verse or rock a stage I do it to prove that whatever a man can do a woman can do better.

At first I thought that people were going to hate me, but I have gotten such a great response from not only fans, but musicians as well. For a chick to come out and do it just as hard as the big boys is always a challenge, but I've always been the underdog. It's still fun rolling up to a gig and having bands give me looks like I'm a groupie or the singers girlfriend. Then I hit the stage and blow their fucking doors off. That really gets me off. Its like, "sorry....I'm not a rock star ornament. I'm here to crush your soul!"

why do you think that women are scarcely seen on stage playing punk, metal, etc.?

I think it has to do with the intensity involved in doing hard music. There is no room for the Paris Hilton's of the world in punk. Most people look at me and like I'm some whiney pop tart with auto tuned vocals doing my best lip synch rendition, but i learned a long time ago that if you want to make real music you have to be real.

does playing in a band that sounds so drastically different and unique attract a much more diverse group of fans?

Its actually surprising the broad array of fans that we get. We get fans that really love pop music like Ashlee Simpson or Fall Out Boy to the older people who dig Pantera and Black Sabbath. We also get a lot of recovering addicts or people who have addicts in their family and friends. I guess thats why I call our fans "Junkies." Its like, we're the new drug. Fuck coke and booze....come get strung out on Mary Magdalan.

It has always been important to us to make intensely brutal music that can be appreciated by a wide audience. I guess the fact that the music is also a portrait of my life draws people in as well, I don't know. It is definitely vouyeristic. A lot of people listen to me come apart at the seams and enjoy that. For others though they realize that they are not alone with voices and vices. I know for a long time I felt that nobody understood my pain......now I just want people to know that they are not alone in their pain.

what inspired you to write Rehab?

Quitting drugs.....My producer told me the only way he would work with me is if I quit doing drugs. So I went on one final bender and almost killed myself in the process. When I finally came out of it he locked me up in my apartment for six weeks! It was probably the longest six weeks of my life, but I made it through it and came out with Rehab.

what's the songwriting process like for you?

Its absolute hell. I've been sober now for almost a year on and off, so when I have to delve back into those ugly corners of my mind a lot of **** comes up with it. It really sets me off when I have to go there, so I try to write in spurts and then apply the lyrics to different beats as music comes to me. I cant wait till I can write a happy song......but knowing me I'd probably end up hating the song anyway.

if you weren't making music right now, what would you be doing?

I'd probably be a missionary or something like that. My journey in this world is to help and heal. Thats why I do the music. Plus, I have never been a fan of our cultural state. I would rather be barefoot on a deserted island living off the land then watching some re-runs of Desperate Housewives and obsessing over Louis Vuitton purses. Seclusion and serenity appeal ten times more to me than the bullshit thats going on in the world.

If you could be anywhere with absolutely anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

I'd be at home with my family. A large percentage of my core family unit died in a short period of time when I was very young. Even when they were all alive we never really got to spend a lot of quality time together. So its hard not to think of them when you ask. now if we're talking about living people I would have to say my precious pugs Molly and Daisy. We could be anywhere and we're cool.

Are there any final words you'd like to say to your fans?

You are not alone in the darkness.......No matter how world your world may seem, just reach out your hand and I'll be there.