HAIL MARY JANE — DIY BABES ZINE

Punk as a Decision To Be Angry

When people ask me, "Why did you get into the punk rock stuff." I say, "I got angry. I decided to be angry."

HAIL MARY JANE is: Sisi (vocals and guitar), Krispy (drums), Ché (bass)

By Billie Estrine

Mon. Aug 12 2024

Where did everyone grow up?

Krispy: I was born in Sydney, but I've been in Melbourne since I was five. I'm definitely not a Sydney sider, no hate, but I prefer Melbourne a lot more. So I've been here, yeah, since I was five. I grew up in the southeast suburbs and now live in St. Kilda.

Ché: I grew up all over the place; I moved around a lot as a kid. My family's from Ballarat; my mum grew up there; I spent a lot of time there as a kid, so I've got a bit of country bumpkin in me. But the real formative times of my life have been in the eastern suburbs, growing up around weird alternative cultures.

Sisi: I'm a peninsula chick. I'm from the Mornington Peninsula, born and bred.

Where's that?

Sisi: About an hour south of Melbourne.

How did you guys get into music?

Sisi: Forcefully.

Krispy: Regarding the band, Sisi and I met [while] studying music. Sisi blew my mind because she was 16 years old in the course. The rest of us were in our twenties, and there were [also] some oldies. Anyways, she's incredibly talented; she's a singer. Whereas I'm a bit more of a rock, punk vibe, we met at music school and played in a band together. While playing in that band, we thought, because we got along so well, "we should do something of our own." We thought about it for a while, and the name came up because we threw it in the mix for the previous band, and they didn't like it.

Sisi: I loved it. So I was like, "Okay, we're going to do something with this."

Krispy: Yeah, we're going to take that name, roll with it, and do our own thing.

Sisi: A couple of weeks later, I left that band and restarted this one.

Krispy: Yeah, we got together and started writing a song together, and that first song will be released as our first single, which is really cool. It's [coming] back together.

Sisi: Full circle thing.

Krispy: Yeah. We got together and wrote that in a couple of hours. We were like, "This is cool. This is going to work." We saw eye to eye. [Before that, when] I got into music. I played in a few other bands, but HAIL MARY JANE is definitely our baby, and I love it.

Sisi: For sure. Forcefully, as I said before, my parents forced me from when I was six until I moved out. I had to learn at least one instrument at all times. So I hate piano now, but I like writing stuff there, but never to sit down and learn something. Since I was six, it was just Dad getting me into playing chords on the guitar and sitting down at the keyboard.

Ché: Formative years.

Sisi: And it's only since I've become an adult that I've started to love it again.

Ché: I grew up in a very fluid and flowing youth. Growing up in a lot of different places and moving around a lot, but a big thing with my family, no matter what, we always listen to music together. When my mum was my age, she was a bassist and always dabbled in music in high school but never really took it too far. My dad was in bands and played a bunch of the venues that still exist now, that we've since played. From there, they were like, "Hey, if you want to play music, you should, but no pressure, but play music." I dabbled and floated around and didn't really settle on it. Just before I started high school, it was completely my idea of free will to pick up an instrument and devote some time to it; it's been every day since then.

Me coming into lovely HAIL MARY JANE was a pretty funny story. You (Sisi) used to work in a music store; I used to be a regular in the city.

Sisi: His dad was actually a more regular regular of mine. I knew his dad first and did not connect the dots until our birthday bash gig when they were both there.

Ché: You were like, "WTF! That's your dad." I came in one day, off the end of a rough week. We'd never really known each other, known each other, but whenever I came in, we were always just like, "Hey dude, how are you going?"

Sisi: I saw you enough.

Ché: You saw me enough. Yeah. You were like, "Oh, this fuckhead again, coming me to play guitars and not buy anything." This one day that I did buy a guitar, you were like, "Hey, we have a gig coming up. Do you want to learn some of the material and sound it out? See if you like it, see if you vibe."

Sisi: And the rest was history.

Ché: I came over a day later, and we turned through half the set in one go. It was just going to be one gig, and then I rocked up to rehearsal, and I was like, "Hi. How are you doing, guys?"

Krispy: Yeah. We fucking loved him.

Ché: Yeah. Then, in the second rehearsal, you guys were like, "Do you wanna join the band?" And I'm like, "Yeah." So, here I am.

You play bass?

Ché: I played bass. I did start playing guitar, but unfortunately, our dear bassist has left, and now I'm the bassist.

Sisi: Until we reconvene and see the next situation.

Ché: Music is all music; I love it all, so I'm happy to do whatever.

When did you each become introduced to the Naarm/Melbourne underground music scene on an individual level?

Krispy: I played in a couple of bands before, such as HAIL MARY JANE. Through studying music, I got to meet a lot of cool people. I love [gigs], so I always found opportunities to check out new places. [Some] people like going to the club, whereas I want to go to the pub and check out gigs. I fell into it a bit and got familiar with some of the venues in Melbourne. I kept frequenting them, playing them, playing at different places, and getting opportunities at venues all around Melbourne and playing everywhere. I just fell in love with it.

I've always enjoyed rock and punk music. We're very lucky here in Melbourne because we've got a lot of it. I found what I liked. Off that, you check out the lineup, and I go to a gig at the start and leave at the end. I check out everyone. From going to gigs and seeing who's playing, rinse and repeat. It's definitely the thing that I like to do.

To be able to play gigs now is more of an opportunity to check out more bands and connect with the community; I really love it. It's been amazing meeting so many cool people. Everyone here is really sick.

Sisi: I didn't think these types of gigs were a thing until I went to uni. From 13, I was doing cafes, restaurants, and bar gigs, just acoustic two, three-hour sets and cover songs. I did weddings as well. When I went to uni, I was like, "Okay, there are people I know who are in bands, and they're actively playing. Where can I find them?" I was also 16, so I couldn't get into a lot of places.

You were in uni at 16?

Sisi: Yeah. Before COVID, getting in places without being of age was a lot easier. Now? No. I get carded everywhere I go, even though I'm of age. Only when I went to uni and started having friends playing was I like, "Okay, cool, this is it; this is a thing, it's a whole world in here." That so many people don't know about.

What did you like about it?

Sisi: To be fair, when it started, because I was younger, it was like, "fuck yeah, no mum to tell me what to do." I had her card because I wasn't old enough to have a proper job. So I used her debit card at the pub, watching these cool gigs. It was the freedom of it. It was the adrenaline, and that's when I also got into heavier music. 'Cause I was doing folky, soul, pretty stuff before that. That's when I got into the heavier stuff, to be like, "Okay, let's get angry, let's have a bit of fun, let's kick and scream and run around and cause chaos."

Ché: Jumpin' and jivin', kicking and screaming.

I was fortunate to have a pretty early introduction to it, with members of my family being in bands. As a really young child, I'd go to recording and rehearsals. There's this one photo of me, I would have been about four years old [it's] me screaming into a microphone for my dad's old band to count them in. That was my very basic introduction. I was getting to go as a young child [to] these gigs, and I remember spending time at Hydra, a rehearsal studio.

Krispy: Yeah, I remember Hydra.

Ché: Yeah, [it's] classic. When I was a little bit older, a family friend had this really sick joke band called Lizard Punch. I still listen to their music now. It's the dumbest, most fun, silly, eggy, weird punk. I went to one of their gigs, and I would have been about 9 or 10 years old, and it was at Mr Boogie Man BAR. That was the "Yeah, I love live music." My parents always took me to gigs whenever I could. It was a natural progression that once I hit my teenage years, I was going to every show that I could, and if it were a show that I couldn't go to, per se, I'd find a way in because I've always looked old. I just weaseled my way in there, and I always had older mates, so [I got] to see a bunch of stuff.

Through high school and post-high school, [I was] in a bunch of random internet bands, making music online with people, meeting people through that, and going and seeing their shows. It's such an organic and homogenous space. Sifting through the wads of questionable people that are unfortunately in the scene, meeting some really beautiful lifelong friends, forging a beautiful connection, and still being friends and seeing these bands, and if they're not in the same bands, going and seeing their other bands. It's a due of support, but it's also a beautiful, fun time to see people do what they love.

How has the Naarm Underground music scene changed since you started playing gigs in 2022?

Sisi: A lot of fuckheads being exposed, but I think that's on the regular. That's a life thing that everyone's becoming a lot more intolerant of bullshit, and everybody's sticken it.

Krispy: On that, the good people in the community, like Ché was saying, band together a lot. You recognize who in the space is a good person and connect with those people. Those are the ones who show you a lot of support, and we show support to them as well. From the start, it's cool to see a lot of female and female-led bands taking the space and being really welcomed into it.

Sisi: Wasn't always like that.

Krispy: Yeah, there were incidents where it wasn't like that. Whereas now it doesn't really feel like a problem. Even queer people and being in the queer community myself and Ché as well and being welcomed into those spaces too. I've got a mate that puts on queer alternative parties all the time. It's just such a vibe. Everyone in Melbourne gets around it. Obviously, you still have your fuckwits, but now, it's easier to sniff out the good from the bad, and no one stands for it anymore.

Sisi: Yeah, it's also easier to say something. Everybody's banding together to rat out those nasty ones.

Ché: Everyone's working together to keep the core of things positive and keep people who are really detrimental to the image of the scene, but also to keep the energy of everything and kind of keep it...

Krispy: Keeping it a safe space.

Ché: Keep it safe and at heart, welcoming and accepting, and make people feel welcome and safe. As a queer person in the music scene who had a lot of trouble growing up with people being fairly hateful for either how I looked or my preferences, or how I wanted to identify. Being able to unapologetically be yourself, especially with your creative endeavors and how you're putting yourself out there, is a fucking beautiful thing.

Krispy: Yeah, a hundred percent. It's very welcomed now. It's been cool to see female-led bands. I remember we went and saw a band called Lilly and the Lovebites, seeing their lead front person, Lilly, screaming, kicking, and doing her thing. It was mind-blowing. I was like, "fuck yeah, that is exactly what we need to be doing."

The bands that are doing well and continue to do well are good people [at] their core. If there's any nasty business, it's sniffed out pretty big. We've dealt with scenarios before where we've been on lineups with people, and something's been exposed, and we're straight away, quick to be like, "What's going on, and not fuck with that stuff at all." 'Cause, at the end of the day, we want people to come and get rowdy and have a good time.

Sisi: And also feel safe.

Krispy: Be safe. In a safe space, yeah. So we want to put on shows that are fucking fun for everyone, everyone feels welcomed, and none of those fuckers are welcome. The whole scene is doing the same thing, which is cool, especially in the punk scene.

Do you think there's something political about creating community around music in an underground scene?

Krispy: Yeah, a good example of a band that started in Melbourne who are doing fucking phenomenal now is Amyl and the Sniffers, who we fucking love. We are very inspired by them. They released a song recently that's [about] when they were playing in Melbourne they were getting called on like, "Why are you doing this or that? You shouldn't be doing that, you're a girl," or whatever the excuse was.

It can be a political stance. In a way, we've been fortunate to have been welcomed in every show we've played. It's down to us also filtering out the fuckwits, though. So, we don't really deal or play with people who would give off that vibe.

Sisi: [We do that] from the get-go from their Instagram photos.

Krispy: Yeah, a hundred percent. It's about scoping out even people's profiles; you're right. Social media is a big thing now, too. There's a space for it to be political. We're goofballs; we're not too political ourselves.

Sisi: I want to make it more about the performance. It's more about the music. It's great to be educated, wary, and acknowledge all these horrible things going on and how we can do better in the world.

Krispy: To be fair, we've written a few songs where we've been able to talk about things that are pretty fucked up and be able to present that in a song form. The song that we're working on at the moment [is] taking a really shit situation, which is very frowned upon, and channeling that into a song that could be to educate people, but also to get the frustration out. It's important, and it's cool that we have an avenue to do that.

Sisi: When people ask me, "Why did you get into the punk rock stuff." I say, "I got angry. I decided to be angry." So, write about the shitty things, but I always write from my own experience. As political as my life has been is what I can write about.

Ché: Every layer of punk music is political in its own right, and it has been for many years. It's been going as the powerhouse in both local and worldwide capacities. You don't have to make your whole message as a creative person directly and inherently political because your virtues can speak for themselves. As an individual, putting yourself out there and only supporting positive things and positive people in the scene, steering away from negative notions and negative messages, and supporting other artists who share similar values. Being raw and completely genuine about it, in a sense, where everything you [share] in your creative endeavors [are] organic and self-based.

Who are the influences that guide your garage-punk sound?

Krispy: Amyl and the Sniffers.

Sisi: Yeah, for me, it's a mix of them, AC/DC and Motorhead. That's [how] I steer to write anyway, [along with] a bit of Rage Against the Machine.

Krispy: Oh hell yeah, me too.

Sisi: Yeah. Well, that's what usually comes out anyway.

Ché: Punk's so diverse, [with] so many weird little bits. I grew up loving Mr. Bungle and Faith No More, which aren't really punk bands, but something like Mr. Bungle is such a weird amalgamation of every different kind of genre. There are a lot of hardcore punk influences. In terms of other punk bands, The Cramps is much more mellow compared to more hardcore punk bands, even local bands like Enzyme and Carcinogen, which are hectic and amazing. The raw aggression, whilst being able to speak through your music.

Krispy: I think back to the riot grrrl bands, Bikini Kill and The Runaways; I love them too. It's funny because I see that in a lot of ways now, even with some Melbourne bands. SANDY DISH, they're really cool and pretty wild. A lot of Melbourne bands are like that, and seeing [local] bands as well is very inspiring. That's a big part of why I like going to gigs: picking up little things here and there. We all influence each other, but it's cool to see how we create our music from each other's influence.

Can you tell me about your creative process when writing songs and how that's transferred into recording?

Sisi: Writing is mainly because Che's only new on the scene. It's always been Krispy and me doing it—both really. I'll run the guitar stuff, and you'll make suggestions and little ad-libs in the main riffs. Then we'll both work on lyrics together or bring lyrics [separately] and come together. Flesh it out from there—[How it is] translating to recording [is] TBA.

Krispy: It's a natural process with us. Like, Sisi said, we'll each come up with ideas separately and then bring it together and be like, "Oh, fuck yeah. Wait, let's change that a little bit. Oh, let's change it to this. Chuck that word in there." We just jam.

Sisi: Usually [at] the end of a rehearsal, [when] we're all tired, someone does something, and it turns into a little vamp.

Krispy: We're like, "Oh, that sounds sick; wait, do it again." we quickly phone record that and then work on it again. It's cool, it's very natural.

Ché: It's been super lovely being welcomed in and able to share some of what I have to give as well. Being able to bring in some fresh takes on stuff that we're looking to add little thrills and inflections [to]. Also to be welcomed into someone else's creative process and be equally as valued. Share my ideas and spins when I've got a little silly idea because I spend a lot of my own time writing music. So when I've got an idea, and it comes to fruition, I'm happy to share it.

Krispy: We're all pretty multi-instrumental. Sisi can play guitar and bass, and Ché can, too. I can write lyrics. It all comes together pretty well because we can all pitch in different ways.

You guys have played so many gigs; it's sick. Do you have a favorite one?

Krispy: That's so hard. Off the top of my head, we love playing at Last Chance. We've played there many times and have met some cool people working at the venue. It's almost like a home base.

Sisi: We played there five times in thirty days or something. It was ridiculous.

Krispy: But it was great.

Sisi: It was cool.

Krispy: I don't know if this sounds a bit conceited or something, but I love our birthday bash gigs that we put on. We rounded up all of our favourite people, and for the last one we put on, we had six bands, including us, and we got together with a few other people in the community to put on an interesting type of thing. We had snakes there; one of my mates does snakes, so we were like, "fuck it, let's just, why not? Let's bring something interesting and create a cool experience for people to go to." it's a fun thing, it's not about the money or anything like that. We didn't care if we sold whatever. The main thing is we want to pay the bands that play. If we don't get anything from it at the end of the day, that's what it is. Those are the [most] fun because we connect with our friends and put on a fun time for everyone.

Sisi: I would say the same. I don't like playing guitar that much. So our guitarist, I matched, made him with my best friend, and they fucked off around Australia, traveling for a year. So they've been gone a year this month. I've been on guitar since, until Ché came along.

Ché: That's how I came into it.

Sisi: Yeah, I was so sick of it. Um, what was I saying? My favorite gig is one that I wasn't playing guitar for. [My] first thought is the original birthday bash show. [It's] something where I'm just running around kicking and screaming.

Krispy: When Sisi doesn't have a guitar in her hand and gets to run around, it's so much fucking fun. You're still fucking amazing with a guitar in your hand, so don't get me wrong. But, when you do get especially loose. It's really crazy. You have to take a week off after.

Sisi: I do. I ruined my neck. I could barely move side to side the next day, but it [was] totally worth it.

Ché: It all pays off—part of the experience.

Sisi: Exactly.

Krispy: Put on a good show.

Ché: My first live gig in the band was the last birthday that we played. It was my first time on stage in quite a while.

Krispy: And you killed it.

Ché: It was so fun to be immediately welcomed in and have fun playing live music again. Also, people who came out to see us [and] meeting all of the other bands who we were playing with. [I] made some really beautiful friends that evening, and it was just such a lively and fun night. The playing was amazing, but the community interaction of that gig, in particular, was what really sold it to me. It was so beautiful.

Check out HAIL MARY JANE on Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/hailmaryjaneband/#

Billie Estrine

Naarm/Melbourne, Australia

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