It takes a lot of life experience to craft engaging, universal song lyrics—and singer, songwriter and musician Mary Jennings has had more than a lion’s share. How’s this for a start: stops as a teacher, aerobics instructor, clothing retailer, bartender, luggage saleswoman, paranormal researcher and now mother. Add to that the early loss of her mom , and there are plenty of stories to share. Jennings states that music has kept her sane.

While the music alone makes Mary Jennings an artist that fans can easily relate to, her somewhat quirky personality and a diverse range of interests have also gone a long way towards building a bond with her fan base. An avid horror movie fan, she has more than 400 fright flicks in her own private collection and openly admits that being scared and thrilled is probably her biggest geek factor. Her love for thrifting and secondhand clothing, something she learned from her mother, is a major influence on her vintage style and the inspiration behind the enormously popular clothing swap shows that she has hosted in a number of U.S. cities. Mary has turned her unique style, love of thrifting, and drive to create, No Sass Creations, through which she makes and sells bolo ties and other upcycled accessories. However, the most important aspect of her life is her daughter, Eliza, who is a huge inspiration in her new release, “Matriarch.” We caught up with Mary to discuss her new video for “Liar.”

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 
In March of 2020, we pulled Eliza from her preschool to homeschool her until things felt more safe.  I always knew she was super imaginative but during this one on one time together, I really saw it blossom even more.  I was doing everything in my power to keep her happy and positive in a time full of worldly discomfort and isolation so we made up all kinds of stories and imaginary lands to explore.  That’s how I became a “liar.” If she asked me if fairies were real, the answer was absolutely. I was honest with her about tough questions when I needed to be but I wanted to maintain (and still do) that active part of her imagination as long as humanly possible. 

What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)? 
To me, the only way to do a video for this song was to show the inspiration for it.  So I compiled a ton of home videos taken from the time Eliza was a baby to now, showing this magical, imaginative creature I have the pleasure of calling my daughter. I wanted to show her in her most natural state and this was it. 

What was the process of making this video?   
The primary goal for me was to find an amazing editor who could connect all of these videos and make them cohesive for the song.  Finding Carlos Boellinger was the best!  He was incredibly patient as I sent him hundreds of clips to sift through for a 3 minute music video.  He found the perfect ones for the project to pull at all of the right heart strings.  It was his idea to add the performance parts of me as well that I initially fought but I am glad I did.  I shot all of those from an iPhone and sent them his way for editing.  Everything on my end was very DIY and luckily I was able to find a pro that put it together in an amazing way.