MJ was drawn to the piano as a youngster. Then in high school she played a bit for church. She loved playing Led Zepplin for the offertory. She dabbled with song-writing and guitar, but entered college a chemistry major. MJ worked a couple of summers for Dow Chemical, but signs of happiness were down another road. She wrote I Feel Fine during a physics test - the tune being much better than her grade - and began to turn her focus to music.

MJ Torrance embarked on songwriter’s dream during the mid-eighties and early nineties. While studying theory at UT she worked at the Cactus Cafe - a legendary intimate music venue. MJ started singing and playing acoustic guitar at the open mics. Then Dianne Scott introduced her to the Austin scene, in particular to Peg Miller and Glynda Cox of the Chicago House where MJ hosted open mics and SXSW singer songwriter showcases for more than four years. Sandra Martinez was always welcoming with original bands at Chances so MJ got to experiment with bigger productions of her work too. One of keys to longevity in the music business is to self produce so she began doing her own recordings.

MJ began touring extensively - twice on motorcycle. Ani Difranco knocked on MJ’s front door and they “Danced” across the Southwest. And Girls in the Nose was always a party, whether on the road or in town.

Her music has lead her to glaciers to complete a rhyme but no matter where MJ Torrance found herself she pushed and furthered her musicality. She has enjoyed playing shows with all kinds of musicians, she hosted a her own radio show for seven years, produced PSA's, and became a valuable asset on many levels in the studio whether live or recorded.

MJ works mainly as a solo performer but has always enjoyed mixing it up with other musicians.

Bands

Texas - '06 - present

Dueling Cobras - when Johnny Big (bass player on Fairy Tales and Funerals) joins up with MJ on the keys you will move and be moved and declare that you have just been to a "Rock" show. Nuf said.

MJ loves playing electric guitar and is so grateful to get to amp it up with Susie Martinez on bass and Teri Lord or Mary Bolner on drums. Her Girl Power Trio puts MJ’s music into over-drive. Sometimes you can catch Joanna Labow adding in some sweet back up vocals.

MJ y los Recliners - a lounge band. MJ on keys teams up with some of the regular jammers from Sam's Town Point to play her favorite composers - Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Mingus, Monk, Earl Hagen etc... Rock classics and MJ originals get thrown in the mix too. It's groovy, it's mellow and it's super sweet.

Montana - '97 - '06

The Doppel Gang consisted of MJ on lead guitar, Jo Flagg on rhythm guitar and percussion, and Laura Burrows adding in some back ground vocals. Jo is a most excellent songwriter. One of her songs, Yellowstone, appears on MJ’s, Sparks from a Live Wire album and Into the Blue appears on Keys to the Sanctuary. They “journeyed” more in the practice room than anything. However, when they did play out it was always pretty special. Together they produced an album called “Beside Ourselves,” a live radio recording done at the studio of KGLT on the campus of MSU. The material was mainly Jo’s epic folk tunes where you can hear her Celtic roots mixing with the vastness of Montana’s landscape.

Baby Steps was a jazz band that played "fine music for most any occasion". MJ played keys in this band. She played along side August Rutkowski on guitar, Melanie Rutkowski on bass clarinet and clarinet, Drew Flemming on drums and Chuck Goodwin on bass guitar. Everyone was a “Rocker” looking to expand their musical limits, and they certainly accomplished that goal. Baby Steps played a lot of memorable gigs, oft times with others members of the community sitting in as well. Exploring jazz with Baby Steps really influenced MJ’s Rock-n-Roll, making her very comfortable behind a piano for “most any occasion.”

Seattle - '94-'97

MJ didn’t live in Seattle long, However, while she was there she scoured the open mic scene with her friend Ellie, a hot Mandolin player who had really big feet. They hosted their own open mic at the Wild Rose. (Being a musician, MJ has held a wide variety of jobs. One of her favorites was delivering drugs for nuns. While in Seattle MJ got to drive all along the west coast of Washington including ferry rides to some of the islands, delivering drugs to patients in their homes for a Catholic hospital.)

Texas - '86 - 94

Stained Glass Man was MJ’s main project for many years in Austin Tx. She and Brad Segal explored a lot of Rock-n-Roll together and produced many a memorable show for their very dedicated fan base. This band was about getting people to dance, all night. Drummer Tim Brandt helped them out for quite awhile and guys like Paul Brown on Sax and Matt Patterson on percussion would make gigs extra special. Melanie Armstrong began to join Brad and MJ quite regularly for a very intimate trio version of SGM.

MJ started His Boy Elroy with Robby Leftwich. They had both been playing with Lisa Rhodes in the Usual Suspects but wanted to explore a more pop direction. They did mainly covers from the fifties era to begin with. As MJ concentrated more and more on song writing she began to gravitate toward all original bands which led her to join Sursum, the eventual rhythm section of which became Stained Glass Man.

MJ also played electric guitar and wrote for an incarnation of the band Girls in the Nose. Nose shows were always a really good girl party. You can still catch a reunion every now and then. Singer Kay Turner led the show with Lisa Wickware on guitar, Jean Dusablon on bass Darby Smotherman on drums and Joanna Labow with back-up vocals and percussion. Alison Strauss and Kathy Smith were the dancers for the band known as Lez Nez and they added some serious entertainment to the performances.