Mary Jane Kelly was formed in Wollongong New South Wales, in early 2005. Matt Velozo and Justin Bortignon met while attending the Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts. Justin and Jamal Salem were in a band together, while Matt was playing in another band. Justin, Jamal and Matt all left their respective bands in order to form Mary Jane Kelly. They asked Sam Kost to join as bass player. During a 2008 interview with Triple J Mary Jane Kelly described themselves as: "Four best friends from Wollongong who met through school, shows and previous bands. We all had a similar passion for punk, hardcore and metal music and a shared desire to start a new band that was different to what we had done before; something with no prerequisites and no stolen formulas. A band that gave us the freedom to write whatever we wanted".[4] They played various local shows around the Wollongong, Sydney and Canberra areas.