I met Blind Ambition after their 45 minute set at “The Rawk Show”. Soon after I went outside and interviewed their guitar player/singer-songwriter Mark Lajoie.

Blind Ambition is from Tweed, Ontario. The members are drummer Cory Stephens, guitar player/vocalist Mark Lajoie and bassist Mark Meekes. The band has recorded three cd’s, most recently a five track recording called “You just come and go”.

The band recorded “You just come and go” at studio 440 with producers Jeff Vanderogt and Sean Doyle. I interviewed Vanderogt about producing the cd. I asked generally “how was recording with Blind Ambition?” He had only good things to say about Blind Ambition and especially Lajoie. He said, “It’s an absolute pleasure working with someone as dedicated and passionate as Mark.” The band formed in March of 1998 and played their first show in October of the same year. Since then Blind Ambition have written 45 songs and played over 85 live shows. Lajoie says the band’s biggest following is in the Bancroft area. Blind Ambition’s style is “alternative rock in its truest form”. Popular bands like Nirvana and Silverchair as well as underground bands like Far influenced Lajoie. Track two on “You just come and go” is actually a cover of Far’s song “Mother Mary”. Blind Ambition doesn’t want to be limited. They define their shows as “high energy”. Lajoie says, “It’s like listening to three bands at once.”

Blind Ambition has overcome many setbacks in the four years they’ve been together. Lajoie is the only member that has been with the band from the start. The worst fallout the band had was when former guitar player Adam Jones chose his girlfriend over the band. Jones started missing shows and practices. On March 16th 2001 Jones played his last show with the band. They played at the United Church in Madoc, Ontario at another local band’s cd release party. According to Blind Ambition’s website (www.blinda.cjb.net) Jones left the band because “Mark is a jerk”. Lajoie thinks the band has gotten better since Jones’ departure.

Blind Ambition had a lot of trouble with a producer who said he would give them all the recording time they needed for one set price. After recording most of the cd, the producer brought up a bunch of hidden charges. He started talking about how his time was valuable and the deal didn’t matter. Blind Ambition took the unfinished recordings and stopped associating with the producer.

The band also had a lot of trouble with a promotion company called “Supernova”. The band had to go to a bunch of meetings in Toronto and sell at least 40 tickets to the show to be eligible to win prizes. Blind Ambition was the only band to sell their 40 tickets but Supernova said it wouldn’t be fair if they automatically won.

Lajoie says the key to a band’s success is getting heard. Blind Ambition has been playing local shows extensively for the past four years just trying to get heard. They have sent demo cd’s out to a large number of independent labels searching for the chance to be heard abroad. Blind Ambition doesn’t like to turn down shows. Lajoie says he’ll play a show in an attic, in a basement, or in a stadium it doesn’t matter as long as he still enjoys it and he’s getting heard.

The band’s goal is to sign to a label that allows them to tour. They plan to continue working hard to achieve their goals.