Chris Mars
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Chris Mars | |
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 Chris Mars in 1984 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Edward Mars |
| Born | April 26, 1961 |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer, painter |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1979–1996, 2017 (musician) 1996–present (artist) |
| Website | chrismarspublishing |
Chris Mars(born April 26, 1961) is an American painter and musician. He was the drummer for the seminalMinneapolis-basedalternative rockbandThe Replacementsfrom 1979 to 1990; he later joined the informal supergroupGolden Smogbefore beginning a solo career. Although Mars concentrates mainly on his art career, he still occasionally releases new music.
Biography
[edit]The Replacements
[edit]
InRolling Stone's Alt Rock-a-Rama,Mars detailed the kind of hell-raising in which he and the other Replacements—singer-guitaristPaul Westerberg,lead guitaristBob Stinson,and bassistTommy Stinson—indulged when they were together. Among other incidents, Mars was thrown in jail for playing chicken with an officer in an unmarked police car. Also he and Bob Stinson sabotaged a gig where he knew there would be a lot of record-industry personnel in attendance by going to a novelty store and purchasing some bottles of stink juice. Mars sometimes transformed into an alter ego named Pappy the Clown while on tour; he painted his face when inebriated and spooked the band and road crew.
Mars appeared on only a few songs on the Replacements' final album,All Shook Down(1990); he left before the subsequent tour, unhappy with Westerberg's increasing control of the band.[1]
Solo career
[edit]Mars's first solo album,Horseshoes and Hand Grenades(1992), was a revelation for fans and critics used to his fairly limited role in The Replacements. He wrote every track and played drums, guitar, and keyboards in addition to handling all lead and backing vocals. Except for the presence of bass guitaristJ.D. Fosterand brief contributions fromSoul Asylum'sDave PirnerandDan Murphy,it was essentially ad.i.y.affair. Mars followed it up a year later with75% Less Fat.
Mars wasn't interested in touring behind his third album,Tenterhooks(1995), so another band, The Wallmen, toured behind it with a cardboard cutout of Mars placed onstage.[2]He released one more album,Anonymous Botch(1996), before fully turning his full creative attention to his visual-art career.
Mars self-published a fifth album,Note to Self,in 2017.[3]He announced the news onTwitter[4]and later on hisFacebookpage.[5]
Painting career
[edit]
His painting style, examples of which grace all of his album covers, is marked by nightmarish landscapes and grotesque, distorted figures. He draws inspiration from his older brother's struggle with schizophrenia.[6]
He generally likes to use oils or pastels, although he ventures into other media, like acrylic andscratchboard.He created a 13-minute animated film about his work titledThe Severed Stream.
Mars' work, which has fetched prices of more than $30,000,[7]has been shown throughout the United States and Canada. He has had solo exhibitions at Billy Shire Fine Arts,[8]TheErie Art Museum,TheMinneapolis Institute of Arts,The Steensland Museum, the Coker Bell Gallery,[9]and theMesa Arts Center.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Mars lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Sally Mars. He attendedCentral High Schoolin Minneapolis but did not graduate.[10]
Discography
[edit]Solo albums
[edit]- Horseshoes & Hand Grenades(Smash, 1992)
- 75% Less Fat(Smash, 1993)
- Tenterhooks(Bar/None, 1995)
- Anonymous Botch(Bar/None, 1996)
- Note to Self(self-published, 2017)
Exhibitions and collections
[edit]Museum exhibitions (solo)
[edit]- 2021: Musee de la Bande Dessinee d'Angouleme, Angouleme, France
- 2010: Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ
- 2010:Erie Art Museum,Erie, PA
- 2010:Phipps Center for the Arts,Hudson, WI
- 2010:Phipps Center for the Arts,Hudson, WI
- 2009:Longview Museum of Fine Arts,Longview, TX
- 2009:Longview Museum of Fine Arts,Longview, TX
- 2005:Minneapolis Institute of Arts,Minneapolis, MN
- 2004:Erie Art Museum,Erie, PA
- 2000: Steensland Art Museum, Northfield, MN
Notes
[edit]- ^"Biography of The Replacements".MTV. October 17, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 1996.RetrievedOctober 22,2011.
- ^"Chris Mars".TrouserPress.RetrievedOctober 22,2011.
- ^"Music".Chris Mars Publishing.
- ^"Chris Mars (@ChrisMarsArt) | Twitter".Twitter.
- ^"Chris Mars".Facebook.
- ^Bahn, Christopher (March 2006)."Interview: Chris Mars".The A.V. Club.RetrievedOctober 22,2011.
- ^"City Pages – Hospitals of the Spirit".Archived fromthe originalon April 20, 2005.
- ^"Chris Mars- In Preparation of Barrier Transcendence".Billy Shire Fine Arts.Billy Shire Fine Arts. 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2014.
- ^"Chris Mars: Subderma at JOHNATHAN LEVINE GALLERY".Jonathan LeVine Gallery.RetrievedOctober 22,2011.
- ^Burger, Kevyn (November 6, 2019)."Minneapolis couple Sally and Chris Mars turn their talents toward rescuing dogs".Star Tribune.RetrievedApril 29,2023.
External links
[edit]
- Chris Mars site
- Interview with Chris Mars
- Chris Mars' paintings at Beinart Gallery
- Jonathan LeVine Gallery
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1961 births
- Living people
- American rock drummers
- The Replacements (band) members
- Artists from Minneapolis
- Musicians from Minnesota
- Musicians from Minneapolis
- 20th-century American drummers
- American male drummers
- Golden Smog members
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American artists
- Bar/None Records artists