Christopher Edward Mars (born April 26, 1961) is an American painter and musician. He was the drummer for the seminal Minneapolis-based alternative rock band the Replacements from 1979 to 1990; he later joined the informal supergroup Golden Smog before beginning a solo career. Although Mars concentrates mainly on his art career, he still occasionally releases new music.
Originally a guitarist, high school dropout Mars moved to the drums when he formed the band Dog Breath with Bob & Tom Stinson. Mars was the primary song writer for the band until Paul Westerberg joined. Dog breath soon changed their name to the Impediments, followed by the Replacements. Mars explains how the band chose their name in his memoir:
Maybe the main act doesn’t show, and instead the crowd has to settle for an earful of us dirtbags. It seemed to sit just right with us, accurately describing our collective ‘secondary’ social esteem.
The band recorded a four-song demo tape in Mars's basement that Westerberg handed to Oar Folkjokeopus record store owner Peter Jesperson in May 1980. He was so impressed with the demo that he signed the band to Twin/Tone Records, the label he formed with recording engineer Paul Stark and music & sports writer Charley Hallman.
Their debut album, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash was released on August 25, 1981. Mars co-wrote two tracks on the album ("Rattlesnake" & "I Hate Music") and receives song writing credit on every Replacements release until there final album, All Shook Down. Originally intended to be frontman Westerberg's solo debut, management talked him into doing it as a Replacements album before the recording started. Mars brought in a cassette tape of his own material that he recorded on a four-track. When Westerberg dismissed his songs out of hand, Mars decided it was time for him to leave the band altogether. Mars appeared on only a few songs on All Shook Down; he left before the subsequent tour, unhappy with Westerberg's increasing control of the band.
In Rolling Stone's Alt Rock-a-Rama, Mars detailed the kind of hell-raising in which he and the other Replacements 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.
Solo career
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 guitarist J.D. Foster and brief contributions from Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy, it was essentially a DIY affair. Mars followed it up a year later with 75% 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. He released one more album, Anonymous Botch (1996), before fully turning his creative attention to his visual-art career.
Mars self-published a fifth album, Note to Self, in 2017. He announced the news on Twitter and later on his Facebook page.
Painting career
"Funeral March for the Minimal Man", a 2002 painting by Chris Mars held by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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.
He generally likes to use oils or pastels, although he ventures into other media, like acrylic and scratchboard. He created a 13-minute animated film about his work titled The Severed Stream.
Mars' work, which has fetched prices of more than $30,000, has been shown throughout the United States and Canada. He has had solo exhibitions at Billy Shire Fine Arts, the Erie Art Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Steensland Museum, the Coker Bell Gallery, and the Mesa Arts Center.[citation needed]
Personal life
Mars lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Sally Mars. He attended Central High School in Minneapolis but did not graduate.
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