Mars

by Christopher M. True
Best known in noise circles as the one band on Brian Enos No New York compilation that had no musical experience whatsoever, Mars first appeared on the New York noise radar in 1977. Originally called China, and formed in 1975, the band that would become Mars would play only a handful of shows in their short career and would be limited to a handful of recorded tracks. The band was headed for split up in 1978 — regardless of their appearance on No New York — but managed to stay together long enough to record material for an EP, a self-titled affair, posthumously released in 1980. This EP, along with an early 7 and live tracks, was released as a compilation — titled 78+ — in on the Widowspeak label in 1986. Atavistic would re-release the compilation in 1996, and Mars bassist Mark Cunninghams label Spooky Sound would release The Complete Studio Recordings in 2003. Founders Sumner Crane and Nancy Arlen, who started the band with Cunningham, Constance China Burg, and Rudolph Grey in 1975, tragically passed away in 2003, and 2006, respectively