Editing Mars (band)

{{Short description|American rock band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Mars
| image             = Mars, 12" EP cover.jpg
| caption           = Mars record cover
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| background        = group_or_band
| origin            = [[New York, New York]], United States
| genre             = [[No wave]], [[experimental rock]], [[avant-garde music|avant-garde]], [[noise rock]]
| years_active      = 1975–1978
| label             = [[Rebel Records (french record label)|Rebel Records]]<br />[[ZE Records]]<br />Widowspeak<br />[[Atavistic Records|Atavistic]] (reissues)<br />G3G (reissues)
| associated_acts   = 
| website           = {{URL|markcunningham.cat}}
| past_members      = Sumner Crane<br />Mark Cunningham<br />China Burg<br />[[Nancy Arlen]]<br>[[Rudolph Grey]]
}}

'''Mars''' were an American, New York City-based [[no wave]] experimental [[noise rock]] band, formed in 1975 when China Burg (née Constance Burg; a.k.a. Lucy Hamilton) (guitar, vocals) and artist [[Nancy Arlen]] (drums) brought Mark Cunningham (bass) and vocalist Sumner Crane together to talk about music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mars-interview/|title=Life on Mars: The Surviving Members of the Earliest No Wave Band Talk Muggings, Warhol, and 1977|website=NOISEY|date=September 28, 2015 |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref> They were joined briefly by guitarist [[Rudolph Grey]] of Red Transistor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interviews - In Writing - The Wire |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/p=11054 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=www.thewire.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2007|pages=42–46}}</ref> The band played one live gig under the name China before changing it to Mars. They played a mixture of angular compositions and freeform [[noise music]] jams, featuring [[surrealist]] lyrics and non-standard drumming. All the members were said to be completely untrained in music before forming the band.<ref>Masters, Marc. ''No Wave''. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, pp. 42-52</ref>

== History ==
Mars played Live about two dozen times, all in [[Manhattan]]. Their first show was at [[CBGB's]] in January 1977; their last one was at [[Max's Kansas City]] on December 10, 1978. Their recorded debut was the ''3-E''/ ''11,000 Volts'' 7-inch single was recorded and mixed by [[Jay Dee Daugherty]] and Brooke Delarco under the direction of [[Lenny Kaye]] and later released by Rebel Records/ [[ZE Records]]. The group then released a single live EP in 1979 or 1980, though they had broken up in 1978.<ref>Masters, Marc. ''No Wave''. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, pp. 42-52</ref> Both recordings were compiled by [[Lydia Lunch]]'s self-run label, Widowspeak Records, in 1986, as ''78''; the songs were slightly remixed and tweaked by [[Jim Thirlwell]] (a.k.a. Foetus). It was reissued by [[Atavistic Records]] on CD in 1996 as ''78+''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1978, Mars appeared on the influential ''[[No New York]]'' compilation LP produced by [[Brian Eno]], along with [[DNA (American band)|DNA]], [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]], and [[James Chance and the Contortions]], which helped to bring the nascent [[No Wave]] genre into the foreground.<ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2007|pages=13–14}}</ref> An [[All Music]] reviewer wrote of their contributions: "Mars creates interesting music out of apparent chaos; the vocals are babbled and the guitars, bass and drums sound like they're weaving in and out of the song while going in several different directions at once, yet the band is oddly compelling in its crazed, cacophonous way."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-new-york-mw0000260455|title=No New York - Various Artists &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

=== Post-breakup ===
In 1985, China Burg collaborated with Lunch on the album ''[[The Drowning of Lucy Hamilton]].''<ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite web |last1=Payes |first1=Robert |last2=Sheridan |first2=David |last3=Grant |first3=Steven |last4=Robbins |first4=Ira |title=TrouserPress.com :: Lydia Lunch |url=http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=lydia_lunch |accessdate=August 16, 2016 |website=[[Trouser Press|TrouserPress.com]]}}</ref>

Due to complaints about Thirlwell's modifications on ''78''/''78+'', the full studio recordings of Mars (totaling about 30 minutes) surfaced in 2003 on the Spanish labels G3G and Spookysound. Cunningham ran both Hyrax Records and Spookysound Records. (To clarify: ''78'', ''78+'', and ''Mars LP: The Complete Studio Recordings, NYC 1977–1978'' all feature essentially the same half-hour batch of music, but with very slight auditory differences.) After the breakup of Mars, Cunningham was part of the bizarre ''[[John Gavanti]]'' "no wave opera" project with Crane, [[Arto Lindsay]], and others. He has also worked with the band Don King, and with his current outfit, Convolution. The ''MARS EP'', on Charles Ball’s Lust/Unlust label, was recorded in December 1978 in one live session and was the last time the band played together. The songs included on the EP were: ''N.N. End'', ''Scorn'', ''Outside Africa'', ''Monopoly'' and ''Immediate Stages of the Erotic''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Crane died of [[lymphoma]] on April 15, 2003. Arlen died on September 17, 2006, following [[Cardiac surgery|heart surgery]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patterson |first=Phast Phreddie |date=May 2003 |title=Mars' Sumner Crane 1946-2003 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/mars-sumner-crane-1946-2003 |access-date=2022-12-08 |website=www.rocksbackpages.com}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Mars was featured in 2023 at the [[Centre Pompidou]] in a Nicolas Ballet curated [[no wave]] exhibition entitled ''Who You Staring At: Culture visuelle de la scène no wave des années 1970 et 1980'' (''Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s'').<ref>[https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/collection/film-and-new-media/who-you-staring-at] ''Who You Staring At?: Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s'' February 1 – June 19, 2023, Film, Video, Sound and Digital Collections</ref>

==Discography==
*"3-E" (b/w "11,000 Volts")&nbsp;– 7", 1978 (Rebel Records, RB 7802) (later released as a 12" on ZE)
*''[[No New York]]''&nbsp;– LP, 1978 (Antilles/ Island) (split compilation with three other bands)
*''Mars''&nbsp;– 12" EP (live), 1979 or 1980 (Lust/Unlust/Infidelity)
*''78''&nbsp;– LP, 1986 (Widowspeak)
*''Live Mars 77–78''&nbsp;– CD, 1995 (DSA) (France)
*''78+''&nbsp;– CD, 1996 (Atavistic)
*''Mars LP: The Complete Studio Recordings, NYC 1977–1978''&nbsp;– CD, 2003 (G3G/Spookysound) (Spain; limited edition) (later released on LP by Important) (reissued by No More in 2008)
*''Live at Artists Space''&nbsp;– LP (live), 2011 (recorded May 6, 1978) (Feeding Tube/Negative Glam)
*''Live at Irving Plaza''&nbsp;– LP (live), 2012 (recorded August 4, 1978) (Feeding Tube/Negative Glam)
*''Rehearsal Tapes and Alt-Takes NYC 1976–1978''&nbsp;– 3-cassette box set, 2012 (recorded between Summer of 1976 and November 1978) (Anòmia; limited edition)

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
*{{cite book|first=Marc|last=Masters|date=2007|title=No Wave|location=London|publisher=Black Dog Publishing|isbn=978-1-906155-02-5}}

==External links==
*[https://observer.com/2017/01/mark-cunningham-blitzed-bowery-with-no-wave-icons-mars/ How Mark Cunningham Blitzed the Bowery With No Wave Icons Mars] (''Observer'', 2017)
*[https://www.vice.com/en/article/mars-interview/ LIFE ON MARS: The Surviving Members of the Earliest NO WAVE band Talk Muggings, Warhol, and 1977 an interview with Mark Cunningham]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070711091007/http://www.convolution7.ws/mark/bands/mars.htm Interview with live gig recollections]
*[http://clocktower.org/show/the-colab-vinyl-mix Clocktower - Radio] Mars is the second track on Clocktower's [[Colab]] Vinyl Mix (aired 5/9/16)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars}}
[[Category:No wave groups]]
[[Category:American experimental musical groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1975]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1978]]
[[Category:ZE Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups from New York City]]
[[Category:American experimental rock groups]]
[[Category:American noise rock music groups]]
[[Category:American post-punk music groups]]
[[Category:Rebel Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical quartets from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Atavistic Records artists]]