Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"John Mars sings songs from a corner of the human heart that most of us are afraid of to confront… cloaked in catchy, often beautiful melodies… and always, even in his most hostile diatribes, at the core, the subject is his own human frailty." - Amazon
“Brutally Honest Folk-Punk” - Flipside Magazine
He is unquestionably great on the piano, at times creating beautiful compositions that bring to mind vintage Tori Amos.”
- All Music Guide
“John Mars is a raging pervert on piano. Sometimes we’re embarrassed to be laughing along with his twisted songs of illegal love and drug and self-abuse. Other times he’s poignant.” - Time Out New York Magazine
"John Mars plays piano in Satan's cocktail lounge, cheering damned souls with anthems of depravity and self-destruction… Howling over his cum-stained keys like Neil Young at a peep show, Mars seems close to breaking down several times… a perv-pop odyssey.” - Demo Universe
Discography
Full-Length Releases:
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1. John Mars (self-released) 1999
2. Excerpts from the Future (self-released) 2001
3. John Mars and Me (self-released) 2003
Compilations:
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1. Wrapped in Plastic -100% Grade A Punk Rock Label: Shut-Eye Records, Atlanta, GA, 2000
Featured song: "I Want My Drugs"
2. Never Mind the Belocks: Live on WFMU (2001)
Featured song: "Rock n' Roll Girl"
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Primarily influenced by the punk and glam rock movements of the 70's, John Mars uniquely combines 3-chord piano-pounding rock n' roll with intricate ballads and delicate melodies wedged in-between. His subject matter tends toward the dark corners of the subconscious, and often expresses universally repressed truths, through an ever-changing array of emotional personas and vocal styles, while his lyrics attack with the directness but heartfelt poignancy of Charles Bukowski's poetry.
Although he is a solo artist, the passionately charged energy of his live gigs has granted him the opportunity to play at some of the New York's most famous alternative rock music venues, including Maxwell's and CBGB's. Time-Out NY magazine selected him as a recommended weekly pick, and he has opened for the legendary Daniel Johnston.
The debut self-titled CD was produced by John Mars and was the 16th most added CD to playlists in the CMJ Weekly Report (9/18/00) for the "Radio 200 Adds". In addition, his CD was ranked # 1 on Colgate University's radio station WRCU for 3 consecutive weeks before eventually being bumped to #2 by Radiohead.
John Mars has played in the 2001 North by Northeast Music Festival (NXNE) in Tornoto and the 1998 CMJ Musicfest in New York. He has also appeared live on several radio stations as a guest performer, including the critically acclaimed freeform station WFMU (New Jersey). Other live radio appearances include KGNU(Denver, CO) and WSIA (New York).
Originally from New York City, John Mars currently resides in Cumming, GA.
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