Chris Mars (born April 26, 1961) is an American painter and musician. He was the drummer for the seminal

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

based alternative-rock band The Replacements from 1979 to 1990, and later joined the informal supergroup Golden Smog before beginning a solo career. While Mars concentrates mainly on his art career, he still occasionally releases new music.

Biography

The Replacements

In ''Rolling Stone's Alt Rock-a-Rama'', Mars detailed the kind of hell-raising that he and the other Replacements—singer-guitarist Paul Westerberg, lead guitarist Bob Stinson, and bassist Tommy Stinson—indulged in when they were together. Among other incidents, Mars was thrown in jail for playing chicken with an unmarked police car. Also, in conjunction with Bob Stinson, he 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 Papi the Clown while on tour; he would paint his face when inebriated and spook the band and road crew. Mars appeared on only a few songs on the Replacements' final album, ''

All Shook Down ''All Shook Down'' is the seventh and final studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990 by Sire Records. Recording This album was originally intended to be frontman Paul Westerberg's solo artist debut ...

'' (1990), and left before the subsequent tour, unhappy with Westerberg's increasing control of the band.

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 Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of D ...

's Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy, it was essentially a D.I.Y. 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 full 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

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''. His 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 Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

, The Steensland Museum, Coker Bell Gallery and the

Mesa Arts Center The Mesa Arts Center is a performing and visual arts complex in downtown Mesa, Arizona. At more than square feet, the $95 million facility, completed in 2005, is the largest comprehensive arts campus in the state.Mesa Arts Center. (n.d.). ''Fa ...

Personal life

Mars lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Sally Mars.

Discography

Solo albums

* '' 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

Museum exhibitions (solo)

* 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 The Phipps Center for the Arts is a theatre and arts center in Hudson, Wisconsin, offering a variety of theatrical, musical, and artistic performances, in addition to art exhibits and arts-related classes and lessons. The facility is a non-profit, ...

, Hudson, WI * 2010: Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA * 2010:

, Hudson, WI * 2009:

Longview Museum of Fine Arts The Longview Museum of Fine Arts (LMFA) is an art museum in downtown Longview, Texas. It was founded in 1958 by the Junior Service League of Longview. Since 1998, it has been on Tyler Street in downtown Longview. The LMFA's permanent collection c ...

, Longview, TX * 2009:

, Longview, TX * 2005: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN * 2004: Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA * 2000: Steensland Art Museum, Northfield, MN

Notes

External links

Chris Mars siteInterview with Chris MarsChris Mars' paintings at Beinart GalleryJonathan LeVine Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Chris 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