Mick Mars
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Mick Mars (born Bob Alan Deal, May 4, 1951 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is the guitar player for heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.
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[edit] Career
After his family relocated from Indiana to California, Deal dropped out of high school and began playing guitar in a series of unsuccessful blues based rock bands throughout the seventies, taking on menial day jobs to make ends meet. After nearly a decade of frustration with the California music scene, the 30 year-old Deal reinvented himself, changing his stage name to Mick Mars and dying his hair jet black, hoping for a fresh start. In April of 1981 he composed a want-ad in the Los Angeles "Recycler" newspaper that read, "Loud, rude, and aggressive guitar player available". Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee contacted him and the three decided to form a band together. Upon Mick's prodding, they persuaded local Rock Candy singer/frontman Vince Neil to hop on board. It was Mars' suggestion that the band be called Mötley Crüe, a name that had stuck in Mars' head since his early days while playing for the band White Horse.
Unlike many of the hard rock/heavy metal guitarists of his era, Mars' guitar style is steeped in the blues tradition. He employs frequent use of a metal slide in his soloing and takes on both the rhythm and lead guitar duties of the band. Mars frequently tunes his guitar down to D (rather than the standard E) to get a lower, snappier, crunchier sound both in the studio and live.
For the sum of his career with Motley Crue, Mars has created the aura of being a somewhat mysterious figure. In what interviews he has conducted, Mars often comes off as a very reserved and somewhat quiet individual, though not shy by any means, as his "coming out on stage with my ballbag hanging out" comment on VH1 indicates. Even Neil has admitted that "I don't really know much about Mick, man, I don't really think anyone does." A home video made in 1984 and posted on the web by one of his former White Horse bandmates reveals Mars to be a rather jovial, wisecracking, down-to-Earth person-- one who obviously saw his fair share of adversity during his long rise to the top.
After an eventual split of Motley Crue, Mars went into retreat with his then girlfriend as his health worsened. After she left, he dealt with depression and eventual financial bancruptcy, stating that he lived in one room of his large house, with only an inflatable bed for company. He also gave up guitar at this time, and later stated that "I was going to die. Why should I play guitar?". Mars was rescued from the brink of death by the reformation of Motley Crue and the desire to play again, and underwent a hip replacement in the autumn of 2004 that was followed with intensive physical therapy (see Health section below). Due to fears that he would not be strong enough to complete the tour by management and fans alike, he wore a mask for the first few shows in order to trick the audience into thinking he had been replaced. Mars is now currently touring with Motley Crue without a mask, and is said to be "more energetic on stage than he has ever been".
[edit] Health
For most of his professional career, Mars has struggled with a degenerative bone condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis. It was initially diagnosed when he was 17 and has increasingly impaired his movement and has caused him a great deal of pain and suffering. Mars has since stated that he was and still is constantly in pain even when on high dosages of pain killers that led him to hallucinate. Due to the fragility of his condition, he is kept on large amounts of pain killers, although has recently stated that his newest medication is better at subduing his joint pain. Mars quotes that he is three inches shorter than he was in high school. This led to hip-replacement surgery at the end of 2004 [1]. When Motley Crue was recently re-formed in 2004, Mick was said to weigh 95 pounds and was "depressed beyond depressed". After his hip replacement surgery, Mars became healthier and became strong enough to tour, again picking up the guitar after discarding it during his depressive phase. As of autumn of 2006, Mars is currently touring with the reunited Motley Crue and his health is gradually improving.
Mars has also admitted a large drinking problem during most of the tours between 1984 and 1988, when the band cleaned up for their hugely successful Dr. Feelgood album. He has also talked of a drunken attempt to kill himself by wading out to sea at night after their first successful tour. He is currently sober.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Amps
- Marshall JCM-800 Head
- Rivera Bonehead 100Watt Head
- Soldano SLO-100 Super Lead Overdrive Head
[edit] Cabinets
- Rivera Straight Cabinet / 4x12
[edit] Guitars
- Fender Stratocaster American Electric Guitar (Modified with floyd rose tremolos and humbuckers)
- Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman Electric Guitar
- Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 Electric Guitar
- Kramer Telecaster circa Shout At The Devil-Dr. Feelgood (Modified with floyd rose tremolos and humbuckers)
Gibson Les Paul Custom
[edit] Pedals
- Dunlop Crybaby Wah Foot Controller(rackmount)
- Rocktron All Access Midi Foot Controller
[edit] Gadgets
- Heil Sound Talk Box
- Rocktron Banshee Talk Box
[edit] Rack
- Alesis Quadraverb Multi-FX
- Crest 7001 Power Amplifier
- Custom Audio Electronics 3+ SE 3 Channel Tube Preamp
- Dunlop Rackmount Crybaby Wah
- Dynachord CRS-222 Leslie Simulator
- Eventide H3000/3500 Harmonizer
- Rocktron Hush Super-C
- Rocktron Patchmate Switcher / Router
- Rocktron Replifex Multi-FX
- VHT 20-100 Power Amplifier
- Yamaha SPX-1000 Multi-FX
[edit] Family
- Mars is the second of five children of Tina and Frank Deal.
- Two children, Les Paul (1971) and Stormy (1973), with first wife Sharon.
- One child (estranged), Erik (1976), with former girlfriend Marcia.
- Married to Emi Canyn (1990-1994)
[edit] Pop Culture Trivia
- Attended same grade school as Steve Martin.
- In early performances would spit blood like Gene Simmons.
- Refers to himself as the 'old fuck' in Mötley Crüe.
- Has tattooed on his knuckles 'MARS' on one hand and '1313'("M" being the 13th letter of the alphabet, and having two 13's to signify his initials) on the other.
- Mars revealed in the Motley Crue autobiography "The Dirt" that his real first name is simply Bob (not Robert).
- At the Crüe Year's Eve show a female fan pulled Mars off the stage and he had to be rushed to the hospital. He sustained no serious injuries.
- Tommy Lee stated during an interview for VH1's Behind The Music that after he and Nikki Sixx replied to the want ad Mars had placed in a local newspaper, Mars had arrived for his audition "looking like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family." Nikki Sixx reportedly had a similar reaction upon first meeting Mars, stating "I can't believe it! Here's another one like us!" He and Tommy Lee hired Mars virtually on the spot.
[edit] External links
- Official Mick Mars Site
- Official Motley Crüe Site
- Mick Mars at the Internet Movie Database
- Motley Crue Hitsquad fanpage
- Metal Rules!! Interview with Mars
| Mötley Crüe |
| Vince Neil | Mick Mars | Nikki Sixx | Tommy Lee |
| John Corabi | Randy Castillo | Samantha Maloney | Greg Leon | O'Dean | Robin |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio Albums: Too Fast for Love | Shout at the Devil | Theatre of Pain | Girls, Girls, Girls | Dr. Feelgood | Mötley Crüe | Generation Swine | New Tattoo |
| Compilations and EPs: Decade of Decadence | Quaternary | Greatest Hits | Supersonic and Demonic Relics | Loud as F*@k | Red, White and Crüe |
| Live albums: Live: Entertainment or Death | Carnival of Sins Live |
| Related articles |
| Brides of Destruction | Methods Of Mayhem |
