It's been just over ten years since Scott and I while still
in high school started Monsters From Mars in my
parents' garage. We were
heavily influenced by 60s surf rock recordings by the likes of
Dick Dale and 90s surf-influenced bands like Man...or
Astro-Man? and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. (Little did
we realize that the 90s were over and we'd soon be regretting our
choice of name.)
In addition to the spring reverb surf rock, we mixed in elements of
horror and garage rock. We played loud, and we played fast. Paul added a
progressive element with his songwriting. Though the band started out
performing as a trio, through the years it grew to an six-piece. Scott got an "as-is"
Farfisa compact on ebay and it worked more or less perfectly. He also
started playing some theremin. We added some more keyboards, synths,
melloton sounds. Baritone guitar. And then Bob Stencil, minor internet
celebrity, contributed his MCing, crooning, and story-telling skills as
well.
We've taken our show up and down the California coast. We've
shared the stage with Thee Oh Sees, xbxrx, Train Vs Auto, The Altaire 6,
Deadbolt,
Foot Village,
FM Bats, The Zookeepers, The Poontang Wranglers, The Pharmacy, Little
Teeth, Di Niginum, The Creepy Creeps, The Atoms, Nora Keyes, Coachwhips,
Devotchka,
Erika Davies, Cash'd Out, The Clamour, Dave Dean's Musical Forklift,
Put Down the Science Pole, The Natives, The Widows, Crimson Ghosts, All Leather,
The Woolly Bandits (Sky Saxon), Scarlet Symphony, James Rabbit, Elliottfuckingsmith,
The Swiss Family Skiers,
and a bunch of other
bands you haven't heard of or can't remember. We played a lot of all-ages
shows, especially in San Diego and Los Angeles. We also played in Tijuanna
a few times.
Early on we self-recorded and released a couple DIY CD-R full-lengths.
After that Tic Tac Totally put out our 7" "Surfing Through a Creepy
Castle." Shortly after that Matt from Tic Tac Totally stole somewhere
around $600 from
us for T-shirts we paid for and he never printed. Not too long after
that he got rich by putting out bands like Wavves, Thomas Function, Jay Reatard,
and Lost Sounds. He still
hasn't paid us back and doesn't respond to our emails any more.
After that we put together a collection of recordings entitled "Atlantis"
to accompany our "Atlantis" medallion, designed by Paul.
Things have slowed down the past couple years, as I've been
living and traveling far away and devoting more time to my other projects.
But now I'm just chilling in San Diego again and so in no time things
will be back in full swing.
If you are interested in booking a show with us, please get
in touch.
Thor (February 6, 2012)
Band Member History
Thor - lead guitar, some singing, recording (2001-present)
Scott - bass, theremin, sax, visuals (2001-present)
Charles - drums (2001-2002)
Amanda - Farfisa organ (2002-2004)
Paul - drums (including three bass drums) (2002-present)
Anastasia - Farfisa organ (2004-2007)
Kyle (Bob Stencil) - Token minor internet celebrity, MC (200?-?)
Bianca - Farfisa organ, synths (2007-present)
Alex - rhythm guitar, synths (2007-present)
Contact
Scott: scott william jones at gmail dot com
Thor: thoraciusappotite at gmail dot com
