Charlie Mars on His Tour Van Catching Fire and the Echo in Hotel Bathrooms

Photo credit: David McClister

Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?

I’ve had quite a few touring vehicles over the years…mostly vans, Suburbans, and such. One time I had a van catch on fire between Auburn and Atlanta. By the time we threw the guitars out of the back there was nothing left but the springs in the seats.

How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?

I eat a lot of Kind bars and protein shake type drinks. I’m not sure how healthy they are but they seem better than Twinkies.

How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?

I mostly finger pick. I haven’t broken a string in years.

Where do you rehearse?

I’m mostly a solo troubadour. I rehearse a lot in hotel bathrooms. They have a nice echo.

What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?

It is called “Barfly”. “I tried to be a painter but I painted insignificant things”. Still one of my best lines. Not bad for 15.

Describe your first gig.

Playing by the pool at a pool party at Rebecca Vincent’s house in Laurel, MS. I’m surprised we didn’t get electrocuted.

What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?

I was a prep cook at Jedidiah’s in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a pancake house. They fired me cause I’m a crap employee.

How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?

It’s pretty steady. I hope it stays pretty steady. I expect to have a Masarati that goes 185.

What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?

The women’s bathroom is way cleaner. Before the venue opens. That’s your spot.

Charlie Mars lives on a gravel paved County Road in the hill country of Yalobusha County, Mississippi. Why? He used to live in a college town with all the college town stuff that musicians like. He fell in love with these Cane Corso Mastiff puppies on Instagram that a guy in Brazil was breeding, and Charlie had recently made some money on a crypto coin called Shiba Inu, that was enough to pay for the dog and shipping. The puppy from Brazil that Charlie picked up in Arkansas would grow to be 130 lbs, and quite a handful. After the dog bit a friend in the little town Charlie was living in, his brother found some clear cut land in the middle of nowhere with a weird house on it, and Charlie decided to buy it and move there. His dog needed some space and he was burned out on the whole “modern thing”. His Grandfather was a cattle farmer and a lot of the people he respected did things close to the land he purchased. He got rid of a television and learned how to harvest vegetables. He introduced himself to his neighbors and started writing about what was around him in his new country home.

Growing up in Mississippi, he was a kid who listened to the radio a lot. WNSL played 80’s pop radio hits, and he also got into classic singer-songwriters like Neil Young and Jackson Browne.

When he was in high school, he formed his first band that played a mix of covers and originals. They would play at the local VFW and Charlie remembers his mother would often need to drive the band members home in her station wagon when they drank too much at gigs.

Charlie would start to write his own songs with the intent of never squeezing himself into a single genre. He tried to keep his initial songs “classic”, and he always liked Country music (the less popular kind). He then got into jam bands and alt-country music, especially Uncle Tupelo. He majored in English while attending college at SMU in Dallas, and always liked being a wordsmith. A friend introduced Charlie to Daniel Lanois’ music, which inspired him to start experimenting more with atmospheric sounds. Like any songwriter worth his salt, Mars employs his art as a channel towards personal discovery, candidly exploring all the human limitations – from pride and fear to cynicism self-doubt – that stand in the way of his attaining true happiness.

He has released 7 studio albums, a series of EPs, and several singles over the past 20 years. He’s shared the stage with the likes of REM, KT Tunstall and Steve Earle, and has been profiled in Forbes, USA Today, American Songwriter and many major media outlets. If you ask him, Charlie says he’s made a living playing in small clubs and backyards. But he still wants to have a tour bus and play in front of big crowds.

Times Have Changed, his latest album, was released on 6 October. Connect with Mars online and on the road.