Mick Mars facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mick Mars
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Mick Mars in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Alan Deal |
| Born | May 4, 1951 Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
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| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1965–present |
Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known as Mick Mars, is an American musician. He is famous as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He was the oldest of the four original members. Mick Mars is known for his strong, musical guitar solos and blues-style guitar riffs.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Dreams
Mick Mars was born Robert Alan Deal in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1951. His family moved a few times when he was young, first to Huntington, Indiana, and then to Garden Grove, California. He knew he wanted to be a musician from a very young age, around three years old. This happened after he saw a country singer perform at a fair. He attended Westminster High School.
Music Career
Starting Out as a Musician
Mick's parents bought him his first guitar when he was 12. He practiced a lot, dreaming of becoming a successful musician. At 14, he played bass guitar in a Beatles cover band called The Jades. Later, he switched to lead guitar. He left high school to play guitar in different rock bands throughout the 1970s.
In his early 20s, he worked at a laundry place while also playing with his band, Wahtoshi, in local clubs. After an injury to his hand, he decided to focus only on music. In 1973, he joined a band called White Horse. People started to notice he was a very good guitarist. An old bandmate said Mick could copy guitar parts perfectly.
Mick Mars used different names in the 1970s. This was to avoid problems with the police. Another bandmate said Mick Mars and Eddie Van Halen were the best guitar players in Los Angeles at that time. Mick eventually left White Horse because the band wanted to play disco music.
He then joined a pop group called Video Nu-R. They released some songs in 1978 and 1979. These were the first songs Mick Mars ever recorded.
Joining Mötley Crüe
After many years of trying to make it in music, Mick decided to change his look and his name. He changed his legal name from Bob Deal to Mick Mars. In April 1980, he put an ad in a newspaper looking for a band. Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee were forming a new band, which would become Mötley Crüe. They contacted Mick and hired him after hearing him play.
The name Mötley Crüe was Mick Mars' idea. Someone had called his old band a "motley looking crew." Nikki Sixx liked the name and changed it slightly to Mötley Crüe.
Mötley Crüe became one of the most famous heavy metal bands of the 1980s. They have sold over 100 million albums around the world. They also had many successful albums and songs on the music charts.
Mick Mars was not a fan of illegal substances. He told his bandmates to avoid them. However, he did develop a serious problem with alcohol after joining the band.
During the recording of their Dr. Feelgood album in 1989, Mick Mars used so many guitar amplifiers that his guitar sounds could be heard on Aerosmith's album, Pump, which was being recorded in the same studio.
Steven Tyler was singing next door, and I remember them yelling at me, 'You've gotta turn your stuff down, Mick! It's leaking into our vocals.' I didn't turn down, though. I just told them, 'Hey, that's the way I play – loud, so yeah, I'm all over the record they were doing. Somewhere in the mix, you'll hear me.
When the band decided to bring back their original singer, Vince Neil, in 1997, Mick Mars was not part of that decision. He felt that the band did not respect him. Mick has said that the Generation Swine album era was his only regret with Mötley Crüe. He claims the band removed much of his guitar playing and used other guitarists instead. He also said he had little involvement in the 2000 album New Tattoo.
For the 2008 album Saints of Los Angeles, another guitarist, DJ Ashba, played most of the guitar parts. The band said Mick was having trouble playing his parts.
Mötley Crüe started touring again in 2022. However, Mick Mars had decided he did not want to tour anymore. He told his bandmates he would record new music but could not handle world tours. This was because of a health condition that made it hard for him to move.
Mick Mars has said he was never very close with his Mötley Crüe bandmates outside of music.
Leaving Mötley Crüe and Solo Music
On October 26, 2022, Mick Mars announced he was retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe. The next day, the band confirmed that John 5 would take his place. They announced Mick's full retirement from the band, supporting his choice. John 5 joined for the 2023 World Tour with Def Leppard.
On April 6, 2023, Mick Mars filed a lawsuit against the band. He said the group was trying to remove him unfairly. The band stated that he was not fired but was not touring with them. Mick Mars said:
Those guys have been hammering on me since '87, trying to replace me, they haven't been able to do that, because I'm the guitar player. I helped form this band. It's my name I came up with, my ideas, my money that I had from a backer to start this band. It wouldn't have gone anywhere.
Mick Mars did not sign an agreement that would give up his future earnings from the band. He was offered a small share of the 2023 tour, which is happening without him.
In February 2023, Mick Mars started working on his solo album, called The Other Side of Mars. It was released on February 23, 2024. The first song from the album, "Loyal to the Lie", was released on October 31, 2023.
Personal Life
Family Life
Mick Mars has three children. He has a son, Les Paul, and a daughter, Stormy, from his relationship with Sharon in the 1970s. He also has a son named Erik with Marcia Lea Martell. Mick was married to Emi Canyn from 1990 to 1994. Since 2013, he has been married to Seraina Schönenberger.
Mick Mars has nine grandchildren and at least one great-grandchild. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Seraina. He has a relationship with his son, Les Paul, but is not in contact with his other children.
Health Challenges
Throughout his career, Mick Mars has dealt with ankylosing spondylitis. This is a long-term type of arthritis that mostly affects the spine. He felt pain from this condition since he was 14. He was not properly diagnosed until he was 27. The condition has caused him a lot of pain and made it harder for him to move over the years. He is thankful that it rarely affects his hands and feet, which means he can still play guitar. In Mötley Crüe's 2001 book, The Dirt, Mick said:
My hips started hurting so bad every time I turned my body that it felt like someone was igniting fireworks in my bones. I didn't have enough money to see a doctor, so I just kept hoping that I could do what I usually do: will it away, through the power of my mind. But it kept getting worse.
By late 2001, the pain from his condition was very severe. He rarely left his home during this time.
Over the years, the illness has caused his lower spine to become stiff. This has made him shorter and hunched over. In 2013, Mick said his neck was so stiff he could not turn his head, which stopped him from driving. He had hip-replacement surgery in late 2004. Even with the pain, Mick refuses to use a cane or wheelchair. He says, "If I can't get up there myself, I'm not doing it."
Musical Inspirations
Mick Mars was mainly inspired by blues rock music from the 1960s. He has mentioned guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix as influences.
When I started out on the guitar, I was influenced by people like Michael Bloomfield, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Those guys sort of taught me how to play 'real' guitar. But again, with riffs, you have to look into your soul and see what comes out.
Mick also said that certain albums by these artists "changed his life." Former Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi said Mick was a big fan of Leslie West and Jeff Beck.
Other Music Projects
Mick Mars has helped write songs for other bands and artists. He worked with John LeCompt and the band Machina. He also co-wrote two songs for the Swedish band Crashdïet on their 2007 album, The Unattractive Revolution.
He played guitar on the song "Take It to the Limit" for Hinder's 2008 album. He also played a guitar solo on "Into the Light" by Papa Roach in 2009. Mick Mars contributed a guitar solo to the song "The Question" by Dilana. In 2010, he co-wrote a song with Escape the Fate. He also co-wrote and appeared in the music video for "Boss's Daughter" by Pop Evil in 2011.
In November 2019, Mick Mars released a new song, "The Way I'm Wired", with Black Smoke Trigger. He was also featured on the song "Outlaws & Outsiders" by Cory Marks. In 2024, Mick Mars was featured on another Cory Marks song called "(Make My) Country Rock".
Guitar Gear
In his early career, Mick Mars used popular guitars like Kramer and B.C. Rich. Sometimes he used a black Gibson Les Paul. Later, his main guitars for touring were Fender Stratocasters. He often used a special Stratocaster made from parts of older models, with unique pickups and a Floyd Rose bridge system.
Music Albums
Solo Albums
- The Other Side of Mars (2024)
With Mötley Crüe
- Too Fast for Love (1981)
- Shout at the Devil (1983)
- Theatre of Pain (1985)
- Girls, Girls, Girls (1987)
- Dr. Feelgood (1989)
- Mötley Crüe (1994)
- Generation Swine (1997)
- New Tattoo (2000)
- Saints of Los Angeles (2008)
With Hear 'n Aid
- Hear 'n Aid (1986)
See also
In Spanish: Mick Mars para niños
