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Music Morsels
May 2000

CROSSROADS.......... Jacob Bunton of Mars Electric by Mark E. Waterbury
Pivotal moments in musicians careers propelling them from obscurity to infamy
(As appearing in the May 2000 issue of Music Morsels.)

Dance music is extremely popular at the moment. There is a burgeoning music scene in Birmingham, Alabama - a scene reputed to have numerous talented players and bands. But it can also be a tough market to encourage people to attend clubs which spurs fan base growth - a prerequisite for success by those all-important label reps in the world beyond the heart of Dixie. Mars Electric is one band that through hard work and constant gigging channeled their music to the proper people, particularily the noted Senior VP of A&R at Columbia Records, John Kalodner. The band's work ethic, hard-rocking pop-edged music and live performances, combined with Kalodner's vast knowlege and experience in the music industry are a recipe that is already gaining national attention and acclaim for the foursome. With their debut CD "Beautiful Something" sliding up the charts and a hectic tour pace, the future for Mars Electric could be very bright indeed.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Jacob Bunton recalls from a very young age that there was an old piano at his grandfather's house. "Most parents put them in a play-pen to keep them quiet," Jacob remarks. "I could barely even sit up, but to shut me up, they sat me at the piano and I'd just bang on it for hours and it would keep me occupied." Jacob was always playing one instrument or another, dabbling with guitar and drums as well as the piano. He eventually leaned more towards the guitar, garnering a heavy interest in classical guitar as well as the rock and jazz aspects of it. After attending his first Motley Crue concert, he gained a keen perspective on the direction he wanted his life to go. "Seeing that concert, watching MTV and seeing all that glitz and glamour of the people up there doing it, I thought that was really cool." Jacob was in his first band called Allergic at the age of eleven.

At age nineteen, he formed a band called Wish in 1996 with his friend Michael Swann. "We had a veritable revolving door of bassists and drummers. Basically, it was just friends of ours who could make the gig because most of the people we knew wanted to just be weekend warriors. They didn't want to do it seriously." Wish recorded a demo that received good feedback and interest from the labels, including a deal with Atlantic Records that dissipated. The band worked relentlessly and performed at showcases, and eventually their manager mailed a copy of the CD to Columbia Record's John Kalodner. Kalodner visited Atlanta to watch a private showcase by the band at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then signed him to his own Portrait label "We were completely on cloud nine," Jacob recalls. "When (John Kalodner) walked in the room we were star-struck. He's kind of like a rock star himself, so that was really cool."

Columbia made them change their name to to avoid conflict with another band named Wish, and the group agreed on the name Mars Electric after a neighborhood business. Joining Jacob and Michael in the band were bassist Carl Ray Hopper and drummer Matt Finn, and eventually Michael would be replaced by Chris Simmons on lead guitar. The revamped line-up would then hit the studios to record their debut CD, "Beautiful Something". "I'm really proud of the songs on the CD because they are all little stories - things that I've experienced. I've recorded albums with other bands where there was always something I wished I could have done differently or wished I could have changed. But with this album, I'm one hundred percent satisfied with it." Mars Electric has been touring extensively coast-to-coast, most recently opening for Vertical Horizon. They are also doing a radio festival tour and will be co-headlining with the band Collapsis. Jacob is happy with the impact Mars Electric has made already. "You can't measure success in album sales because you'll drive yourself crazy if you want to sell a lot of records and you don't. The main thing is you have to be happy and that way you are successful. And I think we've achieved great success with Mars Electric because we're all happy playing our songs, traveling around getting to see lots of places and meeting really cool people. It's a lot of fun."