Tommy Mars

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Tommy Mars (Mariano) was born in Waterbury, CT, started playing piano in his youth, and graduated from the Hartt School of Music in 1974. By the mid 70's, Tommy was "striking out everywhere in the bars; getting fired was my middle name." Mars became a member of The Mothers in 1977 on a recommendation from Ed Mann, who had played with Tommy back in Connecticut. For his audition, Frank put Mars through "the most stringent musical maze that I had ever confronted in my life. Frank had a toothache that day and I could sense that I was sinking lower and lower. My reading was only adequate for what he wanted, but my improvization saved me." Tommy had developed a unique form of "scatting" to the notes he would play on the piano. This impressed Frank very much during the audition, so much so, that he called Gail down to "listen to this guy's pipes." Finally Frank said, "I guess you won't have to work many Holiday Inns any more."

Tommy Mars Played Keyboards And/Or Vocals On

Tommy Mars' Performances Can Be Seen In These Zappa Films

Tommy Mars Works In The Following Bands