Charlie Mars Band

Major Works

• Broken Arrow (1995)
• Born and Razed (1997)

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Charlie Mars and Matt Ulmer: A Biography
By Krystal Jenkins (SHS)

From the totally different worlds of Mississippi and Texas comes a very unique type of music.  Together, the Charlie Mars Band has formed to produce a wonderful sound.  Andrew Hammer, the drummer, and Andy Sample, the bassist, are from Texas, while Charlie Mars and Matt Ulmer come from the state of Mississippi ("About the Charlie Mars Band").

Charlie Mars, the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and song writer was born in Laurel, Mississippi.  Charlie's family consists of two brothers, Sam and Chad.  His father's name is David and his mother's name is Sylvia (Ulmer).  Charlie has been interested in music for a long time, and one of his class mates, Mike Jones says, "Charlie could be seen at school with his guitar in hand..." (Jones).  When Charlie was a senior in high school, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi.  Charlie then attended Jackson Prep High School and graduated in 1992.  In high school, his band was known as Adley Madidafus.  Here he was the lead singer and guitarist as well (Ulmer).  After high school, he decided to attend SMU in Dallas, Texas.  Charlie started playing for singer/songwriter Jack Ingram in 1992 ("The Charlie Mars Band").  Little did he know this would be the beginning of a huge career.

Originally from Jackson, the bands guitarist, (Jones) Matt Ulmer has been interested in music since around the age of fourteen (Ulmer, Mary).  Born on September 15,1975, to Curt and Dolores Ulmer, Matt was born into a family of musicians.  Matt has a brother Nick and two sisters, Betsy and Mary.  While attending Jackson Prep High School, Matt's band was called Southgate.  Matt was the lead singer and guitarist of this band.  They were together three to four years and produced a CD together.  While in high school, Matt was influenced by blues, and grew up with listening to Led Zeppelin.  After high school, Matt attended Ole Miss for two years before dropping out to join the band (Ulmer).

Together, Charlie Mars, Andrew Hammer, and Andy Sample played in their first show together in 1993 at the Stone Pony in Dallas, Texas.  As their career began to progress, they released their first album Broken Arrow in 1995.  After their first release, the band's fame began to rise.   In 1996 they moved to Atlanta, Georgia.  Here they brought Matt Ulmer into the band and in 1997 produced their second album Born and Razed ("About the Charlie Mars Band").

As of now this outstanding band is in the process of  producing another album. So far they have recorded a few songs for this album. The album should be out by the summer of 1999 (Jones). 

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E-mail Interview with Mary Ulmer, sister of Matt Ulmer
By Krystal Jenkins (SHS)

Who in the band is from Mississippi?

"Um... okay, let's see... Matt Ulmer and Charlie Mars are from Mississippi."

Where and when were they born?

"Matt is [from] Jackson.  Charlie is originally from Laurel, but moved to Jackson when he was a senior  in high school."

What are their parents names? Brothers and sisters?

"He [Matt] has a brother Nick, and two sisters, Betsy and Mary.  Matt's parents- Curt and Dolores.   Charlie has two brothers, Sam and   Chad.   Charlie's mom is Sylvia (don't know dad's name)."

Where did they attend high school and college?

"Matt and he both attended Jackson Prep.  Matt attended Ole Miss for two years and dropped out  before his Junior year to play in the band. Charlie had just graduated from SMU."

When did they become interested in music?

"Matt has been playing guitar since he was probably 14; our family is very musical and Matt and Nick  can almost  pick up an instrument and  be good at it in a few weeks.  Matt's band in high school was  called Southgate.  He was the lead singer and guitar player.  They made a CD  and were together for   3/4 years.  Charlie's band in high school was Adley Madidafus;  he was lead singer and played   guitar.  They were  interested in music maybe at first because playing guitar was what their friends   were doing, and afterward because they fell in love with  music."

How did they form the band?

"They Charlie Mars Band has been around for a few years; while Charlie and the drummer , Andrew,  and the bass player, Andy, were at  SMU together.  Matt is obviously not the original guitar player  but left school upon Charlie's coaxing him into joining."

How old were they when they started the band and how old are they now?

"Matt is currently 23 and Charlie is 25, maybe?"

What artist (if any) influenced them the most?

"Matt was influenced a lot be the blues,  and also grew up on Led Zeppelin and other classic rock.   Southgate ( his first band) was very   influenced by classic rock and wasn't as "collegey" as CMB."

Are they working on a new album at this time?

"They have  currently recorded 2 CDs (the second one with Matt) and are working on new music, all of   which Charlie writes."

Have they received any kind of recognition such as an award for their music?

"I know record labels have been looking at them, but nothing has come of it at this time.  The band  currently resides in Athens, GA, having moved from Atlanta at the beginning of this year."

Hey Krystal,
I think it's great that your [sic] interested in the band, so here's some of the story. Since Charlie was fourteen, he has been interested in the guitar. He took piano lessons as a kid , but when he got his guitar for his fifteenth birthday he was sure  it was his favorite instrument.  We grew up in Laurel, Mississippi, and  that is where charlie formed his first band. They were called Adley. They practiced in the garage a lot, and when charlie was fifteen he had  written about six songs which were recorded on tape. Then in 1991, charlie's  senior year in high school, we moved to Jackson, MS.  The band then decided  to break up due to the distance between them.

By this time Charlie had gotten very serious about his music.  He was writing songs in his spare time.  I remember waking up at 3:00 a.m. sometimes and hear him in the other room playing away. He graduated from jackson prep and decided on going to Southern Methodist University.  Sometimes Charlie and Jack Ingram would get together and play.

Charlie started to form the band his second year of college.  Within a year thy had a pretty solid group consisting  of  Charlie, Andy, Andrew, and that was it. The saxophone player was never really in the band.  Then  they decided on ten of their songs they wanted to put on record, and that became the first c.d. Broken Arrow.  They played at places like the Stone Pony and the Green Elephant.

When  Charlie graduated,  he majored in marketing and english.  With a major in English,  charlie learned how to form songs better, and his writing vocabulary  increased. All in all, he became a better artist for it. The band decided they would stay together. Although andrew was not finished in college,  he made the tough decision of leaving school, and moving with the band  to atlanta.  They decided on atlanta because of its many resources, and  its  good east coast location. During charlie's summer out of college, the  band recruited matt ulmer.  Originally from Jackson, Matt was the first  choice of the band for his outstanding playing ability. Matt also had to  decide to not finish college and travel with the band. They toured a lot and released their second album Born and Razed. The album was a symbol of  charlie's own personal feelings about life. The album's symbol is the phoenix,  which is a mythological bird that was burned and then raised  from its ashes. Charlie's explanation is that a lot of the feelings that he was having during the writing of all the songs was of the troubles he was having in life. All the pressures of being an artist and having to  produce good work.  The record is charlie's resurrection from all his pain and troubles, and it symbolizes the hard work in a triumphant success.

Now the band is living in Athens, Ga.. They plan on coming out with a new album  this year.  There are already enough new songs.  The guys are getting  bigger everyday, and it is my prediction that this is their big year. Hope this is enough info, and if you ever want to come see charlie at ricks let edward kemp know,  and I'll get you on the guest list. GOOD LUCK!

chad mars**

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Timeline

1975--September 15:  Matt Ulmer was born
1991- Charlie moved to Jackson from Laurel, Mississippi
1992- Charlie graduated form Jackson Prep
      - Charlie started off playing for singer/songwriter Jack Ingram
1993- Charlie Mars Band played their first show
1994- Matt graduated from Jackson Prep
1995- Released first album Broken Arrow 
1996- Band moved to Atlanta, Georgia
       - Brought Matt Ulmer into the band
1997- Released second album Born and Razed
1998- Began working on album to be released in 1999 

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Review of Broken Arrow and Born and Razed
By Krystal Jenkins (SHS)

From a small group comes a great big sound; a sound that displays a huge amount of talent.  Influenced blues and classic rock, this band plays a very unique type of music.  When listening to Charlie Mars Band's first album Broken Arrow, I was overtaken by the amount of talent presented  by the band.  After listening to their first album, I did not think their music could get any better.  While listening to their  second album Born and Razed, I was definitely proven wrong.  Their second album proved to be even better than the  first.  I completely enjoyed listening to their music, and I was very impressed that such unique talent could have come from  my home, Mississippi.  I cannot wait for their new album to be released. 

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Related Websites

This site provides information on Charlie Mars Band's early career.

This site provides a picture of the Charlie Mars Band.

This site contains concert reviews.

This site contains information on Charlie Mars' early career.

This site contains other links to Charlie Mars Band sites.

This site contains the Charlie Mars Band's logo. 

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Bibliography

"About the Charlie Mars Band".  Online.  27 October 1998.  Available http://www.charliemarsband.com/about.html.

"The Charlie Mars Band".  Online.  28 October 1998.  Available http://www.tourdates.com/artist/104412.html.

Jones, Mike. "CMB Questions". Online. 11 November 1998. Available lovetoy2@geocities.com.

Mars, Michael Chadwick. "Re: Project about your brother."   Email to Krystal Jenkins. 28 January, 1999.

Ulmer, Mary. "Project about your brother".  Online. 23 November 1998.  Available mvu1@MsState.Edu.

Ulmer, Mary.  E-mail interview by Krystal Jenkins. 19 November 1998.

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