Mars was a
New York City rock band formed by
vocalist Sumner Crane in 1975. He was joined by
China Burg (née Constance Burg; a.k.a. Lucy Hamilton) (guitar, vocals), Mark Cunningham (bass), and artist
Nancy Arlen (drums), and briefly by guitarist
Rudolph Grey. The band played one live gig under the name China before changing it to Mars. They played a mixture of angular compositions and freeform
ambient noise music jams, featuring
surrealist lyrics and non-standard drumming. All the members were said to be completely untrained in music before forming the band.