About the shop

Mars Records is a vintage vinyl record shop offering quality/curated music to the Piedmont neighborhood and its visitors. All styles of music represented, including a robust “local music” section. Buying and trading welcome!

In addition to vinyl records, Mars also offers a smattering of other media types (cassettes, Vhs, CDs, DVDs), as well as media storage options, cleaning supplies and other assorted music-related items (books, mugs, etc). Mars also hosts art by local artists, rotating every few months.

About the owner

Steve Adams has been an Oakland-based career musician/bass player for over 20 years, making records and touring globally with solo artists and bands.

He has also part-timed at record shops (Tempo Records, Tower Records, Downhome Music and Open Mind Music) and sold at Bay Area record swaps. With live music on a temporary hold in 2020, Steve decided to lean into his love of vinyl and begin the journey of Mars Record Shop.

About the art/artist

For our Spring/Summer art show this year, Mars will be shining the spotlight on local screen-print maestro Conor Ottenweller and his company Forthrite Printing.

“Forthrite is a full-service, custom screen-printing shop for artists, designers and businesses, specializing in garment/fabric printing and eco-friendly flat stock/poster printing.”

For years now, Conor and I have been crossing paths within the local vinyl record scene. And when I opened Mars, the idea to collaborate on an art show felt imminent. 

A few months back, I got to swing by the shop and dig through the archived reserves. And now, on the walls at Mars are some of our favorite Forthrite prints. From concert posters to unique artist designs, from one color to many colors, the shop is covered with good vibes.

We framed and hung an initial selection of pieces, and have a couple dozen more ready to flip through in the bins. The collection immediately feels great when entering the shop. We hope you’ll swing through and take a look while the show is up!

Links: forthriteprinting.com / instagram.com/forthrite_printing

Past artists-in-residence include: Danny Luehring, Michael Wertz, Peter Foucault, Yoko Okay, Brad Bolton, Jeff Boozer, David B. Hoppe, Fernanda Martínez, I Love You Tattoo, Eva Edgren, Lea Zelenskis