Life & Work with Brad Smith of Eggs On Mars

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Smith

Hi Brad, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Eggs on Mars began as an excuse to get together with friends after college classes and play music. The band originally consisted of myself, Justin Longmeyer, and Mason Potter. We would meet up in the basement of one of our parents’ homes and work on music inspired by our love of 1960s pop bands like The Zombies and the Beachboys as well as 1990s guitar-based bands like Guided by Voices and Built to Spill.

We started recording our music, at first in the very basements we practiced in, using whatever recording equipment we could get our hands on. Our early efforts were pretty crude, but I think that “let’s just do this with what we have” attitude has been a persistent motto of our band and has allowed us to push forward and continue to create regardless of the situation. We have since stepped up the quality of our recorded albums, albeit still recording in basements, but now in the form of friends’ home studios, like Rodd Fenton at Solstice Audio. We have released eight albums over the course of the band’s 10 year tenure, including our 2023 album Warm Breakfast, which received many positive reviews both locally and nationally and allowed us to tour around the Midwest.

Eggs on Mars now consists of myself on guitar and lead vocals, Mason Potter on drums, Doug Bybee on bass, and Joel Stratton on guitar and keyboards.

We have played shows all over Kansas City at places like The Ship, The Rino, Hillsiders, The Replay (in Lawrence, KS) as well as local music festivals like Manor Fest. We have made friends through music both in our hometown and in surrounding cities and states through mini tours to places like Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our founding bassist, Justin Longmeyer moved to Japan in 2020 and that was a big obstacle. Justin had been my musical confidant since we were in middle school and his contributions were integral to the band. I had never made any music without his encouragement and input. There was an unspoken question of whether the band would continue in his absence.

Fortunately, our longtime friend and my music recommendation go-to guide, Doug Bybee was willing to join the group. Doug had helped us record our second album in the basement of the Lawrence Public Library and is musical encyclopedia of cool and obscure bands and records. Doug is a natural fit for the band given our shared music influences, and together we have found a spot for ourselves within the local music scene.

It was through Doug that we were introduced to Joel Stratton, who was “missing piece” fourth member of our band. Joel is classically trained on upright bass and is a consummate professional on both guitar and keyboards. His knowledge and skill has helped us to expand our sound and explore new sonic territory when writing songs.

Another hurdle we constantly face is balancing life’s responsibilities while also finding time to continue making music. We have jobs and other things that can leave us drained of all our energy. Setting aside time to get together and keep this project going is hard, but we all have this connection to each other and to the music we are making that makes it all worth it. Spending time with your friends and creating something you care about is one of the most fulfilling sensations I’ve experienced.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We create soft psychedelic pop music that is focused on melody and harmonies. We like to write short songs that are catchy with memorable instrumental parts. Most of our songs are under 3 minutes, this is in the tradition of 1960s pop groups that we love like The Beatles. We have been a fairly prolific band and have released 8 albums within a ten year timespan. In recent years we have slowed down so we can work on perfecting our craft and ensuring the songs we release are the best version they can be. I consider myself a songwriter first and foremost. Listening to and taking apart songs by artists I love is something I love to do, so that I can write better songs.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think our band has always had this attitude of making music regardless of the situation we are in. We made an album even when all we had to record was one microphone positioned in a basement garage. We make our own t-shirts, cassettes, and press our own CDs. I do all our press for the band, sending out hundreds of emails when we have a new album to promote.

Doing these things yourself can be seen as risky when you don’t have all the knowledge or expertise in a given area. I have seen it all as a learning experience and figured out how to do all the things that a band needs to be doing because I believe in and am proud of the music we make and the effort me and my friends have put into making it.

I know a lot of people who think they have to reach some level of expertise or status before starting an artist endeavor. In my experience, just starting is the most important thing. You can perfect what you are doing as you go.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eggsonmars.bandcamp.com/album/warm-breakfast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eggs_on_mars/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eggsonmars/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eggsonmars290
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eggs-on-mars