Marty Mars
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Biografía
- Dancing man. Sometimes Disco. Sometimes Techno. Sometimes House. Walking the fine line between the aboveground and the underground.Disco died so house music could save Chicagoans' dance floors. But don't mention that to Martin Kouba. The DJ known best around town as DJ Marty Mars and for his love of disco thinks there's room for the largely long-gone genre. Why disco? Maybe it's the roots of the genre. Born out of funk, disco was one of the first and greatest uniters for listeners. Its roots in the black and gay communities of the U.S. make it especially unique. Few genres as noticeably weird, fun and quite lovely have dominated the global audience in the same way. The only one that might come to mind is house music, which still holds a seemingly unending global dominance. That both genres have strong roots in Chicago is significant. Chicago fueled the death of disco through stunts like Disco Demolition Night. But the city also birthed house, fueling an underground revolution that never truly died. Instead it morphed and spread, spawning subgenres, movements and bridging the gap of space and time, culturally. As a DJ, Kouba delights in the threads that connect these and other genres of music. He's not a purist. Kouba began his music career in punk and rock bands and played for 15 years before making the switch. But disco did provide a connective tissue between Kouba's non-dance music background and his growing interest in music that had a particular groove. Kouba's friends introduced him to dance music and he began to do research on his own. He says he's drawn to disco because of its strong cultural lineage. "Disco created the whole concept of partying that we know now," Kouba said. "Disco shook up the mainstream music world in such a big way. It was underground dance music culture that exploded and didn't sound like anything else out before it." Following a move back to Chicago after school, Kouba's DJ career grew slowly and steadily as his tastes did. "I think I learned good taste in dance music purely by going to Gramaphone Records and by going to Smart Bar," Kouba said. Gramaphone is an institution in the dance music underground, surviving and thriving as genres expand within the city and globally. He was a regular at the now-defunct Dollar Disco club night at Smart Bar, where he also met Michael Serafini, owner of Gramaphone. Kouba's specialization in disco became his calling card. In a city forever devoted to house, a 20-something man enamored with disco was something of an anomaly. As a rising performer, it allowed Kouba to find a niche and grow an audience. But he insists he is more than just disco. And listening to his live sets — whether it be at his monthly Interstellar Disco Club party at the Whistler, or one of his guest appearances at clubs like Smart Bar or East Room — shows as much. "I always wanted to do a night that wasn't just a house music night or a techno night, but I accidentally got labeled under it," Kouba said. Not only does he focus on other genres of dance music, he also incorporates other genres, period, to create a well-rounded and eclectic set. Kouba will play music from the past 60 years regardless of genre and as a consumer, he is trying to learn as much as possible about every scene in Chicago — the parties and outlets — so that he doesn't limit himself to the disco spotlight, despite how much he loves it. "I try to experience it all and not be shoehorned into one thing." Kouba wouldn't have it any other way. --Writing by Britt Julious