The Mars McClanes return with ”The Worriers”

The Dallas music scene was a roiling stew back in 2001: The Toadies had split up after releasing their second album, Satellite Rides marked the end of The Old 97’s major label career, and The Mars McClanes were ticking along in a tier or two below.

“We played a show every week that year,” explains frontman Brian Corley. “There was always some new original thing we were itching to try out live, to see which genres we could sneak into alt-country and still get away with it.” They had a tenacious booking agent, a brand-new swag on the retail table, and a buzzy online presence; a rarity back in the times before the likes of MySpace. Yet, despite having their house in such a correct order, the band were struggling to reach the successful heights that their skills and efforts were deserving of…

“We got a jab, followed by a left hook,” adds guitarist Russ Chapman. “Our drummer, Paul Constantine, had a scary yet hilarious road mishap on the highway back from a show at The Blue Light in Lubbock…” “About the same time, the 9/11 attacks happened, and Russ ran off and joined the military” Constantine adds.

In 2020, the band reformed, their normal lyrics about love gone wrong now displaying scar tissue from two divorces, military deployments, and life’s various curveballs since experienced. The Mars McClanes followed up their debut single “Riddle” on May 13th with the release of “The Worriers.”

“My grandmother lived to be 99, so I spent most of my teenage Sunday afternoons at an assisted living facility listening to an elderly gang obsess over their life’s regrets,” Chapman recollects. “It wasn’t their mistakes; what ate them were the chances they failed to take. ‘The Worriers’ is our cautionary song for the cautious.”

The song was created during a recent band recording session at Southern Comfort, a studio located in the basement of Waylon Jennings’ former Nashville residence. “Working there gave it an amazing spirit,” notes Chapman. “We definitely brought our telecasters this time.”

Listen to The Mars McClanes – The Worriers on our link below