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

Anavictoria, known as “AnaV,” is a Bay Area muralist and painter deeply connected to her Mexican American and California roots. AnaV creates large-scale art as a form of healing and visibility for the experiences of Latiné families, the working class, and resilient communities. She elevates the beauty of overlooked spaces by mixing Mexican patterns and symbols with all the nuances that unite communities through colorful compositions that inspire collective growth, perseverance, and hope.

Growing up in a broken family and in domestic violence shelters as a kid, the concept of “home” was not a place but instead the people who embraced AnaV as family. She moved a lot as a kid, from city to city throughout SoCal, but eventually the Bay Area became home in 2010 when she was a student at UC Berkeley. So many communities have embraced AnaV and she is forever grateful to find home in many cities, with much love for Chicago, Oakland, and San Francisco as the cities that uplifted AnaV as an artist.

AnaV’s specialties are in mural design, portraits, and illustration. Her style is constantly evolving but her art is inspired by music, dance, and the legacy of the 1920s Mexican Muralism movement, which transformed public art globally by uplifting liberation movements and social justice commentary in public spaces. AnaV creates murals to elevate community stories while revealing the layers of history, life, and how moments impact our human and collective experiences.

Complimenting her artistic half, AnaV is an Intellectual Property Attorney, supporting artists of all disciplines through her work with the Sustainable Economies Law Center. She is a passionate advocate for youth justice, education, and the economic success of emerging artists. AnaV has collaborated with organizations such as the East Bay Community Law Center, Oakland First Fridays, and the Bay Area Community Land Trust, using her art and law skills in support of economic sustainability and community revival efforts.

Links: artedeavi.com / instagram.com/artedeavi

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, Forthrite Printing