Cedric Bixler-Zavala

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Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974 in Redwood City, CA) is the lead singer and lyricist of The Mars Volta, and was previously the lead singer and lyricist of At the Drive-In.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2.1 Los Dregtones 2.2 Phantasmagoria 2.3 The Fall on Deaf Ears 2.4 At The Drive-In 2.5 DeFacto 2.6 The Mars Volta 2.7 Alavaz Relxib Cirdec 3 Guest Appearances 4 Trivia

[edit] Biography

Raised in El Paso, Texas, Bixler-Zavala, along with close friend and collaborator Omar Rodriguez-Lopez fronts the acclaimed progressive rock group The Mars Volta. He was also the lead-singer of the seminal post-hardcore band At the Drive-In who broke up in 2001.

Bixler-Zavala's lyrics are often abstract to the point of seeming nonsensical. These lyrics often blend contrasting metaphors, usually dealing with grotesque, speculative fiction imagery. He has cited a variety of influences, such as Werner Herzog, Luis Buñuel, Neu!, Doctor Who, and Mexican folk tales. Commonly recurring motifs in his work are skin grafts, jet lag and lepers. He has also experimented with bilingual lyrics, switching from English to Spanish several times within the course of a song. The Mars Volta's album De-Loused in the Comatorium was accompanied by a short novel of the same name, written in the same metaphorical style his lyrics are arranged by Cedric and Jeremy Ward. A lot of his vocal work operates in the higher register (displayed in songs such as Inertiatic ESP), but he also operates competently at a normal pitch.

Bixler-Zavala frequently does somersaults on stage, swings his microphone, salsa dances, sarcastically mocks the audience for fun (during At the Drive-In days), and plays the maracas. Bixler-Zavala used drugs quite often before The Mars Volta were formed, but he has now stopped using narcotics along with bandmate Omar Rodriguez-Lopez following the overdose and death of Jeremy Ward, former sound manipulator of The Mars Volta.

Multi-instrumentalist Bixler-Zavala also performed on guitar and drums with At the Drive-In. In the experimental reggae dub group DeFacto, he played drums and bass.

Under the pseudonym "Alavaz Relxib Cirdec", Bixler-Zavala contributed a 2-song single to the GSL Special 12" Single Series, released in December 2005. The inversion of his name is very appropriate, seeing as the musical styles shown on his GSL 12" single would be unexpected to an uninformed fan of his more mainstream contributions. Closer to the Dub of De Facto and the ambient experimentation shown in Omar Rodriguez-Lopez records than the prog-rock of The Mars Volta, the two songs Bixler-Zavala has produced under this alias are entirely instrumental, with the exception of samples of speech that can be heard on "Live Private Booths". "Live Private Booths" is a funky Fela Kuti-style jam featuring flute, drums, bass, guitars and samples, while "Sapta-Loka" is a more ambient exploration of eastern-style drones, with subtle, haunting instrumentation.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Los Dregtones

• 5 Song Alibi (1994)

[edit] Phantasmagoria

[edit] The Fall on Deaf Ears

• The Fall on Deaf Ears

[edit] At The Drive-In

• Hell Paso (1994) - re-release EP
• Alfaro Vive, Carajo! (1995) - EP
• Acrobatic Tenement (1996, re-release 2004) - LP
• El Gran Orgo - (1997) - EP
• In/Casino/Out (1998, re-release 2004) - LP
• Vaya (1999, re-release 2004) - EP
• Relationship of Command (2000, re-release 2004) - LP
• This Station Is Non-Operational (2005) - Compilation

[edit] DeFacto

• How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub. You Plug Dub In. (1999/2001) - LP
• Légende du Scorpion à Quatre Queues (2001) - LP
• 456132015 (2001) - EP
• Megaton Shotblast (2001) - LP

[edit] The Mars Volta

• Tremulant - EP (2002)
• De-Loused in the Comatorium - LP (2003)
• Live EP - EP (2003)
• Frances the Mute - LP (2005)
• A Missing Chromosome - LP (2005)
• Scabdates - LP (2005)
• Amputechture - LP (2006)

[edit] Alavaz Relxib Cirdec

• GSL: The Special 12" Single Series: December - Single (2005)

[edit] Guest Appearances

• Blood Mountain - Mastodon (2006)
• Omar Rodriguez - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (2005)
• Decomposition - Thavius Beck
• White People - Handsome Boy Modeling School (2004)
• A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1 - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (2004)
• Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three - Various Artists backed by Black Flag (2002)
• "Plasticity Index" - Sand Which Is

[edit] Trivia

• He is a playable character in the popular flash game series, Emogame.

The Mars Volta
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez | Cedric Bixler-Zavala Isaiah Ikey Owens | Juan Alderete de la Pena | Deantoni Parks | Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez | Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales | Pablo Hinojos-Gonzalez
Former members
Eva Gardner | Jeremy Ward | Jon Theodore
Discography
Albums: De-Loused in the Comatorium | Frances the Mute | Scabdates | A Missing Chromosome | Amputechture Extended plays: | Tremulant EP | Live EP Singles: "Inertiatic ESP" | "Televators" | "The Widow" | "L'Via L'Viaquez" | "Viscera Eyes"