Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Background information
Birth name Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez
Born September 1, 1975
Origin Flag of Puerto Rico Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Genre(s) Progressive rock
Post-hardcore
Experimental rock
Occupation(s) Guitarist
Instrument(s) Electric guitar,
Bass guitar,
synthesizer
Years active 1994-present
Associated
acts		 The Mars Volta,
De Facto,
At the Drive-In
Notable instrument(s)
Ibanez AX120 Custom Model

Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez (born September 1, 1975 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is the composer and lead guitarist for the progressive rock group The Mars Volta and the former guitarist for the post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Rodriguez-Lopez grew up in El Paso, Texas, but spent some of his childhood in South Carolina, where he got in touch with friend Cedric Bixler-Zavala who suggested he come back to El Paso. With the help of Bixler-Zavala, he was able to return to El Paso where he could begin to reclaim his life from heroin addiction[citation needed] and join At the Drive-In as backup vocalist and bass guitarist. After receiving a record deal with Flipside Records and recording Acrobatic Tenement with the band, he became their full-time bassist before switching to guitar. While in At the Drive-In, he held some odd jobs, including a telemarketer for AT&T. He also worked as a secretary.

Omar started his music career at 15 years of age when he became the singer for the El Paso hardcore band, Startled Calf, from 1990 to 1992. Rodriguez-Lopez has spent most of his career working with, and often living with his close friend, Cedric Bixler-Zavala. While still playing in At the Drive-In, they formed a dub reggae outfit called DeFacto. In 2001 both left At the Drive-In, which they had been part of since 1993, on "indefinite hiatus" to form The Mars Volta. In addition, Cedric appears on Rodriguez-Lopez's A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1, the soundtrack to Rodriguez-Lopez's film. The release date of this film is unknown, but the Gold Standard Laboratories website has confirmed that the film will be released at some point.

Rodriguez-Lopez's compositional and playing style is characterized by, among other factors, unresolving dissonances (in particular a heavy use of the tritone), chromatic passages, serial composition and lengthy improvisation. He is also known for his vast array of effects pedals. (In a feature appearing in Guitar World, Rodriguez-Lopez stated that he "began to see effects as allies in my war against the guitar". Rodriguez-Lopez claims to be ignorant of any music theory.

Rodriguez-Lopez's style has been likened to that of King Crimson's Robert Fripp (who also uses tritones abundantly). It is likely that Fripp has had a considerable influence on Rodriguez-Lopez. However, Rodriguez has cited salsa pianist and bandleader Larry Harlow as his primary influence. Rodriguez cites the comedian Lenny Bruce, the film-maker Werner Herzog and the New Age anthropologist Carlos Castaneda as three other important influences.

Other notable comparisons can be drawn between Rodriguez and guitarist John McLaughlin of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Miles Davis fame. It is very likely that Rodriguez was influenced by McLaughlin as evident in his abundant use of complex time signatures and frequent meter changes in his playing. Many jazz and rock elements originally fused by pioneers such as McLaughlin are present in Rodriguez's playing as well.

Rodriguez-Lopez is credited as writing all the music heard on The Mars Volta's 2005 release CD, Frances the Mute, as well as acting as record producer, arranging and recording all of the music. He also produced the first and only LP from the defunct LA-based band Radio Vago.

[edit] The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet

The "Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet" is a side project of Rodriguez-Lopez. Taking some free time out of his busy schedule with The Mars Volta, Rodriguez-Lopez plays live shows with his quintet, which in 2005 included three members of The Mars Volta Group: Juan Alderete, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales. The self-titled album from 2005 was recorded mostly in Amsterdam. The album, Omar Rodriguez, features long, improvisational songs with Dutch titles and no lyrics.

After completing The Mars Volta's 2006 record "Amputechture," Rodriguez-Lopez' collaborated with Damo Suzuki on a 25-minute EP titled "Please Heat This Eventually." The collaboration features members of Omar's Quintet. Rodriguez-Lopez' Gold Standard Labs record label released a special-edition 12" vinyl in December 2006, widely available Jan. 23, 2007.

A new album, Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo, is being prepped for a May 29, 2007 release on GSL. This 10-track full-length album featuring performances by Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Juan Alderete de la Pena, Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales as well as cameos by Money Mark Ramos Nishita and John Frusciante was written and recorded in 2006 in California and Amsterdam. A sample from the track "If Gravity Lulls, I Can Hear the World Pant" is available on the Gold Standard Labs myspace page. This recording will be released on both vinyl and CD.

Rodriguez-Lopez has also composed the score to the upcoming film El Búfalo de la Noche, the new film from Guillermo Arriaga and Jorge Hernandez Aldana. The release date and track info for this recording have yet to be announced. In addition, it is currently unclear if this will be a Mars Volta release or an Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group release.

In addition Rodriguez-Lopez recently completed a collaboration with Zach Hill of the band Hella. Details have not yet been released.

[edit] Members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo/Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet

[edit] With Startled Calf

  • I Love Being Trendy (1991) - EP

[edit] With At the Drive-In

[edit] With De Facto

[edit] With The Mars Volta

[edit] Guest Appearances

[edit] As Producer

[edit] Equipment

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with equipment
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with equipment

[edit] With The Mars Volta

Live:

This model is Omar's main guitar for live on-stage with TMV. They have an Ibanez Artcore series bolt-on neck, a single volume control knob, and a single Seymour Duncan JB Jr. pickup in the bridge position. He has many of these guitars, and at one point had one with a Floyd Rose installed, which has since broken. As taken from: http://www.ibanez.com/artists/default.asp?s=e
    • Ibanez JTK2 Jet King Custom Model
A recent addition, Omar began playing this guitar towards the end of 2006. The only model he has used so far was black with a red tortoise shell pickguard and one Seymour Duncan JB Jr. pickup. (As seen played on October 23rd show, as seen Here)
  • Amplifiers:
    • 4 x Orange AD140HTC into 4 x 4x12 Orange Cabinets (lately the orange fleck covering has been stripped off the heads and cabs)

(Omar has a huge range of effects pedals which he uses both live and in the studio. The above is a list of identified pedals, however the list is not complete and may never be complete.)

Studio:

De-Loused In The Comatorium

Frances The Mute

[edit] With At the Drive-In

[edit] With Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet

This is model is a low-cost model, similar to Omar's AX120 custom, but is available to the general public. Many fans of TMV often buy them for this reason. (as seen here: http://babass.canalblog.com/albums/omar_a__rodriguez_lopez_quintet/m-Omar_025.jpg)

[edit] With DeFacto

Omar used a black model with a white scratchplate, and a white model with a red tortoise-shell scratchplate

[edit] Notes

    The Mars Volta
    Omar Rodriguez-Lopez | Cedric Bixler-Zavala

    Isaiah Ikey Owens | Juan Alderete | Thomas Pridgen | Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez | Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales | Paul Hinojos
    Former members
    Eva Gardner | Jeremy Michael 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"
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../o/m/a/Omar_Rodriguez-Lopez_272f.html"
    In other languages