| Omar Rodriguez-Lopez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez |
| Born | September 1 1975 |
| Origin |  Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Genre(s) | Progressive rock, post-hardcore, experimental rock, jazz fusion, dub, reggae, ambient, psychedelic rock, punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist Record Producer |
| Instrument(s) | Electric guitar, Bass guitar, synthesizer |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Associated acts |
The Mars Volta, De Facto, At the Drive-In, John Frusciante Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Ibanez AX120 Custom Model | |
Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is the composer, lead guitarist and producer for the progressive rock group The Mars Volta and the former guitarist for the post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In.
Contents |
Biography
Rodriguez-Lopez grew up in El Paso, Texas, but spent some of his childhood in South Carolina. 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. It was during this time that Rodriguez-Lopez met Cedric Bixler-Zavala while practicing with friend Paul Hinojos. Since then Rodriguez-Lopez has spent most of his career living and working with his close friend Bixler-Zavala. During this time he frequently collaborated with his friends and future bandmates from El Paso, which included people like Paul, Cedric, Julio, and Jeremy. [1]
At the Drive-In
Yet, at 17, Rodriguez-Lopez left El Paso to hitchhike around the country for a year in the early 90's which was where he acquired his addiction to heroin and crack.[2] Eventually 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 addiction 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. After several years a combination of excessive hype, relentless touring, artistic differences, and Rodriguez-Lopez & Bixler-Zavala's drug habits eventually caused the band to implode.[3] In 2001 Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala left At the Drive-In and the band went on "indefinite hiatus". Hinojos, Hajjar, and Jeremy's cousin Jim Ward went on to form Sparta while the duo focused on other projects.
The Mars Volta
They refocused their efforts on the dub reggae outfit called De Facto which also included Jeremy Ward and Ikey Owens which they had started years before while still in At The Drive-In. Eventually the same collective of muscians in De Facto would be expanded into Rodriguez-Lopez's new band, The Mars Volta. Once again starting from scratch he wrote and toured with the band which consumed almost all his time and money. On May 25, 2003 less than a month before the release of their first full-length album De-Loused in the Comatorium, bandmate and close friend Jeremy Ward was found dead of a heroin overdose. This event coupled with the memories of the suicide of his friend Julio Venegas years earlier finally convinced both him and Bixler-Zavala to quit using narcotics altogether. Since then he has been clean and credited his newfound musical work ethic on his new lifestyle. The Mars Volta's second album Frances the Mute would later be dedicated to Ward. During the early years of the band he also worked on a low budget movie called A Manual Dexterity which starred Jeremy Ward. The soundtrack A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1 was released in 2004. The release of Soundtrack Volume Two, which was originally planned for Spring of 2005, and the film were both delayed indefinitely due to legal problems. Conflicts over ownership of certain footage and Rodriguez-Lopez's reluctance to revisit the project which featured his late friend Jeremy Ward were both cited as reasons for the delay.[4]. However, Rodriguez-Lopez stated that he does intend to release both Volume 2 and the film at some point in the future.
The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group
In 2005 Rodriguez-Lopez relocated to Amsterdam, where he eventually wrote and recorded four separate albums. His first solo project was the "Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet". Rodriguez-Lopez played several live shows in Europe with his quintet, which in 2005 also included three members of The Mars Volta (Juan Alderete, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Adrián Terrazas-González) and Money Mark. The songs featured on this tour later appeared on the album Omar Rodriguez. It was characterized by long, improvisational songs with Dutch titles and no lyrics. The Quintet also performed live with Damo Suzuki, parts of which were recorded and incorporated into a 25-minute EP titled "Please Heat This Eventually", which was released in 2007. Rodriguez-Lopez was also working on the The Mars Volta's 2006 record "Amputechture" simultaneously to his work with the quintet. On May 29, 2007 Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo was released. It was the third full-length solo album by Rodriguez-Lopez. It featured performances by Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Juan Alderete, Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales as well as cameos by Money Mark and John Frusciante. It was written and recorded between 2005-2006 in California and Amsterdam.
Recent events
The Quintet later resurfaced in 2007, now known as "The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group" to perform on the "white" stage at The Fuji Rock Festival in Tokyo on July 28.[5] Performing with the group for the first time was Bixler-Zavala and drummer Thomas Pridgen.[6] On October 8th, 2007 the EP Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Lydia Lunch, a collaboration with spoken word poet Lydia Lunch, was released.[7] The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange is a double LP featuring the original quintet and was released on vinyl November 20, 2007. [8] It was also released for digital download. He also has plans to record a live direct-to-disc session with the Infrasonic Sound Recording Co.[9] Rodriguez-Lopez also composed the score to the film El Búfalo de la Noche, a film by Guillermo Arriaga and Jorge Hernandez Aldana. The Mars Volta perform on the soundtrack but the release date and track info have not yet been announced. In addition Rodriguez-Lopez recently completed a collaboration with Zach Hill of the band Hella. Rodriguez-Lopez has stated it will be "heavier" and "mostly guitars" [10]. Finally, one last record that he recorded during his stay in Amsterdam entitled Calibration is also scheduled for release soon. It was described as being influenced by electronic music and acid-jazz.[11] A follow-up album featuring remixes of songs from the album will be released in the future.[12] Along side his musical career, Omar is directing and acting in a film tentatively titled The Sentimental Engine Slayer. Also acting in the film is his brother Marcel. Rodriguez-Lopez is co-producing the film with fellow Mars Volta band mates Juan Alderte and Paul Hinojos.[13] He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Musicianship
Style
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". In that interview he also stated that he hated the instrument guitar for a very long time. He only utilized it because it was the instrument his bandmates could "relate to". He said he "wrestled" guitar by adding effects and playing oddly to attempt "making it sound like anything besides this thing I hate--the guitar!". Although on Amputecture he claimed to feel more comfortable with the guitar. Rodriguez-Lopez plays guitar left handed. 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. Both he and bandmate Cedric have often stated their admiration for early 1970s krautrock group Can, going so far as to record with lead singer Damo Suzuki for the Please Heat This Eventually EP. He has also stated that film is a primary influence on him. David Lynch, David Cronenberg and Takashi Miike are amongst his favourite directors. 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 also known for being a prolific songwriter. When asked by Alternative Press in 2007 how many unreleased albums he's amassed he stated "at least a dozen" [14]
As Producer
Rodriguez is also notable for his recording, producing and songwriting techniques. He has been known to refuse to let other musicians in a session hear each other's parts, or the context of their own part, thus forcing them to play each part as if it's a self-sufficient song [15]. He has claimed that he is "ignorant of music theory" and that thus he lacks knowledge in writing music in sheet music form, claiming that his songwriting "comes from emotion completely" [16]. Rodriguez writes all of the music for his projects, then dictates the performance to the musicians involved [17]. In addition to his producing credits with The Mars Volta and his solo albums, he also produced the first and only LP from the defunct LA-based band Radio Vago.
Discography
Solo
- A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1 (2004) as Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez
- The Special 12 Singles Series (2005) as Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez & John Frusciante
- Omar Rodriguez (2005) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet
- Please Heat This Eventually (2007) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Damo Suzuki
- Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo (2007) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Lydia Lunch (2007) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Lydia Lunch
- The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange (2007) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet
- Calibration (Is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far) (2007) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
- Calibration (Luck and Key Pushing) (2008) as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
With Startled Calf
- I Love Being Trendy (1991) - EP
With At the Drive-In
- 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
With De Facto
- How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub, You Plug Dub In (1999)
- 456132015 (2001)
- Megaton Shotblast (2001)
- Légende du Scorpion á Quatre Queues (2001)
With The Mars Volta
- Tremulant - EP (2002)
- De-Loused in the Comatorium - LP (2003)
- Live - EP (2003)
- Frances the Mute - LP (2005)
- Scabdates - LP (2005)
- Amputechture - LP (2006)
- The Bedlam in Goliath - LP (2008)
Guest Appearances
- Shadows Collide With People by John Frusciante (2004)
- Inside of Emptiness by John Frusciante (2004)
- Curtains by John Frusciante (2004)
- White People by Handsome Boy Modeling School (2004)
- Radio Vago by Radio Vago (2005)
- Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)
- I'll Sleep When You're Dead by El-P (2007)
- Negativa by Hour of the Monarchy (2008)
As Producer
- De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta (2003) co-produced with Rick Rubin
- A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1 (2004)
- Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta (2005)
- Scabdates by The Mars Volta (2005)
- Omar Rodriguez (2005)
- Radio Vago by Radio Vago (2005)
- Amputechture by The Mars Volta (2006)
- Please Heat This Eventually (2006)
- Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo (2007)
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Lydia Lunch (2007)
- The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange (2007)
- Calibration (Is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far) (2007)
- The Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta (2008)
- Calibration (Luck and Key Pushing) (2008)
Equipment
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. [18][19]
-
- 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[20])
- Amplifiers:
- Effects pedals:
- Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler
- ADA Flanger
- ADA Final Phase
- Prescription Electronics Experience
- BOSS Hr-2 harmonist
- Ibanez DE7 Delay
- MXR Phase 90
- Danelectro DJ13 French Toast Octave Distortion Pedal
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
- Ibanez SB7 Bass Synthesizer
- Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler
- Digitech Whammy IV
- Electro-Harmonix Small Stone
- Mutron III
- Dunlop 105Q Crybaby Bass Wah
- Ibanez PM7 Phase Modulator
- Maestro Phase Shifter PS-1A
- Electro-Harmonix Poly Chorus
- Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
- Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe
- BOSS DD-6 (Omar's pedal has the name taped over)
- Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb
- BOSS TU-2 tuner
- Koolus Modulator (Live 2007)
- Digitech Synth Wah
- Xotic Robotalk
- MXR Micro Amp
- Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler
- Doepfer A-100 Modular Synthesizer Units
- Zvex Super Hard-On (SHO)
- MXR Stereo Chorus
- Guyatone MD-3 Digital Delay
- Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer
- Digitech Multi Chorus
- Maxon Rotary Phaser
- Korg KP2 Kaoss Pad
- Korg KP3 Kaoss Pad
- Line 6 DM4 Distortion Modeler
(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
With At the Drive-In
- Guitars:
- Squier Super-Sonic (Right-handed model, strung left-handed)
- Fender Mustang
- Maton MS542 (Discontinued model, used in the Bochum, Germany video)
- Amplifiers:
- Marshall Super Plexi PA (As seen used in earlier videos)
- Orange OR120 Heads (usually covered with a Puerto Rican flag)
- Effects:
With Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet
- This model is a low-cost model, similar to Omar's AX120 custom, but is available to the general public. [21]
- Amplifiers:
- Effects pedals:
- Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer
- MXR Phase 90
- Line 6 Tonecore Verbzilla
- Line 6 FM-4 Filter Modeller
- Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
- BOSS TU-2 Tuner
- Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe
- BOSS DD-3
- Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeller
- Ibanez WH-10 Wah
With DeFacto
- Omar used a black model with a white scratchplate, and a white model with a red tortoise-shell scratchplate
- Amplifiers:
- Ampeg Bass heads (unknown models)
- Mesa Boogie Cabinets
- Ampeg Bass cabinets
- Effects pedals:
- BOSS DD-3, 5 or 6
- Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
- Digitech Whammy IV
- Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe :
References
- ^ http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=4807
- ^ http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=4807
- ^ http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=4807
- ^ http://www.themarsvoltaitalia.com/omar_eng.htm
- ^ http://www.themarsvoltaitalia.com/omar_eng.htm
- ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=_n3ma-Gn4h8
- ^ News for July 12, 2007 http://www.goldstandardlabs.com/news.html
- ^ http://infrasonicsound.com/recording/discography/pete.html
- ^ http://www.eqmag.com/story.asp?storycode=19030
- ^ http://www.goldstandardlabs.com/images/bandpages/omar_rodriguez/press/GSL129_AP228_July07.jpg
- ^ http://www.themarsvoltaitalia.com/omar_eng.htm
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/n2orecords
- ^ http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=58502636edff483965d5f1d5e93269ad
- ^ http://www.goldstandardlabs.com/images/bandpages/omar_rodriguez/press/GSL129_AP228_July07.jpg
- ^ http://www.artistopia.com/the-mars-volta
- ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040401/news_lz1w1speakers.html
- ^ http://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/05/070521_omar/
- ^ http://www.ibanez.com/artists/default.aspx?a=174#174
- ^ http://adamrobertsmusic.com/Graphics/MVGear/Pedalboard.jpg
- ^ http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r217/ChompOnThat/DSC00208.jpg
- ^ http://babass.canalblog.com/albums/omar_a__rodriguez_lopez_quintet/m-Omar_025.jpg
External links
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|---|---|
| Omar Rodriguez-Lopez · Cedric Bixler-Zavala · Isaiah Ikey Owens · Juan Alderete · Thomas Pridgen · Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez · Adrián Terrazas-González · Paul Hinojos Eva Gardner · Jeremy Ward · Jon Theodore |
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| Studio albums | De-Loused in the Comatorium · Frances the Mute · Amputechture · The Bedlam in Goliath |
| EPs | Tremulant EP · Live EP |
| Live albums | Scabdates |
| Singles | "Inertiatic ESP" · "Televators" · "The Widow" · "L'Via L'Viaquez" · "Viscera Eyes" · "Wax Simulacra" |
| Related articles | The Mars Volta tours · At the Drive-In · De Facto · The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group · Gold Standard Laboratories · John Frusciante · Julio Venegas · Money Mark |
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|---|---|
| Cedric Bixler-Zavala · Jim Ward · Omar Rodríguez-López · Paul Hinojos · Tony Hajjar | |
| Studio albums | Acrobatic Tenement · In/Casino/Out · Relationship of Command |
| EPs | Hell Paso · Alfaro Vive, Carajo! · El Gran Orgo · Vaya |
| Splits | ATDI / Aasee Lake · ATDI / Sunshine · ATDI / Burning Airlines · ATDI / The Murder City Devils |
| Compilations | This Station Is Non-Operational |
| Singles | "Metronome Arthritis" · "One Armed Scissor" · "Rolodex Propaganda" · "Invalid Litter Dept." |
| Labels | Flipside · Fearless · Grand Royal |
| Related Articles | Discography · The Mars Volta · Sparta · De Facto · Sleepercar · The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group · The Fall on Deaf Ears |
