Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (born September 1 1975 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is the guitarist for The Mars Volta.
His debut solo album, A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1, the first of two albums which will comprise the soundtrack for an upcoming self-made film, was released by the Gold Standard Laboratories label in August of 2004. He is formerly of the El Paso based post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In.
Frequently linked with close friend and collaborator Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the pair have played (and often lived) together since their teens, first in At the Drive-In, and then leaving At the Drive-In on "indefinite hiatus" to form the act The Mars Volta, who are often loosely defined as "prog-rock". During the hiatus, the two also collaborated with sound technician Jeremy Michael Ward in a side project called De Facto. In addition, Cedric appears on A Manual Dexterity.
As a guitarist, Rodriguez-Lopez is known for a very experimental and un-orthodox style, typified by unusual and complicated chords and progressions, complex and ever-changing time signatures, highly elaborate atonal solos and extensive experimentation with various guitar effects.
Rodriguez-Lopez claims himself to know very little musical theory, although the elaborate melodies and solo pieces on the Mars Volta's first full length album Deloused in the Comatorium show a great musical talent at work. Thanks largely to his unconventional style; Rodriguez-Lopez is unique as a modern guitar player in terms of his innovation and experimentation, in much the same way that Jimi Hendrix was in the 1960's.
Rodriguez-Lopez is undoubtedly a great talent - electric live improvisations and the work on "Deloused..." and "Frances The Mute" more than show this. However the most common criticism of him, as A Manual Dexterity in particular showed, is that his creativity can often get the better of him - experimentation and innovation often making the melodies and textures at first difficult to appreciate.
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Discography
Solo
With The Mars Volta
- Tremulant - EP (2002)
- De-Loused in the Comatorium - LP (2003)
- The Mars Volta Live - EP (2004)
- Frances the Mute - LP (2005)
With 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
With De Facto
- Megaton Shotblast (2001) - EP
- Légende du Scorpion ŕ Quatre Queues (2001) - EP
- How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub. You Plug Dub In. (2001) LP/CD
Guest Appearances
- Shadows Collide With People - John Frusciante (2004)
- Inside of Emptiness - John Frusciante (2004)
- Curtains - John Frusciante (2004)
- White People - Handsome Boy Modeling School (2004)