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Cerebral, hypnotic, theatrical, ambitious, and intense... all words that have at one time or another been used describe The Mars Volta. In 2003, they were the opening-opening band for Queens of the Stone Age and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. They were lucky to fill a couple of rows at MSG – and those were just the fans that were hoping to get an early glance of Anthony Kiedis or Flea. Fast-forward to 2005... the musical powerhouse that is The Mars Volta has sold out every show on their U.S. headlining tour, including two packed-house nights at New York’s Roseland ballroom. A feat not accomplished by many – especially crazy-haired, prog-rockers from California!

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a Volt is the standard international unit of electric potential or electromotive force. And Mars is, obviously, a planet. So, can we derive that The Mars Volta are an electric force from another planet? To the unknowing or unimaginative this may be the case. To those willing to open their minds and take in The Mars Volta’s aura (and it is just that!) it is quite an electrifying experience. Isaiah Owens, or ‘Ikey’, as he’s been affectionately dubbed since his early years, recently took some time to discuss his role as keyboardist for The Mars Volta, and how it’s been quite a rewarding experience so far.

Formed after the split of their previous band, At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta quickly took a new approach to their music. They explored a more artistic avenue and more experimental techniques. The result is music that is anything but ordinary. Critics have described them as having elements of hardcore, progressive/psychedelic rock and free jazz. Anyone who’s seen them live can tell you that the strength of their live performance has created legions of fans and sell-out crowds in every new city that they play. Each song draws the crowd up and down on an emotional rollercoaster as the on-stage antics of the band members provide enough visual stimulation to keep the audience enthralled.

Ikey Owens, who now enlists the Korg CX-3 on stage, creates a wonderfully warm atmosphere with his organ skills. He has come a long way since his musical journey began as a tuba and bass-trombone player in the 7th grade. His main influences along the pathway to success have varied from such bands as Sly and the Family Stone, Fishbone, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Benchmont Tench (the keyboardist from Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers), among many others.

Ikey can also be credited for his keyboard-playing tenure with The Long Beach Dub All-Stars. In fact, it was that role that gave him the credibility to start jamming with current band mates Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Ikey explains, “I was a big Sublime fan and played with The Long Beach Dub All-Stars from 1994-1996. I met Omar and Cedric through a mutual friend at a De La Soul concert. We started playing together after that.” Since their initial meeting, Ikey has performed on both Mars Volta releases, Deloused in the Comatorium and the new, highly-touted, Frances the Mute.

Frances the Mute garnered an impressive 4-star rating from Rolling Stone upon its release in May 2005 and scored the band’s personal high on the Billboard Top 200 at #4. Like their first album, which was inspired by the death of a surrealistic painter, Francis the Mute pays homage to their late friend and band mate, Jeremy Ward. The subject matter was derived from an anonymous diary found in the back of a car by Ward. Frances is a five-song, 77-minute semi-concept record about death, rebirth, emptiness and longing. Its release stunned many in the music industry by selling more than 123,000 copies the first week. True fans knew The Mars Volta’s success was inevitable.

In 2003 The Mars Volta had landed an opening gig on the Red Hot Chili Peppers tour. The relationship formed on that tour was apparently more than a fling. The bands’ mutual respect for one another resulted in an appearance by Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Frances the Mute – John with a guitar solo and Flea on horns.

The writing process on this past album was a little more eye-opening than their past efforts, as Ikey recounts, “Omar writes all of the songs and I write my own keyboard parts. He generates all of the music and then it’s just a matter of each band member adding his own ‘thing’ on top. On the last record, everyone was kept in the dark as to what everyone else had recorded. I was the last to record; almost a year after the drums had been done! So on that record, I was kind of playing blindly. This time I had a better grasp on what was going on.”

Live gigs are always an amazing experience for Mars Volta fans. They are one of the band’s best attributes according to the man behind the organ, “We are able to be musical and to improvise without being too ‘noodly’ or ‘musiciany’ to the point where people can’t relate to it. We play our best when we’re playing hard and improvising, but also listening and complimenting each other.” Ikey depicts, “Playing live, all of the band’s songs are pretty organ-heavy. The Korg CX-3 is kind of like the second guitar. Whenever there’s a heavy part, I’m playing the organ. A feature I especially like about the CX-3 compared to other organ modules is that I have the ability to switch the drawbar settings quickly. Once I set up my favorite sounds it’s like having another version of them immediately available. For instance, on the song ‘Cygnus…’ I want a specific sound for the choruses that I don’t play normally. I have my drawbars set up so I can just switch over and get a much brighter tone than just leaving it by itself. For the rest of the song I use my main organ setting, which I love, but for that chorus I don’t have to switch to another sound and switch back – it’s ‘boom,’ I hit the drawbars and I’m right there.” If you want to hear Ikey scream on his CX-3, check out a live Mars Volta show and listen up for his CX3-laden riffs on “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)!” Wow!

Aside from his already busy schedule with The Mars Volta, Owens has his hand in a few other projects. One in particular is his side-project, Free Moral Agents. The first album, Everybody’s Favorite Weapon, was released in June 2004. Ikey says, “It’s got a hip-hop vibe a-la The Roots, but weirder.” He did a lot of the writing and played all of the keyboards on Z-Trip’s last record, Shifting Gears. And, as if that’s not enough, Ikey is also collaborating on a couple of projects with super artist/producer Danger Mouse.

The Mars Volta have just returned from their European tour and will embark on an autumn run of the United States supporting fellow idiosyncratic musicians, System of a Down. The tour is being dubbed the ‘must see’ show of the year. Be sure to check www.themarsvolta.com often for up-to-the-minute news and new tour dates because tickets WILL go quickly...

THE MARS VOLTA:SUONI DAL PIANETA ROSSO. (anno 1 n. 02- Febbraio 2006)
Di Manuele Ciatani.
Superata brillantemente la prova cruciale del secondo album -l'acclamato "Frances the MUTE" - The Mars Volta
mettono sul piatto il live Scabdates, sintesi perfetta delle idee di una band alla costante ricerca del paradosso musicale
e della sua risoluzione tramite la sovrapposizione e la fusione di estremi sonori opposti o molto distanti.

"Gli ultimi anni ci sono sembrati il nostro periodo adolescenziale , dove potevamo uscire a giocare ma dovevamo tornare a una certa ora.adesso non più. abbiamo tragliato il cordone. ogni legame con qualsiasi convenzione è stato spezzato"
ha dichiarato Omar Rodriguez Lopez , chitarrista della band e principale compositore , illustrando una musicalità vissuta di traverso, a cavallo dei generi. "ci sembra che ora siamo al punto di partenza. ora penso che sia obiettivamente il momento di presentarci". accontentato . a voi i the mars volta.

MARS ATTACKS!!
A Omar Rodriguez Lopez non sono mai piaciute le etichette nè,tantomeno,le limitazioni di qualsiasi tipo. non andare a perlargli di prog band o concept album se non volete che la sua folta capigliatura si drizzi fino a toccare il cielo( e bucarlo). é una vita che ,insieme al compagno di viaggio,di intolleranza(e di pettinatura) Cedric Bixler Zavala, sguscia da un progetto musicale a un altro, nel tentativo di fuggire da tali etichette, che si appicciano addosso e non mollano mai. il passo giusto doveva essere appena più ardito:rivolgere lo sguardo al "vicino" pianeta rosso, lontano quanto basta da impedire alle nomee di seguirli.
fu così che per la prima volta,i due ragazzi di origine texana immersero la testa nell' atmosfera del corpo celeste dedicato al Dio graco della guerra, espan dendo in quei lidi sconfinati tutta la voglia di musica indipendente e impulsiva,voltando definitivamente pagina. liberandosi della loro band precedente, gli At The Drive In ,misero da parte pure il side project dE Facto, prortandosi dietro però dietro il tastierista Ikey Owens e il manipolatore di suoni Jeremy Ward,che si aggiungevano così,nella nuova creatura,alla chitarra Omar e alla voce Cedric.il tutto si perfezionò quando si unirono al quartetto la bassista Eva Gadner e il batterista Jon Theodore,dando via alla rivincita marziana.
The Mars Volta (originalmente senza l'articolo,poi aggiunto per evitare di doppiare il nick già esistente gruppo techno) nascono ufficialmente nel 2001. omaggiando , oltre la divinità pagana,Federico Fellini e la sua "volta felliniana",intesa come repentino cambio di scena ,di azione ,di storia di un film.
Finalmente la potenza può tramutarsi in atto e il neonato ensenble inizia a prodigarsi in estenuanti prove in studio e a gettare fiumi di ispirazioni che ,via via che prendono forma, raggiungono sempre più i connotati espressivi ricercati dai due amici capelloni.
nel marzo 200 vede luce l'ep "Tremulant",primo passo in direzione rock apocalittico delle intenzioni della band. un primo assaggio(un pò immaturo,ma molto promettente) del loro punto di vista musicale.
In pochi mesi riescono a farsi spazio nella scena underground con esibizioni live convincenti e trascinanti,così tanto cariche di energia. tecnica e libertà espressiva da essere scelti dai Red Hot Chili Pepperscome opener nella loro tourneèe del 2002-03 . I Mars Volta si dimostrano preparati all' impatto col grande pubblico. conquistando grazie a esibizioni fulminanti,consensi a livello internazionale,mentre dietro le quinte stringono un rapporto d'amicizia con Flea e Frusciante dei Peppers . dal gruppo californiano al "guru" della musica mondiale Rick Rubin ,il passo è breve :la produzione del primo album in studio del sestetto è affidata al mega talent-scout mentore,tra gli altri,del fenomeno System Of A Down.
Il momento della verità si avvicina:i pezzi già proposti in sede live prendono la loro forma definitiva in studio sotto gli ochhi attenti del produttore e la cura dei suoni di Ward , mentre Flea (anche Frusciante darà il suo contributo) suona le parti di basso per coprire il "vuoto" lascito dalla Gardner,che abbandona la band. l' uscita dell' album oramai è alle porte quando una tragedia fa sbandare la macchina lanciata a forte velocità: un'overdose uccide il tecnico del suono Jeremy Ward ; un colpo durissimo ,sopratutto per Omar e Cedric ,suoi amici di lunga data,che fa slittare l' uscita del primo full lenght di qualche mese.
l' appuntamento con la storia è datato giugno 2003,e risponde al nome di "De-loused in the comatorium":l' album getta definitivamente le carte in tavola riguardo alle intanzioni del gruppo. rivelando un vortice sonoro travolgente ,trascinante e avvolgente. un discorso musicale che ingloba ,filtra e ricodifica le influenze più disparate ,proponendo un flusso cangiante di sensazioni senza soluzione di continuità , un'efficace mescolanza di progressive,punk psichedelia ,jazz,hardcore ,elettronica e noise: una fluida panoramica a tuttotondo del rock contemporaneo.
con fraschezza e libertà di esecuzione rispolverano i vecchi parametri stilistici, e ristrutturano un contesto intriso di ritmiche pulsanti e convulse, che scandiscono i tempi congiungendo brillanti improvvisazioni e divagazioni tematiche ,fino a proporre dei veri e propri paradossi sonori,in cui le melodie più delicate vanno a braccetto con spietate cacofonie.
l'impatto devastante dell'hard rock e del punk viene fuso e disciolto in soffuse atmosfere celebrali,mentre la forma della canzone di partenza sfuma talvolta in ampie free form, terreno fertile per il tocco visionario dei musicisti, e per la loro impulsività ragionata.
il lavoro ritmico,che spesso tradisce le origini latine della band marciando con samba e salsa (imponente anche l'uso delle percussioni ),è sovente lasciato a tastiera ,basso e batteria,mentre la chitarra di omar traccia fendenti acidi e roboanti intrisi di deley,che giocano ariempire gli spazi lasciati vuoti dal terzetto. il tutto è lanciato in ombra dall'acuto timbro di Cedric che brilla in ogni composizione,aggiungendo un tocco celestiale all'amalgama che luccica di un suono potente e limpido.
Da più voci il gruppo è acclamato come rivelazione dell'anno e il tour seguente ,oltre che vedere l' ingresso del bassista Juan Alderete,non fa che caldeggiare la loro candidatura dimostrando tutto il potenziale a disposizione.
durante le performance il gruppo proprone il proprio materiale nella maniera più libera possibile,trasformando il concerto in jam session gigantesche ; le canzoni vengono smembrate,allungate,trasfigurate,assumendo fattezze indefinite e contorni ancor più surreali che su disco .
le esibizioni li tengono impegnati per tutto il 2003 e parte del 2004 , a metà del quale la band inizia le registrazioni per il secondo album, forte finalmente di una formazione completa che vede,oltre al nuovo bassista,il fratello di Omar Rodriguez Lopez , Marcel, alle percussioni.
é da poco iniziato il 2005 (febbraio) quando esce Frances The Mute,prodotto dallo stesso Omar Rodriguez che si sostituisce in cabina di regia a Rubin. il discorso interrotto due anni prima viene ribadito con un sound più sporco, che ispessisce un disco meno immediato del precedente,ma che di fatto porta The Mars Volta tra le stelle di prima grndezza internazionale. il singolo The Widow - forte di un intrigante video girato dallo stesso Rodriguez (è nota la passione per il cinema del chitarrista) che finisce in heavy rotation su MTV - fa il giro del mondo,consegnando al grande pubblico un gruppo che ha raggiunto la sua pienezza artistica ,finalmente libero di mostrare se stesso e la sua furia creativa senza timore di alcun cartellino a prercederlo . e il manifesto del Mars Volta pensiero, scandito a note cubitali nel live "Scrabdates" di recente pubblicazione, ne è la controprova.

FANTASMI SU MARTE
I Mars Volta sulla terra non ci vogliono proprio stare. le tematiche che affronatano nei testi fanno riferimento ad un mondo che non è il nostro, ma permane in un atmosfera nascosta,altra. Entrambi gli album ricordano persone scomparse,alle quali sono interamente dedicate i concept delle liriche .
"De-losed In The Comatorium"è ispirato alla vita del poeta defunto ,amico della band, Julio Venegas,immaginato nel coma profondo,in preda ai sogni del suo subconscio ,protagonista di battaglie tra gli aspettinegativi e positivi della sua coscienza. in "Frances The Mute" ,invece,il discorso è completamente diverso. la storia si svolge nel mondo reale e fa riferimento a un diario a un diario anonimo ritrovato da Jeremy Ward anni addietro, e illustra ,alternando nei versi l' inglesecon lo spagnolo,i paragoni che si traggono fra la vita del misterioso autore ,in cerca dei veri genitori, e quella del ritrovatore, scomparso poi per overdose.
insomma,in giro in lungo ,in largo e di traverso per varie dimensioni. inutile cercare The Mars Volta qui,loro sono in viaggio. O si entra nel loro mondo o loro sono sempre altrove..




De-loused in the comatorium
Universal 2003
dire che The Mars Volta iniziano col piede giusto è un eufemismo. con un solo colpo centrano due bersagni: pubblico e critica restano annichiliti da una musica energetica,impulsiva,complessa e ricercata. Non si fa in tempo ad allacciare le cinture di sicurerzza che un ottovolante impazzito proietta l' ascoltatore in un labirinto di sogni convulsi.l' esplosiva sezione ritmica,tirata a lucido del tocco di Rubin, incastra figure affascinanti, macina riff martellanti e atmosfere rarefatte nello stesso calderone, strutturando il paradossale punk psichedelico di Inertiatic Esp. l' opender è la sorgente di un flusso che prima scorre tumultuoso tra i sussulti del break di Roulette Dares ,poi marcia a tempo di samba in Drunkship Of Lanterns e,quando la tenzione avvolgente di Cicatriz Esp ha l'impatto devastante di una cascata,il tutto sfocia nella malinconia delicata di Televators.
Scala reale servita alla prima mano.imbattibile.


Frances The Mute
Universal 2005
La giostra incandescente prosegue la sua folle corsa in 77 minuti di esplosiva intensità,in cui il discorso si fa ancora più estremo dal punto di vista delle scelte stilistiche , con un allungamento smisurato delle tracce e una veste timbrica meno pulita ma più massiccia.
le composizioni (cinque) vengono arricchite da orchestrazioni di archi e fiati (Flea alla tromba è una chicca) e sono suddivise in più movimenti come la tradizione prog insegna.
il disco è la sintesi dell'energia martellante dei Led Zeppelin (timbro di Cedric è simile a quello di Plant) ,i colori visionari degli Yes e i deliri crimsoniani e neopsichedelici,il tutto ,però,suonato come se a condurre le danze ci fosse il fantasma di Frank Zappa. L' essenza stessa della libertà del rock passato e conteporaneo.

The Mars Volta
by Nate Shea


There are regular musicians, and then there are those who simply see it all differently. Like demi-gods, they possess a rare ability to blur the limitations of music, and push it in a direction never before fathomed. John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, all people who took the landscape of music and stretched it into art.

Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez fits this mould. Whether you’re a fan of The Mars Volta or not, you have to admire Rodriguez-Lopez’s ability to challenge the limitations of music. In a culture driven by blinkered sounds, Omar’s sonically diverse orchestrations throughout The Mars Volta stand as a breath of fresh air. Whilst many are willing to adhere to the standardised, verse, chorus, bridge, three-minute pop song format, The Mars Volta have turned their back on popular culture. Yet Omar doesn’t see himself as an obelisk of musical creation, rather a pervader of an already existing sound. “When I write our music, I describe it more as just being an antenna, and tuning into a station and writing down what I hear,” he explains. “It’s all floating out in space. It just takes a certain type of person to be able to pin it down and to articulate it – if not me it would be someone else.”

Now five releases down the track, including three full-length studio albums, the days of At The Drive In are well behind Omar and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Despite mammoth touring commitments, as well as Omar’s lengthy list of side-projects and film undertakings, The Mars Volta continue to write, record and release material at a prolific rate. Their latest offering was released in September last year, and work is already in full swing on their next one. A release date has already been pencilled in for August. Whilst it might appear that everything simply falls into place when the band enters the studio, Omar says that it’s by no means a simple process. “I think a common misperception of our music is that we sit around and we make a song out of a jam, which is completely the opposite of how I write our music,” he explains. “Musically it’s a very tedious, architectural process.” After all the tracks are laid down, Cedric enters the studio and layers his vocals over the top – with most of what is included on the final production standing as ad-libbing and first-time takes. “He’s a natural that way; me, I have to refine myself over and over and over and nitpick and bang my head against the wall a little too much.”

Yet whilst they have won the accolades of critics and fans worldwide, it’s an industry and culture that Omar despises. “I don’t like rock groups, I don’t like musicians,” he declares. “I don’t like the people who play rock music; that’s why I have our group touring alone and don’t have any kind of openers. I just don’t fucking like the whole culture of it.” Whilst his beliefs are choked with a sense or arrogance, the true underlying intention is that Omar and Cedric see The Mars Volta more as an exponent of art. Their creations are a mere expression of their lives, the fundamental reason why a whole extra dimension exists unto this LA band past their music. “When you’re doing something that’s more relative to life and the life experience, you have to have more things coming into the sensory inputs – you have to have an experience,” says Omar. “There’s the music, and that’s a big aspect of it, but it's only a foundation. Then there’s a visual, and something you have to smell, there’s something you have to be able to touch, there’s all these things that you gather around, to try and articulate what everyday life feels like to you.”

Whilst it may seem a little contemptuous to some to label Omar and Cedric artists, art plays an integral part in The Mars Volta experience. Their music is merely one facet, with the band placing meticulous importance on releasing intricate artwork, as well as special limited addition vinyl picture discs. As we stream into the digital future, The Mars Volta are among a handful of bands that are still putting strong emphasis on vinyl. “It’s a part of my identity, it’s a cultural thing,” explains the guitarist. “I guess it’s like second nature, if I just got a CD of a record that I made, it would feel fake. That’s just because I’m from a different generation, I’m from vinyl and cassette tapes, I’m old fashioned that way.”

Their rare vinyl pieces have become revered collector’s items, which is certainly the intention of The Mars Volta, and is used to heighten the sensory experience. The release of collector's pieces also heavily draws from the band's own personal interests. The Mars Volta are avid collectors of rare music, and have been seen in the past spending thousands of dollars at record shops around Australia. When they were in Australia for the 2006 Big Day Outs, they spent several hours trawling through the collection at St Kilda’s Rare Records, picking up a bunch of rare Iron Maiden vinyls, as well as a few other treasures. “We bought a Kylie Minogue seven-inch for Henry Rollins. He was on that same tour [and] one of his speeches one day was about Kylie Mingoue, kind of bagging on her,” chuckles Omar.

Despite the joke, vinyl serves a strong nostalgic role with the band, and holds a purity above many of the entertainment mediums popularised today. “We’re realising the reality that it is a generational thing, and it is a thing of the past,” explains Omar. “Most kids today don’t even own a fucking stereo – they’ve got their iPod and they’ve got their computer, which is fine. I just can’t even imagine enjoying music on some piece of shit computer speakers. [Vinyl is] like a treat for the underdogs, the people who are still really into hi-fi music, or just music as a meditation, music as an art form – music as something other than background noise or refrigerator buzz that you put on your fucking computer while you’re hanging out with your friends.

“It’s kind of something a little extra special for all those dinosaur geeks.”

The Mars Volta play Festival Hall on Saturday March 17, tickets through Ticketmaster. Amputechture is out now through Universal / GSL

The Mars Volta
Planetary Craftmakers
by Rob Lyon

Continuing their love affair with Australia, The Mars Volta returns for a run of shows across the country. The last time Adelaide experienced The Mars Volta it was as part of the Big Day Out, but this time they return for a headlining tour in support of their third studio album Amputechture. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez takes about touring and their new album, which is in the works.
Another Australian tour, does it feel like an annual pilgrimage?
“I wish,” Omar laughed.
How much did you enjoy playing in Australia last tour? “It was great,” Omar reflected. “What do you mean? Couldn’t you tell we had fun? Australian and South America are the best and most exciting places for us to go and play.”
What’s your favourite city based on past experiences? “Melbourne is probably my favourite city,” Omar replied. “I really like the Gold Coast as well but as a city to hang out in I really like Melbourne. Adelaide is okay and not so much Perth.”
What can fans expect in the set-list?
“It’s a little bit of everything from all the albums,” Omar indicated. “Now that we’re four records into it we have a little bit more to pick and choose from to put out there and present. Besides that, it’s the same thing with us having long-winded conversations with each other on stage and playing songs in between.”
Does the show change much from night to night?
“There is, because of the amount of improvising we do,” Omar answered. “At the same time we’re still playing songs. What songs they are might vary but it is hard to see things varying any more because we tour so goddamn much that it all starts being the same until you get in to a brand new record. Even though we’re starting another tour I’ve already started tracking the next record. That’s where my head is at the moment.”
Do you still enjoy touring?
“Very much so,” Omar agreed. “I’ve been touring since I was 17 and I’m 30 years old now. When I’m off tour it gets confusing and I don’t know what to do with my spare time. It’s more of a lifestyle and you get used to living out of a hotel room. You get your little system that works for you, but having said that being out for a while you definitely feel that the grass is always greener on the other side. Then I start getting really sick of touring and want to be in the studio making another record. By the time you’re done making that motherfucker you’re ready to be out on the road again and that you never want to see another studio again.”
When you’re off tour do you get the itches around nine o’clock knowing you’d normally be on stage at that time?
“I don’t really get that because I work all the time,” Omar mentioned. “I stay in the studio working and that alleviates that sort of itch. I do try and take a little bit of time off occasionally but it is a feeling of anxiousness that you’re supposed to be doing something but you’re not. It’s like you forgot to do your homework and that you’re going to get in trouble but then you realise that it’s okay to sit here and relax.”
Has it been easy working the songs from Amputechture into the set?
“Definitely,” Omar replied. “It feels good to play it, there’s not really a lot of thought put in to it. It’s like that song is fun to play, that one is to, I don’t think I ever want to play that one and I’m sick of playing that one. I think we try and tailor it to where our head is at that particular moment, like anything else in your life such as CDs in your car in that they constantly change and what you’re listening to changes. Then there are your favourites you always listen to as well.”
Was Amputechture a complicated album to make?
“It was and it wasn’t,” Omar explained. “All the music came out very naturally and how it sat in my head and how I wanted to put it together was all there very naturally and quickly. As with making any record it can never not be easy, I don’t think. Making records always has to be half labour of love and terror then the other half fun and excitement. I need everything to be doubled in my life. I don’t feel that one thing or one statement or one colour or one idea can be true without its counterpart or its arch nemesis. Making a record is no different and each time it’s going to be really horrible at some point and really fun at another.”
Was it an intense time in the studio?
“Like I said, it goes both ways,” Omar pointed out. “Frances The Mute was a nightmare from the beginning and then it was like trying to climb out of a fucking black hole. By the end it became really fun, then when I went in to mix it it was a fucking nightmare. I mixed the record three different times. Amputechture was fun right from the get-go and then it fell right in to the black hole. It was terror for a while trying to climb out of it and then by the end it became fun again.”
Mars Volta play Thebarton Theatre on Mon Mar 19. Amputechture is out now through Universal.

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Chats Projects, Mars Volta

May 21, 2007

The angular axeman speaks to SPIN.com about forthcoming solo effort, additional projects, and Mars Volta record.


Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the afroed and skinny-jeaned guitarist behind razor sharp riffage from the Mars Volta, is one busy man. In addition to currently logging studio time for a fresh Mars Volta record alongside vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Rodriguez-Lopez is gearing up to drop his third solo record, Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo. In preparation of the May 29 release, Rodriguez-Lopez talked with SPIN.com about his work ethic (meticulous), social life (non-existent), his other collaborations (numerous), and the forthcoming Mars Volta album (nearly complete).

"I always wanted to move there, ever since our first tour in '98 that we took to Europe," the guitarist said about Amsterdam, the city where the bulk of his forthcoming long-player was recorded. The album, Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo, which comprises three vocal tracks and seven instrumentals with titles like "Please Heat This Eventually" and "Rapid Fire Tollbooth," mirrors Rodriguez-Lopez's past efforts with the inclusions of a musical cast of Mars Volta frequenters: Multi-instrumentalists Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales, bassist Juan Alderete de la Pena, Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark, Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante, and Bixler-Zavala all appear on Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo.

Though Bixler-Zavala adds his spazz-out vocals, a process he describes as silent, in which the two "let the music do the talking," Rodriguez-Lopez, differing from Mars Volta's methods, occasionally directs Bixler-Zavala's contributions: "We just sort of play something and Cedric will know what he needs to do, and if I need to guide him at all, it's just a matter of a few words like 'you need to change this part, this parts not going so well here,' we do something and he usually gets it right."

In addition to constructing his solo album, which, at least for Rodriguez-Lopez, is an amazingly painstaking cut and paste process, the guitarist was undertaking -- or at least incubating -- numerous others. First, the Mars Volta's Amputechture also came together in 2005, as did the origins of a film score project entitled El Bufalo de la Noche, translated in English as The Night Buffalo. The film, directed by Mexican filmmaker Jorge Hernandez Aldana, was lifted from the book of the same name written by respected author Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams), offered a drastic change of pace for Rodriguez-Lopez.

"At some point in 2005 during the Frances the Mute tour, I got a letter from [Arriaga]," said Rodriguez-Lopez. "He realized I was the only person who could make music for Night Buffalo, and I liked all his films, so I jumped on this opportunity and flew down to Mexico and met him." The guitarist joined the project and spent the "better part of the next nine months learning a lesson in humility and being directed," which for him was a whole new method of creation. "I never made music and had to have it okayed by somebody, I've never been directed by someone," he said. "It was a long, agonizing process that I'm glad I went through."

Now, following the completion of his score and numerous solo recordings, Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala are putting final touches on Mars Volta's follow up to 2006's Amputechture in Los Angeles, and Rodriquez-Lopez is slightly mum, offering only a few details. "It should be done in a couple of weeks," he said. "It's supposed to come out in September, but you know that works."

If you're feeling exhausted by Rodriguez-Lopez's output by now, brace yourself -- there's more. The guitarist has taken on another project, this one, a yet-to-be titled musical duo, features Hella sticksman Zack Hill. "[Hill] just came to town and I was describing this record I was making at the time that was not in the tradition how I was making records at the time, it was more guitar driven and what people referred to as math rock," Rodriguez-Lopez stated. "I showed him the songs and we recorded them in a couple of days. He's probably the only drummer I've ever been able to beat box a beat to, then take it from there, his approach is completely different, the rhythm structure is there, the way he approaches it, it's really something different."

And Rodriguez-Lopez's approach to music is equally different. "It's just the closest thing for the way I can express myself," he said about his Puerto Rican upbringings and the ever present structural and syncopated music of his youth, which he has now morphed into an uber-sophisticated jazz on jet-fueled sonic. "It's just something that comes natural to me. There is a lot of architecture that goes into it."

Whether it be Rodriguez-Lopez's deranged six-string sounds, demanding work ethic -- "I need to have at least that many projects in various stages of production to feel calm and not overwhelmed by one thing." -- or his music's shelf life -- "I end up disliking whatever I made in the past" -- it seems at least one stage of Rodriguez-Lopez's prolific and strenuous methods is effortless.

"All the people who end up on the record are just my friends, my environment," he said. "Because I've limited my life to just being in the studio, and I don't have a social life… this is one of the ways I can socialize with my friends. They know I'm not going out to a bar." The process from there is fairly simple, his friends drop by and there is always a looming cloud of musical production. "Inevitably they're going to be recorded, you can only listen to records or watch a movie for so long, so we just go downstairs, I show them their part and they execute it," he explained. "I'm happy and they're happy." WILLIAM GOODMAN

the mars volta brain trust once more flies solo in pursuit of a muse..4 stars

rocks like:
-miles davis-on the corner
-shades of joy-music of el topo
-bwana's-bwana

the mars volta albums r already so insanely long and unpredictable that guitarist,chief songwriter omar shouldnt need to channel energy into side projects: bonus cd's would serve just as well. however with se dice, lopez once more overseas a set of jazz-tinged, 70s psych that could just as well be tmv outakes(including a version of tmv's recent live staple rapid fire tollbooth). Which isnt to say that these tracks r throwaways. Neatly tying together lopez last two solo recordings, no bufalo often sounds more coherent and inspired than tmvs last album 2006 bloated Amputechture. once more backed by a band including money mark, tmv bassist juan, and his own drumming bro marcel sticks to a tight funky 4/4 groove even throughout No bufalos wilder material using repetition and space to build drama and atmosphere where tmv may have just piled on complexity. if rumors are acurrate we can expect at least two more lopez offshoot releases before tmv drop their next full length, but if this is the sort of woodshedding lopez needs to make amputechture follow-up a monster, the excess music will be worth it.

q &a

ap: no bufalo was recorded last year while u were living in amsterdam. u recorded, what, 5 records while u were there?

orl:yeah, i did. i really did try to relax most of the time, but for me writing is the equivalent of relaxing. its just sitting around with a guitar. i spent most of my time at my house with my 4 track. it was very normal and laid back. it wasnt like ok, i need to record 5 records, it just happened.

ap: cedric sings on a couple of songs on the new rec, but like all of your previous solo albums, you dont sing a note on it. u actually started out singing in hardcore bands. how come u never returned to that?

orl: this is going to sound weird and pretentious, but i really believe cedric is one of the best singers of our generation. its strange to look at your best friend and realize that hes the best singer around. it makes u fell..not small, but it does make u think,"why would i sing?" but i have sung on stuff over the years. u have to remember for ever record that comes out theres another one that ive chosen to bury.

ap: how many unreleased albums have u amassed at this point?

orl: at least a dozen. i have records from when i was in atdi, some from after that. i have records that i made through that whole period that will prob never see the light of day.

ap: this new rec was recorded a year ago, but in typical omar fashion youve prob recorded 13 other albums in the time since. what have u been up to lately?

orl: well i have just finished the basic tracking for the new tmv record. then theres another record-a more electronic record-that a buddy of mine is going to put out. also hella drummer zach hill and i did a record last year. its heavier, its mostly guitars.

ap: people seem to think u spend most of you time shunning the music industry and recording 12min long songs. with that in mind what is the one thing that would surprise people about u?

orl: oh, man, i dont know. what would you say?

ap: honestly, i dont think people are aware of how funny you are. also, i dont think anyone knows that tmv tour with a skate ramp.

orl: Right!..the skateboarding thing is a good example. most people wont think of that coming from us. but for me, its normal. i mean, we all came from skateboarding, so why wouldnt we have a ramp on tour with us? but most people dont see it that way. most people have this image of us being a lot more serious than we actually are.