Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez (born September 1, 1975) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He is most well-known for his role as the guitarist and bandleader for The Mars Volta between 2001 and their dissolution in 2012. He is also currently the guitarist for alternative rock band Bosnian Rainbows. He was also the guitarist and former bassist of the dub reggae group De Facto, and the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In. He also has a solo career in the studio, which is often described as experimental, avantgarde, and/or progressive. His collaborations with artists such as John Frusciante and El-P have been numerous. Rodriguez-Lopez moved to Amsterdam in 2005, and eventually recorded four albums. The “Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet” was his first solo album. Rodriguez-Lopez performed live in Europe several times with his quintet. This quintet included three members from The Mars Volta Group (Juan Alderete Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Adrian Terrazas–Gonzalez, and Adrian Terrazas–Gonzalez), and Money Mark. Later, the songs from this tour were included on Omar Rodriguez. The songs were improvised and long with no lyrics. Parts of the Quintet’s live performance with Damo Suzuki were also recorded and incorporated into a 25 minute EP entitled Please Heat This Eventually. It was released in 2007. Rodriguez-Lopez also worked on The Mars Volta’s 2006 album Amputechture, and composed the score for El Bufalo de la Noche (a film by Guillermo Arriaga u0026 Jorge Hernandez Aldana) during this time. On May 29, 2007, Se Dice Bisonte released No Bufalo. Rodriguez-Lopez released the album as his third solo full-length album. It featured performances from Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez. Juan Alderete and Adrian Terrazas–Gonzalez also performed. There were also cameos by Money Mark, John Frusciante and John Theodore. It was recorded in California and Amsterdam between 2005 and 2006. The Quintet resurfaced later in 2007 and is now “The Rodriguez-Lopez Group”. They performed on the “white stage” at The Fuji Rock Festival, Japan, on July 28. The group’s first performers were Cedric BixlerZavala, singer, and Thomas Pridgen as drummer. The EP Omar Rodriguez Lopez was released on October 8, 2007.
