| Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Alias: | Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Trio Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quartet |
| Genre: | Experimental rock, psychedelic rock, electronica, progressive rock, art rock |
| Years Active: | 2005–2012, 2018 |
| Label: | Sargent House, Rodriguez Lopez Productions |
| Associated Acts: | The Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows, Zechs Marquise, Vato Negro, El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Ximena Sariñana, Le Butcherettes, Dark Angels, Kimono Kult, John Frusciante, Beastie Boys |
| Website: | Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet Omar Rodriguez-Lopez |
| Current Members: | Omar Rodríguez-López Marcel Rodríguez-López Audrey Paris Johnson Virginia Garcia Alves Leo Genovese |
The Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group (often referred to by its acronym ORLG) is an American experimental rock band, and the main side project of Omar Rodríguez-López. Featuring an ever-changing lineup of musicians alongside Rodriguez-Lopez, the group is most often a live entity to perform the various outlets of his solo music aside from the Mars Volta. After the dissolution of the Mars Volta in 2012, Omar completed a few more solo records until 2013 before deciding to pursue only collaborative efforts with groups At the Drive-In, Bosnian Rainbows, Antemasque, and Crystal Fairy.
His group began as Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet, formed in 2005 when he toured Europe to support his self-titled solo record. The quintet included three other members of The Mars Volta: Juan Alderete, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Adrián Terrazas-González as well as Money Mark of Beastie Boys fame. Omar began this group with these members within only a year or two of them joining The Mars Volta. The album features long, largely improvised instrumentals with Dutch titles. The quintet then collaborated with Damo Suzuki on a 25-minute EP titled Please Heat This Eventually, which was largely taken from a night recorded on their European tour in November 2005. The EP was released exclusively by Gold Standard Laboratories on vinyl only in December 2006, then released widely in January 2007. Another collaborative EP followed later that year, this time between the quintet and Lydia Lunch, as well as the full-length record, The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange, which was a double album vinyl.
The quintet has been dubbed Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group since 2006, as indicated on the back cover of Please Heat This Eventually, even though they were known as the Quintet at the time of the performance. The group played a live show in 2007 at Fuji Rock Festival, Japan, and featured Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Thomas Pridgen in the group for the first time, both also of The Mars Volta. During "Rapid Fire Tollbooth" performance, Alfredo Ortiz joined on percussion in addition to Marcel and Terrazas-González. Thomas Pridgen remained the group's drummer for the three years he was also in The Mars Volta, replacing Marcel, who became percussionist and second keyboardist, much like his role in The Mars Volta. 2008 was the last year that Terrazas-González toured with Rodriguez-Lopez, in The Mars Volta or otherwise, after a mutual split planned for a few years. In March 2009, the group got together for another tour in Europe, this time featuring Omar's girlfriend Ximena Sariñana as the vocalist and Mark Aanderud on keyboards instead of Money Mark.[1] In September 2009, a five-track live recording of the March 11, London concert was released digitally and on limited vinyl, titled Los Sueños de un Hígado. It featured songs from Rodriguez-Lopez's albums Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo, Old Money, and Solar Gambling, the last of which would be released 3 months later, with the final track remaining, "Victimas del Cielo", released in studio form on 2010's Cizaña de los Amores. Los Sueños de un Hígado follows the Damo Suzuki and Lydia Lunch collaborative EPs in being the only releases under the name "Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group", two of which are essentially live recordings.
A new group, El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez, was announced in Spring 2009, featured on the Cryptomnesia album (recorded in 2006, released in 2009). Rodriguez-Lopez also released Ciencia de los Inútiles under the entity El Trío de Omar Rodriguez Lopez. This trio comprises Omar, Ximena and double bass player Aaron Cruz Bravo. A quartet record was released digitally on May 30, 2010, including Juan, Marcel, and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, as well as a record of simply John and Rodriguez-Lopez, released April 30, 2010.[2] Before this, the two had done a few collaborations and live guest appearances, even releasing a single titled "0=2" on The Special 12 Singles Series as Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez & John Frusciante in 2005 as 7" vinyl, and digitally in 2006. This was released before any of his group recordings, around the same time as Omar Rodriguez.
The group was scheduled to be performing for the first time in the United States on May 2, 2010 at Highline Ballroom in New York, though the date was pushed back to September 17 due to "key members" not being available.[3] [4] [5] It was speculated that Dave Elitch, the current drummer of The Mars Volta, would be performing as part of ORL Group in the future, as he has been credited as having recorded with Omar apart from The Mars Volta on his website.[6] An official statement has since confirmed former collaborator Deantoni Parks to be the drummer for the 2010 tour. He had previously performed as drummer of The Mars Volta in September/October 2006 as a temporary fill-in, and has since remained great friends with the band. Lars Stalfors also joined the group on stage as sound manipulator in 2010.
Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group has announced a performance at the Metamorphose Festival in Tokyo, Japan on September 4, 2010.[7] Also added were a Chicago date the night after New York, along with two west coast dates. Further touring of Russia and Europe were then scheduled for November/December, with The Mars Volta scheduled to play two festival shows in South America in October. Meanwhile, Deantoni had also performed as part of Juan Alderete's group Vato Negro for a California date, June 17, as well as the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan in July. Omar joined his friends for the festival show, as the three are working on a Vato Negro album. During December 2010, it was slowly revealed that Deantoni has returned as drummer of The Mars Volta, and has been working with them closely throughout the year.
During 2010, Omar had also released a record of older material performed along with Elvin Estela (DJ Nobody) featuring no guitars, Tychozorente, and a collection of songs featuring Ximena & Lisa Papineau as vocalists, Cizaña de los Amores. Then, as surprise digital releases concluding the Group's 2010 touring, Mantra Hiroshima, the second record to feature drumming by Zach Hill, and the appreciatively titled Dōitashimashite, the Group's second live release capturing the U.S. tour, were delivered. Next came the anticipated studio album, Un Escorpión Perfumado, including Marcel, Deantoni, and more vocals by Omar by year's end.
2011 began with another ORLG tour, starting with the performance at the Rodriguez Lopez Productions and Sargent House showcase at the SXSW Music Festival. A special guest was said to join the group on stage, which turned out to be Cedric in place of Ximena as vocalist. Most of the songs premiered during the tour turned out to be new songs of The Mars Volta, eventually released a year later on Noctourniquet. On several shows missed by Cedric due to his voice illness, the band played all instrumental material consisting mostly of the compositions which are believed to be from the upcoming Vato Negro album.
In December 2011, the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Trio (Rodriguez-Lopez, Alderete, Parks) toured Australia, playing 7 concerts in as many days through 5 cities.[8] On this tour they were supported by Le Butcherettes, with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez pulling double duty and playing bass for them. For the performance at 2012 Metamorphose Festival in Japan the trio was joined for the first time by Teri Gender Bender, Le Butcherettes vocalist, playing 3 songs from then-unreleased album Octopus Kool Aid.
A new ORLG tour was announced in summer of 2012, consisting of more than 40 dates in Europe, USA and Japan.[9] The group line-up was originally said to be Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Deantoni Parks and Teri Gender Bender (this time not including bassist Juan Alderete who was present in all the previous line-ups). Just before the first show of the tour it was revealed that new line-up is actually the whole new band called Bosnian Rainbows, also featuring Nicci Kasper, member of Dark Angels alongside Parks, on synthesizers/keyboards.[10] The band released their debut album, recorded live at Clouds Hill Recordings in Hambourg, in June 2013.[11] A live album of the 2012 one-off concerts was released in 2017 as Chocolate Tumor Hormone Parade.
Along with this new live album were 22 other releases in 2016-2017 during which time Omar's attention had primarily shifted to At the Drive-In and film work. No concerts were performed in support of these bi-weekly album releases and no physical editions of the records have yet to be produced. They were largely recorded between 2008-2013, although a couple records contain portions dating back as far as 2001.
After a 6-year hiatus during which time Omar was occupied with Bosnian Rainbows, Antemasque, At the Drive-In, Crystal Fairy, and his film work, a ORLG concert was announced in May 2018 for 8 de Diciembre 2018 at Festival Catrina (El Festival Más Importante De Puebla) in Puebla, México. Omar's first solo performance in 6 years was at the Clouds Hill Festival in Hamburg, Germany on the 23rd of November during which he debuted songs from Arañas en la Sombra, Weekly Mansions, Roman Lips, and Killing Tingled Lifting Retreats all released in 2016/2017 through the Ipecac Recordings series, as well as one unreleased song. He was joined by brother Marcel along with a female vocalist and female drummer previously unaffiliated with any of his work.
See main article: Omar Rodríguez-López discography.
number indicates order of release
A# annotates record sequence of those constituting the "Amsterdam Series," recorded whilst Omar lived there 2005-2006
(all as "Omar Rodriguez Lopez" unless otherwise noted)