Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Ultra-prolific composer, guitarist, and producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez was born in Bayam+¦n, Puerto Rico, in 1975. He spent his formative years in South Carolina and El Paso, Texas, setting up camp in the latter and forming the hardcore band Startled Calf at the age of 15. He joined post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In in 1993, a gig that lasted until the band broke up at the peak of its popularity in 2001. Rodriguez-Lopez formed the Mars Volta the following year, as well as an instrumental side project called the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet. He composed the soundtrack to Jorg...