De Facto (band) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
De Facto
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Left to right: Omar Rodríguez-López, Jeremy Ward, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens
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| Background information | |
| Origin | El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Dub, electronica, reggae, salsa |
| Years active | 1998–2003 |
| Associated acts | At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group |
| Past members |
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De Facto was an American dub reggae band. Its members included Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodríguez-López, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, and Jeremy Ward.
Contents
Discovering De Facto's Music
De Facto started as fun jam sessions after At the Drive-In shows. The first members were Omar Rodríguez-López, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Jeremy Ward. They played shows in their hometown, El Paso, Texas. Cedric Bixler-Zavala mentioned they were once called The Sphinktators.
For their first recording, they thought of the name De Facto Cadre Dub. This was later shortened to just De Facto. The band members often switched roles. Cedric Bixler-Zavala played drums, like he did in earlier bands. Omar Rodríguez-López played bass guitar. Jeremy Ward handled sound effects, sang, and played some guitar.
Ralph Jasso joined on keyboards but soon left the band. Their first recording, called De Facto, came out in 1999. It was a very limited vinyl record. This recording was re-released in 2001 as How Do You Dub? You Fight for Dub. You Plug Dub In..
Omar Rodríguez-López met Ikey Owens at a hip hop show. Ikey Owens later joined De Facto as their keyboard player during a live show. After the band moved to the West Coast, Ikey Owens became a full-time member.
After At the Drive-In
After the band At the Drive-in broke up in 2001, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala focused on De Facto. That year, De Facto released several recordings. The 456132015 EP came out first. It was produced by Mario Caldato Jr..
De Facto's first full-length album was ¡Megaton Shotblast!. It was released on the Gold Standard Laboratories label. This album became quite popular, partly because of At the Drive-In's fame. Légende du Scorpion à Quatre Queues was the last De Facto album. It came out the same year through Modern City Records. Both albums included studio recordings from 2000 and live recordings from their European tour in 2001.
The Band's Later Years
In 2001, the members of De Facto formed a new band called The Mars Volta. They teamed up with bassist Eva Gardner and drummer Blake Fleming. Even with the new band, De Facto continued to play many live shows.
During this time, Omar Rodríguez-López met John Frusciante at a show. They became friends, and John Frusciante even played guitar with De Facto on stage once.
In 2008, Cedric Bixler-Zavala mentioned that new De Facto music might be recorded. He also said he would play drums for these new recordings. However, it is not confirmed if these recording sessions ever happened.
Since 2001, the only new De Facto release was live video footage. It was from a show on January 3, 2001, at The Smell in Los Angeles. This footage was part of a DVD called GSL Lab Results Vol. 1 Live in 2007. Omar Rodríguez-López has also talked about possibly releasing a documentary from the band's European tours. He also mentioned unreleased songs from the Mario Caldato Jr. recording sessions.
Sadly, Ikey Owens passed away in 2014. He was on tour with Jack White at the time.
De Facto's Musical Style
De Facto's music was mostly instrumental dub. They were inspired by artists like King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry. However, they also explored other styles. These included electronica, Latin and salsa music, and jazz fusion.
The band often created their songs by improvising. They would exchange ideas using drum and bass rhythms as the main structure. Many of these ideas later helped shape the music for their next band, The Mars Volta.
Band Members
- Omar Rodríguez-López — bass
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala — drums
- Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (†) — keyboards
- Jeremy Ward (†) — sound manipulation, vocals, melodica, synthesizer
Discography
Albums
- ¡Megaton Shotblast! (2001)
- Légende du Scorpion à Quatre Queues (2001)
EPs
- De Facto (1999)
- 456132015 (2001)
- How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub. You Plug Dub In. (2001)
Singles
- "120E7" (2001)
Appears on
- Test Four (CD) 120 E7 Nova Records 2001
- Test the Box (5xCD) 120 E7 Nova Records 2001
- Audioflashcard (CD, comp) Gold Standard Labs
See also
In Spanish: De Facto (banda) para niños
- List of ambient music artists
