Omar Rodríguez-López

Omar Rodríguez-López

Artist

Omar Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a multi-talented guitarist, producer, and artist from El Paso, Texas. He is best known for his seminal work with At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta, alongside co-founder Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

ORL’s ever-evolving style is difficult to describe, as his prolific career spans multiple decades and countless genres. He has cited such influences as Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and Santana. In a 2008 Guitar World article, his approach to music was compared to cinema:

He likens the process to filmmaking, in which scenes are shot out of sequence and the final creation is in the hands of the director. ‘Once the players are all done with their parts, I don’t allow anyone to be in or near the studio. So when they do get a copy of the finished record, that’s the first time they get to hear how it all fits together.’