Studio albums 4 Singles 1 | EPs 1 | |
De Facto are a dub-reggaeband from El Paso, Texas by way of Long Beach, California. Bassist Omar Rodríguez-López and drummer Cedric Bixler-Zavala are well known as members of the acclaimed and now defunct bands At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta. In those other groups, however, Rodriguez-Lopez plays guitar and Bixler-Zavala sings.
Having relocated to California from El Paso around 2000, Bixler and Rodriguez teamed up with keyboardist Isaiah Ikey Owens (formerly of the Long Beach Dub All Stars) and fellow-Texan Jeremy Michael Ward and re-launched their longtime 'side project', De Facto, alongside At the Drive-In. De facto mined an eclectic and constantly evolving composite of sounds, hinging squarely on tripped-out, instrumental dub. Rooted within the realm of dub reggae pioneers like Lee Perry and the Dr. Alimantado, De Facto the group also tampered in electronica, Latin/"salsa", and jazz which gave their sound a distinct, timeless quality. They've utilized the surprisingly effective melodica (a relatively cheap plastic 'keyboard' played by blowing through one end like a trumpet) made famous by Augustus Pablo with great skill and the results are stunning: their music transcends genres and ages, and suffers none from the decision to leave the songs instrumental and let them speak for themselves.
The band released their debut album, Megaton Shotblast, in mid-2001 on Gold Standard Labs. Critically acclaimed, the record is a fascinating document of the musical alter-egos of some of the most influential players in post-punk/alternative rock. Well worth checking out are their other releases, including a superb EP on Grand Royal (the only record to feature Cedric's vocals) and their re-issued debut, How Do You Dub? You Fight for Dub, You Plug Dub In, on Restart Records. Since 2001, The Mars Volta has taken center-stage in the lives of the bandmembers. The group played occasionally through 2003, including an appearance at an outdoor festival in Long Beach where the band was joined onstage by John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Omar mentioned more than once that John would be playing on the "next" De Facto record. Sadly, Jeremy Ward's death at his home in Los Angeles in May 2003 has left a question mark on the future of the band. None of De Facto's albums have charted on any list.