De Facto

[b]De Facto[/b] was an American experimental dub/reggae/dancehall electronica band, formed in 1998 in El Paso, Texas, by longtime creative partners and [a=At The Drive-In] members, [a=Omar Rodriguez-Lopez] and [a=Cedric Bixler-Zavala], with a cousin of the ATDI guitarist [a=Jim Ward] and their childhood friend, sound designer [url=/artist/230711]Jeremy M. Ward[/url] (1976—2003). After they relocated to California in early 2000, keyboardist [url=/artist/210843]Isaiah "Ikey" Owens[/url] (1975—2014) joined as the fourth permanent member. [b]DeFacto[/b] was briefly active as Omar and Cedric's primary creative outlet, releasing two EPs and two albums in 2001, and laying the foundation for [b][a=The Mars Volta][/b]'s early lineup. De Facto went on indefinite hiatus in March 2003, after Jeremy Ward's sudden death. In March 2024, [url=/artist/274511]Rodriguez[/url] and [url=/artist/163568]Bixler[/url] played a one-off "reunion" show at [l=SXSW], appearing at [url=/label/853871]ACL Live at the Moody Theater[/url] with [url=/artist/408661]Marcel Rodríguez-López[/url] on keyboards and [a=Teri Gender Bender] on vocals. The band performed on the same night with [a=Mogwai], in a special showcase that coincided with a joint North American premiere of two documentary biopics, "[i]Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird[/i]" directed by [a=Nicolas Jack Davies], and [a=Antony Crook]'s [i][m=3855391][/i]; [url=/artist/11452469]Water Damage[/url] opened for both bands.

Known as "[i]Sphinktators[/i]" in its early days, the project began as an informal, experimental-driven [url=/artist/81742]ATDI[/url] spinoff. At the aftershow jam sessions, frontman and vocalist Cedric would sit behind the drumkit, like in his early bands, [url=/artist/5402713]Foss[/url] and [a=The Fall On Deaf Ears], while guitarist Omar switched back to bass, his first instrument; Jeremy, who only assisted "behind the scenes" with At The Drive-In, took the spotlight on vocals and melodica, paying homage to Jamaican reggae/dub legend [a=Augustus Pablo]; Ward also handled loops and effects. The fourth member, Cedric's childhood friend and former [url=/artist/5366156]Los Dregtones[/url] guitarist [url=/artist/591488]Ralph Jasso[/url], likewise joined in the "alternative" role, on keyboards rather than strings. Soon after, the quartet renamed to "[i]De Facto Cadre Dub[/i]," further shortened for the debut [i][r=1637549][/i] LP, recorded in June 1999 and released via Jim Ward's short-lived label, [url=/label/257998]Head¼ Records[/url]. By early 2000, Jasso quit the band while the remaining members relocated to the West Coast. At a local show, Omar met and befriended Long Beach keyboardist "Ikey" Owens, who had been playing with a handful of prominent SoCal ska/surf/punk acts, and invited him to join De Facto. Despite the increasingly busy [url=/artist/81742]ATDI[/url] schedule, Omar and Cedric still continued to play with the side-project.

In March 2001, as soon as [a=At The Drive-In] announced its "indefinite hiatus," De Facto released [i][m=323642][/i] CD/12" single on [b][l=Grand Royal][/b] in the UK (co-released with [l=Source] in Europe) — the same label where ATDI's final and most acclaimed album, [i][m=45482][/i], came out the previous fall. Yet another "self-titled" record (a cryptic name read 'DEFACTO' by replacing each number with a corresponding letter in the English alphabet), it was meant as a leading single for De Facto's debut album. [l=Grand Royal Records], however, went bankrupt merely four months later, prompting the band to once again start searching for a label. They reached out to [b][l=Gold Standard Laboratories][/b], an ultra-niche imprint founded by [a=Sonny Kay] from Boulder, Colorado, who had just recently moved to California and settled in San Diego. Besides Kay's own projects, [a=Angel Hair] and [a=The VSS], the GSL roster featured a handful of cult underground acts, like [a=The Locust], [a=Bare Minimum], and [a=The Starlite Desperation], as well as [url=/artist/304902]Sunshine[/url] from Czech Republic, who shared the stage with [url=/artist/81742]ATDI[/url] on numerous occasions and even released a [url=/master/203009]12"/CD split[/url] back in April 2000. After repeatedly hopping from one struggling indie label to another, Omar "bought-in" his latest record deal, and became Sonny Kay's mutual partner in GSL.

In July 2001, De Facto finally released their first long-playing album, [i][url=/master/113794]¡Megaton Shotblast![/url][/i] CD/2×LP, on [url=/label/12131]GSL[/url]. Most of the material was recorded in 2000 by ATDI's former live sound engineer, [url=/artist/626622]Gabe Gonzalez[/url], at [l=Penny Lane Studios] back in El Paso, Texas. The album also included two live tracks from the European tour in March 2001, recorded in Slovenia and at [l=Waterfront, Rotterdam]. Among a few surprising guests were the original "pre-Owens" keyboardist, [url=/artist/591488]Jasso[/url], drummer [a=Eric Salas] on percussion, and Omar's father, [a=Angel Marcelo Rodriguez-Cheverez], on vocals. Just like the [i]Grand Royal[/i] single, the rear cover boasted a tagline, "[i]No samples used on this recording[/i]." Shortly after, De Facto quartet invited bassist [url=/artist/771839]Eva Gardner[/url] and drummer [a=Blake Fleming] to record a 2-track demo with producer [a=Alex Newport], for a new outfit that soon became known as "[b][i][a=The Mars Volta][/i][/b]." In October 2001, De Facto dropped the [i][url=/master/113796?year=2001]How Do You Dub? You Fight For Dub. You Plug Dub In[/url][/i] CD/LP on [a=Jim Ward]'s new label, [l=Restart Records] — a reissue of the band's long out-of-print [i]De Facto[/i] LP, with a different artwork and one new track recorded with Owens in December 2000 at [l=Anikulapo] studio in Long Beach. Merely three days after the release, on 19th October 2001, played their first live concert at [url=/label/777643]Chain Reaction[/url] in Anaheim, California, with [a=Jon Theodore] replacing Fleming on drums.

In November 2001, De Facto's second and final album, [i][m=113795][/i] CD/LP, came out on [l=Modern City Records] in France; the record featured live excerpts from the same Slovenian and Dutch shows, as well as new tracks and a few alternative versions. By December, the artists had finished recording [url=/artist/96218]TMV[/url]'s debut [i][m=9308][/i], produced by Newport and released on [url=/label/12131]GSL[/url] in April 2002. De Facto continued occasionally performing live, joined by [a=John Frusciante] as a surprise guest in August 2002 at the Lincoln Park open-air festival in Long Beach. They mostly played at local Californian venues, including [l=The Casbah] in San Diego in January 2003. The recording sessions for TMV's first album, however, yet again forced all four members to put De Facto on a "back burner." In late May 2003, merely weeks before [i][m=9154][/i] came out, 27-year-old Jeremy Ward died of a heroin overdose.

[b]Line-up[/b]
[url=/artist/274511]Omar Rodríguez-López[/url] — bass
[a=Cedric Bixler-Zavala] — drums, vocals
[url=/artist/591488]Ralph Jasso[/url] (1998–99), [url=/artist/210843]Isaiah "Ikey" Owens[/url] (2000–2003) — keyboards
[url=/artist/230711]Jeremy M. Ward[/url] — vocals, melodica, electronics, synths, sound loops/effects