El Paso’s Mars Volta breaks up; Omar Rodriguez-Lopez talks about new band, At the Drive-In possibilities

Singer Cedric Bixler Zavala announced on Wednesday he is no longer a member of The Mars Volta, seemingly putting an end to the band he and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez started in 2001 after the break up of At the Drive-In.

“Thank u 2 all VOLTA fans u deserved more especially after the way u rooted for us on this album. I tried my hardest to keep it going But Bosnian Rainbows was what we all got instead. I can’t sit here and pretend any more. I no longer am a member of Mars Volta,” Bixler tweeted Wednesday night. “I honestly thank all of you for buying our records and coming to our shows. You guys were a blast to play in front of.”

Rodriguez-Lopez, who moved back to El Paso last year, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

The Mars Volta released their last album, “Noctourniquet,” in March 2012.

“For the record I tried my hardest to get a full scale North American tour going for Noctourniquet but Omar did not want to,” Bixler tweeted Wednesday. “I guess a break from mars volta means starting another band and ignoring all the support the fans gave us. I tried my hardest guys. All I can do is move forward with my music and just be happy that mars volta ever happened at all. God Damn we had a blast. Thank u again. I just feel really guilty for not even really saying the truth because a hiatus is just an insult to the fans. My record will see the light of day soon and I’m excited because it sounds nothing like my previous endeavors.”

Bixler added that he wasn’t cool with Rodriguez-Lopez’s new musical endeavor, Bosnian Rainbows.

“What am I suppose to do be some progressive house wife that’s cool with watching their partner go (screw) other bands? We owe it 2 fans to tour,” Bixler tweeted.

In an interview with ABC-7 last week, Rodriguez-Lopez talked about the movie he’s filming in El Paso, as well as other musical projects.

“Bosnian Rainbows is going to be on tour in the second part of February,” Rodriguez-Lopez said. “(The full length) record comes out in May, I think it is. So there’s all sorts of exciting stuff happening. Sparta’s making a record right now, Cedric has made an incredible solo record which he’ll be touring (behind) that people will be very excited about. For all of us who’ve known each other and been through arguments – superficial arguments – it’s really an exciting time. We get to do these different projects and help each other out. Jim (Ward) just had a crisis with the Pro Tools rig they were recording on and I was able to lend him my studio and he lent me his space (Tricky Falls to shoot my film).”

Listen to the first track of Bosnian Rainbows’ first album here.

Rodriguez-Lopez said ATDI members are now all open to something happening with that band beyond last year’s reunion tour of festivals and a smattering of club gigs.

“I think now we got past the stage of the whole reunion thing and playing old songs,” Rodriguez-Lopez said before alluding to his subdued demeanor during the tour. “And I was going through some very difficult things in my personal life with my family at the time and other people were going through other things. So now we’ve come out of that and we’re able to see it in hindsight and so that’s always a good thing. So now we’re open to all sorts of possibilities.”

“But right now everybody’s really excited about their current thing,” Rodriguez-Lopez said. “Cedric’s really excited about his project and he’s going to tour all over the world for it. It’s exciting not only to him but it should be exciting to the people who are going to see him, to see him in a different context and see how versatile of an artist he is. Same thing for Sparta. Sparta has now regrouped and are doing things. Life gives you perspective. When you’re creating music and you’re playing, it’s like that’s what you’re expressing. You’re expressing everything that’s happening in your life. The gears have been turning and now something new is coming out. And as that changes and grows then we all come back together with all that information, all that data and we’re able to make At the Drive-In something even bigger for us. Not in terms of success, exterior success but something emotionally for us, than it ever was at any point in our youth. So that’s something that has us all really excited.”

A Bixler tweet that seemed to address Rodriguez-Lopez’s ATDI reunion performances could put a halt to any ATDI future.

“And for the record I’m still in love with ATDI. Proof was in MY performance. I would never get on stage if my heart was else where,” Bixler tweeted Wednesday night. “I have cancelled shows before for knowing full well that my heart was not in it at that moment. Why? Because its an insult to the audience.”

Rodriguez-Lopez’s mother had died just before the start of the reunion tour. Bixler previously defended Rodriguez-Lopez’s performance in tweets during the reunion.