Collaborative Album Between Mars Volta Guitarist And Late Sound Tech Gets Reissued

Unless you were a close friend of either The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez or Jeremy Michael Ward, the band's sound tech, it's unlikely you would have acquired a copy of their self-titled collaborative album when it was released in 2001. But you'll be able to buy Omar Rodriguez-Lopez And Jeremy Michael Ward when Infrasonic Sound Recording Co. reissues it on June 10.

The 10-track disc was produced by Rodriguez-Lopez. It was originally released between the 2001 break-up of his previous post-hardcore outfit, At The Drive-In, and the release of The Mars Volta's 2002 debut EP, Tremulant. Only 200 MiniDisc copies of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez And Jeremy Michael Ward were circulated amongst their friends. The album is said to be more closely aligned with the work of minimalist composer Steve Reich than The Mars Volta's proggy soundscapes.

Ward was also the founder of De Facto, the dub project that predated The Mars Volta and included Rodriguez-Lopez and The Mars Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and keyboardist Isaiah "Ikey" Owens. Ward was also the cousin of former At The Drive-In and current Sparta/Sleepercar vocalist/guitarist Jim Ward. He was found dead in his home of a heroin overdose in 2003, just weeks before the release of The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Comatorium debut album, on which he handled the sound manipulation. Ward's death prompted both Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala, who were heavy opiate users, to go straight.

The Mars Volta are on the road in support of this year's The Bedlam In Goliath LP. Here are their Canadian dates:

May 21 Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
May 22 Edmonton, AB @ Event Centre
May 24 Vancouver, BC @ Pacific National Exhibition

Here are the tracks on Omar Rodriguez-Lopez And Jeremy Michael Ward:

"Sounder Of Tame Swine"
"A Tightrope Supports Our Festering"
"Salvo"
"Impoverished Beliefs"
"Heathrow Waltz"
"Swill The Ranks"
"Gidi Prime"
"Swiss Armor Tank"
"Improvised Beliefs"
"Host To Fairweather Friends"