Brian Lopez
Gig Seeker Pro

Brian Lopez

Tucson, Arizona, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE

Tucson, Arizona, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2014
Band Alternative Indie

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"BRIAN LOPEZ- TUCSON, AZ"

As the abundant playlists of summer jams veer to an end, ‘Static Noise’ finds a place to swim through everyone’s veins. - Fresh Independence


"Static Noise"

What I find compelling about [Mercury in Retrograde] is that it manages to be a well-written, carefully crafted rock song with a pop sensibility — and it does so in a very smart, deliberate fashion. - The Joy of Violent Movement


"Song of the Day: 'Mercury in Retrograde' by Brian Lopez"

"A heavy, trippy blast of rock past, present and future, "Mercury in Retrograde" builds on the promise of Brian Lopez's budding career, surging through noisy aggression before dissolving into an elegiac, piano-based melody." - KDHX


"Brian Lopez puts it all together on sophomore album ‘Static Noise’"

"Arizona native Brian Lopez made a nice splash with his Ultra debut a few years ago and builds on the promise of that platter with terrific sophomore slab Static Noise." - Pittsburgh In Tune


"Reversed, Retraced, Realized"

Brian Lopez is an artist continuing to evolve, as heard on his new album "Static Noise" - Tucson Weekly


"An Evening With KT Tunstall"

About two and a half songs in my brain has provided a physical setting for the music I hear (and not a surprise as he hails from Tuscon, Arizona), this is what a night in the desert must sound like with a billion stars blazing above you, stark and beautiful. It’s a wonderful performance. - THE MIND REELS


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Bio

Brian Lopez returns from his eclectic debut record Ultra with a more focused sense of songwriting and a direct, potent rock 'n' roll sound.

Lopez wrote Static Noise over more than two years, producing dozens of songs before choosing the best compositions, narrowing the album's focus and capitalizing on his guitar and vocal talents.

"Listening to the last record and seeing how eclectic it was, I was trying to hone in on tighter arrangements and tighter songwriting and taking my time to make sure each song was like a fine cut gem. I feel like they're potent," Lopez says. "I knew it was going to be heavier, more electric guitars and louder drums. I wanted it to go in more of a rock 'n' roll direction, to walk that line a bit more."

Lopez, whose voice recalls the atmospheric heights of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead's Thom Yorke, brings his entire past to bear on Static Noise. The classical guitar training, the psychedelic indie rock, the mambo and cumbia, they all come together in a uniquely compelling mix. Since Ultra, Lopez has added even more depth to his playing, collaborating with both Howe Gelb in Giant Giant Sand and KT Tunstall, skillfully navigating the disparate styles.

"It's been a pretty crazy couple of years as far as being out on the road and collaborating with a lot of artists and kind of living in different worlds as far as the Howe Gelb circus versus the KT Tunstall pop world. They're completely different and I think it's telling how I can somehow disguise myself into each world and be accepted," he says.

All those tours – the performances, the long hours traveling, the series of hotels and foreign lands – helped to shape the songs on Static Noise.

"Over the past couple years my life has been so much in the air, with traveling and different projects and just getting thrown back and forth and relationships can be in and out," Lopez says. "It gets to be a lonely world in a sense. It's very exciting, but also overwhelmingly lonely at times. Lyrically, it's painfully obvious that I was maybe struggling more than I let on. The songs are my form of therapy in a way."

The songs share a quality of solitude, of focusing inward even as the hectic world spins around you.

"That's why I called it Static Noise, it's like being in a room alone, but you're not quite alone because that broken television is in there making that noise and keeping the room occupied with you. But at the same time there's no depth to that," Lopez says.

Lopez took his time on songwriting and arrangements, working on songs in small batches and only hitting the studio once everything was in place.

"I went into the studio cutting just three songs at a time and worked a lot in pre-production, making sure I got the arrangements just right, making sure I had the band I wanted together for each song. I looked at everything through a microscope this time around. I really focused on each song, making sure they were as tight or as loose as I wanted them to be," he says.

Lopez and his hand-picked musicians recorded live to tape, eschewing technology wherever possible in favor of the sort of honest, organic sound that best showcases his songs.

Lopez recorded Static Noise at Waterworks Recording Studio in Tucson, co-producing with Jim Waters (Sonic Youth, The John Spencer Blues Explosion). Stuart Sikes (The White Stripes, Cat Power, Modest Mouse, Loretta Lynn, The Walkmen, Phosphorescent) mixed the record. Sean Slade (Radiohead, Pixies, Hole, Ben Folds, Morphine) provided arrangements throughout the album.

Band Members