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The Mars Volta Calls It Quits
Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala says The Mars Volta has split up. He posted over a dozen tweets on the topic yesterday, seemingly blaming guitarist/producer Omar Rodríguez-López and his new group Bosnian Rainbows for the breakup.
Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala formed The Mars Volta in 2001 after their previous band At The Drive-In broke up. The Mars Volta put out six full-length studio albums, concluding with 2012’s Noctourniquet on Warner Bros.
“Thank u 2 all VOLTA fans u deserved more especially after the way u rooted for us on this album,” Bixler-Zavala tweeted Jan. 23. “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. 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.”
Photo: Rod Tanaka / TanakaPhoto.net
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo.
The vocalist’s big announcement came the same day Bosnian Rainbows debuted the first song, “Torn Maps,” from its upcoming LP via a post on NME.com. Earlier this month Rodríguez-López’s new band announced dates for a North American February tour.
The Mars Volta last took the stage in summer 2012 for a series of European festival appearances and a few headline dates. Bixler-Zavala says fans shouldn’t blame him that Mars Volta didn’t come to the states last year.
“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-Zavala tweeted. He later added, “What am I suppose to do be some progressive house wife that’s cool with watching their partner go f**k other bands? We owe it 2 fans to tour.”
And while that doesn’t sound like everything was peachy between the bandmates, the vocalist said “2 be clear I’m not angry I just wanted to be honest with the people who have allowed me to make a living playing music.”
Bixler-Zavala says he’s working on a solo record that “sounds nothing like” his previous projects.