Zechs Marquise

Zechs Marquise was an American instrumental psychedelic/fusion prog-rock band active between 2003 and 2013 in El Paso, Texas. Originally formed as "Monolith," the group featured Marcel and Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez, younger brothers of renowned musician Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, joined by Marcos Smith and Matthew Wilkson on guitars and Michael Farraro on drums. Within the first year, they adopted a new name, "Zechs Marquise," after the leading character from the 1995 Japanese mecha anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (新機動戦記ガンダムW), directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa. The band toured across the West Coast extensively for the first three years, sharing the stage with prolific electronic, hip-hop, and experimental artists, such as Daedelus, Busdriver, The Album Leaf, DJ Nobody, Daddy Kev, The Gaslamp Killer, and Totimoshi. In June 2006, Zechs Marquise self-released their live demo 34:26 EP. In March 2009, Zechs Marquise traveled overseas, opening on the Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group's European tour. The original drummer, Michael Farraro, left in early 2008, soon after completing the band's studio sessions for the debut album, causing Marcel to switch to drums; his youngest brother, Rikardo Rodriguez Lopez, joined the group on keyboards. Zechs Marquise signed with Sargent House artist management agency, which also co-managed Omar's private imprint Rodriguez Lopez Productions, the following month. In August 2009, their debut album, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare CD/2×LP, came out on RLP, distributed in Europe by Willie Anderson Recordings. The band continued extensively touring the United States, solo and opening for Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group and RX Bandits. Their sophomore album, Getting Paid, was released in September 2011. Zechs Marquise has been on a lengthy hiatus since 2013. Zechs Marquise final line-up Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez — drums, keyboards, synths Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez — bass Marcos Smith, Matthew Wilkson — guitars Rikardo Rodriguez Lopez — keyboards