Zechs Marquise

Zechs Marquise is an American rock act from El Paso, Texas. They are generally considered a progressive rock band. It consists of Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Marcos Smith, and Matthew Wilkson. The band's name comes from the character Zechs Merquise of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.
Band Members
Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez - Bass
Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez - Drums
Marcos Smith - Guitar
Matthew Wilkson - Guitar
History
Zechs Marquise formed in El Paso, Texas during the spring of 2003 when brothers Marfred and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez came together with childhood friends Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith. The band devoted almost eight months toward writing and rehearsing before playing their first show under the name Monolith. The group changed their name to Zechs Marquise (after the popular Japanese anime Character) at the start of 2004 due to the crop of heavy metal bands taking up the moniker, "Monolith'. The band hit the studio to record their first album during the late summer months of 2004. Complications between the studio and the inhouse engineer forced the band to put the record on hold with only one of four tracks, 'Pattern,' being salvageable. During this time, the band played shows through out El Paso, quickly garnering a name for themselves among people of all ages and varying musical tastes due to their ever-evolving live performances which included improvised sets and tweaked versions of their songs. In spring of 2005, Zechs Marquise began touring New Mexico and Arizona once every month, slowly edging their way to California. Soon after the tours began, the members of Zechs Marquise came to the realization that, in order to remain in the minds and ears of fans, a recording was needed. In June of 2006 the band recorded '34:26,' a live improved set that showed the band's great range of talents and influences. The recording was extremely raw, but tee-shirts and stickers were not paying for enough gas to get from show to show so, one month later, '34:26' was released.By fall of 2006, Zechs was touring the west coast consistently, sharing the stage with such eclectic acts as: Daedelus, Busdriver, The Album Leaf, (DJ) Nobody, Daddy Kev, The Gaslamp Killer, and Totimoshi. After selling through all copies of '34:26, the band released a second pressing of the recording, this time including the song 'Pattern.' July 2007 saw the band return to the recording studio. Having learned from the difficulties of their first attempt, the band decided to keep all of the recording in house, purchasing a mixing board, microphones, and Pro Tools in order to track all of the recordings themselves. The original aim was for the band to continue touring and working their day jobs, while recording a few ambient tracks that would make up an EP. After a few days in their studios, dubbed Castle Greyskull and El Morro, the members realized they had enough material for a full length album. The record, 'Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare,' came to completion in February of 2008 and was released two months later on April 22nd. The album was distributed digitally through Alpha Pup Records while the band handled the release of the physical CD themselves. The band set out on the Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare Tour in June of 2008, starting in Texas and making their way across the Southeastern U.S., then working their way towards old haunts on the west coast. Upon return in September, the four-piece began tracking new material. 2008 ended with the band going on tour with Free Moral Agents & Blank Blue. 2009 started out nicely for Zechs as March would mark the bands first adventure overseas to Europe, they would be the openers for the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group. Willie Anderson Recordings released "Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare" in Europe on CD as well as the first pressing of the album on vinyl. After a successful European tour, the band returned home to continue tracking.[1] On May, 20th, Zechs Marquise announced on their myspace that they would be embarking on a tour supporting the RX Bandits, and Dredg in early July. "Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare" will see it's US and Canada release via Rodriguez Lopez Productions on August 25, 2009.
http://www.myspace.com/zechsmarquise