Rene Lopez

Rene Lopez II was born August 6, 1969, the son of an Italian mother and Puerto Rican salsa musician, Rene Lopez, Sr., who played trumpet with the Ray Barretto Orchestra and Tipica '73, bands beloved by New York's Latin community. The younger Lopez was playing drums before he could read, turning first to rock & roll and eventually to soul, R&B, and funk. He stepped out from behind the drum kit to become lead singer of the Authority in the late '80s. The group privately released two CDs before breaking up in 1995. Lopez was also a member of jam band Wasabi during this period, and in 1997 he began working with ex-Blind Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens, writing songs with Stevens for a band that became Extra Virgin. With Pat Sansone on bass and keyboards, Extra Virgin recorded an album, Twelve Stories High, at Daniel Lanois' Kingsway Studio in New Orleans. Produced by Mike Napolitano, Twelve Stories High was released in 1999. Lopez began to focus on a solo career, releasing an EP, I Know What I See, in 2003, followed by his full-length debut, One Man's Year (which featured Lopez on drums, vocals, Clavinet, keyboards, and acoustic, electric, baritone, and National Steel guitars), released on Liberation Records in 2005. Always in demand as a drummer, Lopez continued to play with several New York-based trios, including Holding the Void, the Tender Trio, and Belle Starr.