‘DANCING AFTER DARK’ – Former SBN reporter launches promising music career

Courtesy photos
Jacob Lopez of One-Car Suicide is seen (bottom) in an undated courtesy photo. OCS’ debut album, “Dancing After Dark,” was released on Tuesday, June 25. The cover art for the album is also shown (above).

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Jacob Lopez

One evening, after spending some time with a group of friends and facetiously contemplating life as a rock star, Jacob Lopez began humming a tune while driving home.

The 29-year-old aspiring musician didn’t know it then, but the melody would become one of 11 tracks on his debut album.

Adopting a sound that many have identified as post-industrial or some variation of EDM (electronic dance music), Lopez has created his very own Frankenstein composed of ethereal soundscapes that are dark in mood and edgy in tone.

He calls this One-Car Suicide.

“The name One-Car Suicide actually sounds a bit dark or depressing to some, but it’s based on something that happened to a good friend of mine,” said Lopez, a 2002 graduate of Port Isabel High School. “This person was stricken with a horrible depression after a breakup and kind of stopped caring about their direction in life. This person had a heavy night of drinking and crashed her car into a building. Luckily, that friend is alive, but not before going through a life-changing experience. They learned how easily it can all be taken away.”

Perhaps the same could be said for Lopez, at least in the sense that he wasn’t aware of how much music meant to him until rediscovering his passion for songwriting and composing. Consider further that such a statement comes after a revelation in his life: He can write and record from the comforts of his home and without the need of a studio.

“Aside from when I just messed around with guitars or keyboards as a kid and teenager, I started learning about electronic music production when I was about 17,” Lopez said of his beginnings. “I didn’t take it very seriously until August of 2011. I picked up some music software by Propellerhead called Reason. It was something I was already familiar with. A few months later, Reason wasn’t doing what I needed, so I picked up Logic Pro. That’s where 99 percent of my work is done, and I’ve been making music for people to listen to ever since.”

With song titles like, “Sex on the Dancefloor” and “I’ll Make You Beg,” OCS may not be for everyone, but Lopez would venture to say that it’s for most. Entitled “Dancing After Dark,” the OCS debut album has already enjoyed pre-orders and positive feedback from listeners, some of whom have likened Lopez’ style to that of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and Aesthetic Perfection.

“I’ve learned to just call it music,” Lopez said of his unique sound. “Regardless of what I do with it or how I try to make it sound, somebody is going to turn it into a sub-genre of a sub-genre. It’s at the point that I don’t even know what kind of music I made, because someone listening has to turn it into dark-industrial-electro-EBM-spooky-noise-with-a-touch-of-Depeche Mode. These days, I just make what feels right and let everyone else decide what to classify it as. That said, a lot of the goth and industrial fans tend to like OCS.”

Unlike Depeche Mode but much like NIN, OCS is a one-man show.

“I do it all,” Lopez said. “That means all the drum programming, bass programming, synth parts, guitar – whether it’s sampled or played live – and vocals. After that, it’s mixing. I handle that side, too. Once it goes into the mastering phase, where they press it to a CD for mass distribution, it’s out of my hands, but I still have say in how tracks are going to be arranged and how songs should segue and all that great stuff.”

It’s also interesting to note that Lopez wrote, recorded, edited and mastered his album all while supporting himself as a freelance journalist, a career that has also included stints as a Port Isabel-South Padre Press and San Benito News reporter as well as a guest columnist for the South Padre Parade, not to mention writing for Byte.com and VentureBeat.com.

Nowadays, Lopez finds himself interviewing Apple, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft officials by day and performing as One-Car Suicide by night. Lopez has even been invited to perform in Austin at an event called Industrial Fest.

And how exactly does one even begin to do all this?

“It usually starts with a simple 4/4 (time signature indicating four beats per measure) kick drum pattern to establish a beat and tempo,” Lopez said. “People tend to talk down on 4/4 because it’s basic, but it’s a pattern that the body naturally follows when dancing or tapping its foot. Keep in mind that this is stuff people are often dancing to. After that, I will add some snare drums and high-hats; then comes the bassline and additional synths.”

“Other times,” he added, “I may just use a 4/4 kick and play a lead synth over it, because my mind came up with something catchy. The next part is to get the tune in my head onto something that people can listen to. There is also a lot of sound design involved in that. You have to sculpt the synth into what you want it to sound like: ‘Do I want short, fast notes? Do I want something that buzzes?’ Stuff like that.”

“Dancing After Dark” was released Tuesday, June 25, by Engraved Ritual, a guerrilla record label partnership based in Denver, Colorado that, according to ER’s website, nurtures and promotes underground alternative music such as dark aggrotech, electronic and punk. The album can be purchased at the website, www.engravedritual-digital.com/album/dancing-after-dark.