Rene Lopez – biography

“I got in to Prince at thirteen years old. That changed everything,” says musician Rene Lopez about his musical path. “Once I got into Prince, that opened the door to Michael Jackson and a lot of soul music and funk music for me. I started checking out Prince’s history, the music he listened to, which was Sly, Funkadelic, and even Joni Mitchell. I practiced drums to Prince songs, practiced to Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall, all those songs.”

On September 8, 2009, Rene Lopez will unveil to the world People Are Just People, a collection of thirteen tracks that nods its head to the soul and funk music Prince opened Rene’s eyes to. This album is a tribute to Rene’s musical roots. It took him years to come full circle and his journey was long.

Born in August 6, 1969 in the Bronx, Rene Lopez was born a week and a half before Woodstock. He grew up with an Italian mother and a Puerto Rican salsa musician father. His parents brought him to shows at the Corso Lounge, the Cheetah and Barney Googles. When he was a little boy, he watched his father play all over big venues in New York City: Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, even Madison SquareGarden.

“As nurturing as it was,” says Rene, “you gotta realize that every kid rebels against what his parents are listening to.” Up in his room and out on the street, “it was all rock and roll – Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Queen, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, the Who, that’s what we listened to. When I was playing drums, that’s what I would play. And any of the guys in my neighbor-hood come into my room and play, and those are the songs we would try to play.” No matter what, Rene’s parents were 100% supportive of his music.

Into high school, Rene’s drumming ability excelled, taking him to the school band and eventually to the All-County Jazz Band. During a competition in senior year, Arnie Lawrence (also a Rockland County resident then) showed up as guest conductor. Impressed by Rene’s playing, he encouraged him to audition for the New School program. He found himself in the first wave of students circa 1987 – Popper, Schenkman and the Spin Doctors, Brad Mehldau, Jesse Davis, Chris Carter, and many others.

The rest is history. Rene left school to start the group The Authority, where he was the lead vocalist for seven years. In 1998, Rene and Roger Stevens (of Blind Melon) began to write songs together for the band that became Extra Virgin (including Pat Sansone on bass and keyboards). Extra Virgin lasted about two years before Rene and Rogers moved on, though they have stayed close friends as well as workmates in The Tender Trio.

Finally, Rene focused on his solo career. I Know What I See, his debut EP released in 2003 and produced by bassist Pat Sansone, was a stripped-down acoustic-based collection of four songs that found a following in the triple-A Americana format. In 2005, Rene released One Man’s Year, a dark culmination of more than a dozen years of shedding in his own bands and others, and numerous studio assignments.

Rene was finished with music. He went on to pursue an acting career until last year when a dear friend introduced Rene to The Document Room Recording Studios in Malibu, California. He was told he would have a week to himself with the legendary studio tucked away in the hills by the Pacific Ocean. For kicks, he set on to write and record one song per day. In the middle of his genius, he realized he still had writing in him.

With his musical confidence soaring, Rene brought the songs with him to his studio in Williamsburg. People are Just People was finished in two months. The result is a true funk and soul record, completely pure that sonically captures everything he cherished as a teenager.