Jeremy Michael Ward (May 5, 1976 – May 25, 2003) was an American musician, best known as the sound technician and vocal operator for The Mars Volta and De Facto.
Jeremy Ward | |
|---|---|
 Ward with De Facto | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jeremy Michael Ward |
| Born | May 5, 1976 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | May 25, 2003 (aged 27) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Experimental music, dub, noise, reggae, salsa, ambient |
| Occupation(s) | Sound technician, vocal operator, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, effects |
| Years active | 1994–2003 |
Biography edit
Jeremy Ward was born in Fort Worth, Texas and later moved to El Paso.[1] He was a cousin of Jim Ward and was loosely associated with Jim's band At the Drive-In since its formation in 1994.[2] After that band split for the first time in 2001, members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López invited Ward to contribute vocals and electronic effects to their interim project De Facto, and then their more permanent band The Mars Volta.[3] He contributed to that group's debut album De-Loused in the Comatorium,[4] and his experimental sound manipulations have been cited as integral to that album's sound.[3]
Less than a month before the album was released, Ward was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose on May 25, 2003.[3] Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López have stated that Ward's death inspired them to kick their own addictions.[5] Ward had also worked as a repo man, and an anonymous diary that he had found while repossessing a car became the basis for the lyrics in the next Mars Volta album, Frances the Mute.[6] Some of Ward's experimental recordings were used posthumously on later albums by The Mars Volta and Omar Rodríguez-López, and Lopez created the full-length album Omar Rodriguez Lopez & Jeremy Michael Ward from such compositions in 2008.[7]
Discography edit
With At the Drive-In edit
- In/Casino/Out (1998)
With De Facto edit
- How Do You Dub? You Fight for Dub, You Plug Dub In (1999/2001)
- 456132015 (2001)
- Megaton Shotblast (2001)
- Légende du Scorpion à Quatre Queues (2001)
With The Mars Volta edit
- Tremulant (2002)
- De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
- Octahedron (2009)
With Omar Rodríguez-López edit
Equipment edit
With De Facto edit
- Yamaha QY100
- Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer
- Digitech Multi chorus
- Guyatone MD-3 Digital delay
- Ibanez DE-7 delay/Echo
- Boss DD-6 delay
- Boss HR-2 Harmonist
- Maxon Rotary phaser
- Korg KP2 Kaoss pad
- Voodoo Lab Pedal Power
References edit
- ^ "THE MARS VOLTA PAY TRIBUTE TO DEAD FRIEND". NME. June 25, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Dansby, Andrew (May 28, 2003). "Mars Volta's Ward Dies". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Mars Volta Keyboardist Found Dead". Billboard. May 28, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "The Mars Volta: De-Loused in the Comatorium". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "The Mars Volta: Spaced Out". Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
- ^ "DecompositionMagazine.com". decompmagazine.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Jeremy Michael Ward – Omar Rodríguez-López, Jeremy Michael Ward | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved November 24, 2021