Opposite Alpha

Cristian Lopez began his musical journey at the tender age of 10. He began learning to play brass instruments such as the trumpet and saxophone. However, it wasn’t until he reached the age of 12 that he discovered his true love for music – learning to play the drums. Cristian, upon discovering the drums, taught himself to play. By his second year of ever picking up a pair of drum sticks, he found himself advancing to “first chair” in Sequoia Middle School (which is considered the most advance school for music and also resides in the largest county in the US) band performing with other students which were two years his senior. At Sequoia Middle School, Cristian performed in their jazz band as the lead drummer and first chair in the marching band. Cristian’s influences started being apparent. Listening to Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins) really made him long to play like the greats and motivated the young drummer to practice hours a day. His hands were as rough as tree bark, a side effect of long hours of practice and dedication. Cristian simply loved to perform. After playing the drums for only three months, Cristian decided to try out for the regional honor band. The band toured around Catalina Island and the San Bernardino mountains. Amazingly, he made it in his first audition. At the same time, Cristian began playing with brother, Gil, who was four years his senior. Gil played lead guitar. Cristian played drums. Together they formed a band – Peach Fuzz. The band was appropriately named after the 12 year old, attention getting, pre puberty drummer. That same year, the band already begun performing in local bars where Cristian’s young age and talent captivated audiences in local Southern California bars. A local radio station, X103.9, spotted Peach Fuzz playing at San Bernardino’s “Club Silk” and raved about the young drummer. That performance earned praise not only for the radio station but from the local paper. At the age of 14, Cristian went on to join a band called xSpace. They performed at world famous clubs in Hollywood such as the Whiskey A Go Go and the Roxy Theatre. Transpiration problems left Cristian with the tough decision to leave the band since he lived in Fontana, California, and the rest of the band members lived in Laguna Nigel or Long Beach, California, which were at least an hour from Cristian. Not able to find another band in his area, Cristian decided to learn the guitar and he took up singing. This led him to write his own music. Cristian was becoming known for a smooth, powerful voice which was blossoming each day. It became apparent his song writing skills were developing — friends learned the lyrics to his songs and sung the lyrics at each performance. At the age of 18, Cristian moved to Las Vegas. He then auditioned for a performing arts magnet school in downtown Las Vegas. He was told it was impossible to join the school in the middle of the year & without having been to a magnet school in the previous three years of high school. Cristian showed up anyway, performed his original and requested music for the directors of the school and was accepted into the school the following day. By the age of 23, Cristain had performed with dozens of musicians in Southern Nevada. He formed the bands Laced, Feory, The Last and finally Scotty’s on Fire. Laced had a webpage on the popularly known site, Myspace.com. They had two thousands fans in their “friend” database which generated lots of buzz on the internet and created successful shows in a local bar and festival. Cristian, as a solo artist, has been performing at many festivals and local bars showcasing his new material in venues such as the Whiskey Sky Bar inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Casino in Henderson, Nevada. He recruited drummer and friend to play along in the band. They’re currently recording more music where they plan to have an album out by summer 2006. A regional touring schedule in support of “Artificial Season” will follow.