Charles Lopez (February 29, 1968 – March 9, 2004), better known by his stage name Rust Epique, was an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, who performed with the bands

Crazy Town Crazy Town (sometimes abbreviated as CXT) is an American rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. Crazy Town is best known for their 2000 hit single "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US ''Billboard ...

and

pre)Thing pre)Thing was an American rock band, fronted by former Crazy Town member Rust Epique. Signed to V2 Records, the group released one demo and one major-label record, which came out after the lead singer's death in 2004. History Rust Epique, former ...

Biography

In 1999, Rust Epique joined

, a

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and early ...

band from Los Angeles. Despite his success with Crazy Town, Epique quit the band as a result of various disagreements with his bandmates.Rolling Stone
Ex-Crazy Town Guitarist Dead
Retrieved on April 25, 2007 In 2003,

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

signed Epique to work with a band called

Pre)Thing pre)Thing was an American rock band, fronted by former Crazy Town member Rust Epique. Signed to V2 Records, the group released one demo and one major-label record, which came out after the lead singer's death in 2004. History Rust Epique, former ...

. They released their debut album, '' 22nd Century Lifestyle'', in 2004. Rust Epique died of an

aortic rupture Aortic rupture is the rupture or breakage of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Aortic rupture is a rare, extremely dangerous condition. The most common cause is an abdominal aortic aneurysm that has ruptured spontaneously. Aortic rupture ...

at his home in Las Vegas in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epique, Rust 1968 births 2004 deaths Rap rock musicians Nu metal singers Musicians from Stockton, California 20th-century American musicians