When you ask Brian Lopez what it's like to perform in Europe, he answers in excited run-on sentences that have the jazz rhythms of a Jack Kerouac road trip.
"There's a sense of respect for the music over there, a respect for the musicians as if they preserve the arts there still," he begins. "Whereas here, everything is commercial. It's all flash in the pan. You've gotta get your 15 minutes, and people have become so accustomed to that kind of culture that it makes it hard for anyone to sustain here."
The former frontman of the Tucson buzz band Mostly Bears got his first taste of touring Europe last year when he tagged along with Tucson musician Marianne Dissard. He hopes to return this summer for some festivals in addition to regional touring to promote his just-released solo debut "Ultra."
The 28-year-old Tucson native released the album on Tucson-based Funzalo Records. He plays a CD release party at Plush Friday.
We chatted with Lopez about the album and his solo career.
What's it been like going solo?
"I started doing solo gigs kind of on a whim. It was about three years ago, so it was still when Mostly Bears was going on. I did something where I just wanted to make some extra money so I wouldn't have to get a day job. So I took a gig at Hacienda del Sol and played a bunch of songs on piano and guitar, and that was very strange for me. Then I did the same thing over at (Club) Congress, and half the show got rained out, and that was pretty strange for me. But apparently a lot of people liked it. It wasn't until the next show where I put a little ensemble together, and it just turned out better. It was more acoustic, string instruments, real simple. Just utilizing a lot of my musician friends that I've made in Tucson over the past couple years."
You were on the road with Dissard in Europe for two months. What was that like?
"People were really, really digging what I was doing, and I was kind of able to, show by show, get better and better and kind of understand what it was like to be more of a solo performer instead of working with a group and trying to create something and having all the control to yourself. That was the weird thing, getting over that. 'I guess it's all up to me. I guess I have all the control.' That's kind of a weird thing to wrap your head around, and you have to adjust to that role."
Tucson musicians historically have been embraced in Europe.
"In Europe it's wild. You go there and especially if you've been touring the U.S. .... and sleeping in your van day in and day out because the venue is not going to pay for your hotel - to do that for years and years like I did and then go to Europe and all the shows have a hotel room, and all of a sudden you have a bus, and all of a sudden you're playing to crowds that are paying attention, sitting down listening with their hands on their laps and buying your albums afterward and asking you to sign them, not knowing who you were before you went in there, but all of a sudden they are super-interested and years later still emailing you, still commenting on your Facebook page. Yeah, I think there's definitely a difference in cultures from here and there."
Is Mostly Bears done?
"Yes, it's gone. ... I was kind of heartbroken when we split up. It just made me want to invest all of my time into my solo stuff and put more thought into it. I did this album. It's my first solo, don't-have-to-ask-anybody-else-about-their-opinion, don't-have-to-run-anything-by-anybody-before-I-record-it. It's just all stuff I want to do."
Who is Brian Lopez solo artist?
"I think I utilize a lot of the stuff I learned at music school at the UA. We have a lot of classical instrumentation. We have a cellist and a violinist. And I also got a lot of tutelage from Sergio Mendoza playing in his mambo orchestra for years. And then it's processed through my psychedelic rock 'n' roll head. A lot of people say it's desert-y, but I don't think that was a premeditated thing because they know I'm from Tucson. If it is desert-y, it's not the daytime desert. Maybe it's the nighttime, monsoon storm desert sound."
Some people are drawing comparisons between you and Tucson bands like Giant Sand and Calexico.
"I think it's just a Tucson thing. I don't think I sound anything like those two bands. I don't think anybody could really say if they listen to my album that there's any influence from them at all. I like Of Montreal. I like really different stuff. My influences are a little bit wackier."
When you're not on the road touring, what do you do in Tucson?
"I'm a substitute teacher for Vail and Sunnyside and some charter schools. It allows me to work when I need to."
If you go
• What: Brian Lopez CD release party.
• When: 11 p.m. Friday; What Laura Says plays an early show at 9:30 p.m.
• Where: Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.
• Tickets: $6 in advance, $8 at the door; www.plushtucson.com
