Charles Anthony 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 themselve ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, who performed with the bands Crazy Town 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, ...

Biography

In 1999, Rust Epique joined Crazy Town, a

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

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 and V2 Benelux; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007, sold to PIAS in 2013 and partially acquired by Universal in 2022 (as part of larger PIAS 49% ...

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, ...

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

aortic rupture Aortic rupture is the breakage of all walls of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Aortic rupture is a rare, extremely dangerous condition that is considered a medical emergency. The most common cause is an abdominal aortic aneurysm that ...

at his home in Las Vegas in 2004.

References

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