Zack Lopez is a Sacramento-native guitarist, vocalist, and producer best known as one half of the hard-rock duo Middle Class Rut (often abbreviated "MC Rut"), alongside drummer/vocalist Sean Stockham.[1][2] He is repeatedly identified in coverage as a Sacramento local and "native," making the band a hometown act despite its national reach.[1][2][3]
At a glance
- Guitarist and vocalist of Middle Class Rut, paired with drummer Sean Stockham.[1]
- From Sacramento; he and Stockham are described as "Sacramento natives" and the band as a "native Sacramento band."[1][2]
- Played music with Stockham since age 12 or 13, including the earlier band Leisure.[1]
- MC Rut's first official show was at Capitol Garage in December 2006.[1]
- Co-wrote the rock-radio single "New Low" and the albums No Name No Color (2010) and Pick Up Your Head (2013).[2][3]
- Later built a recording studio in Sacramento and works as a contractor there.[3]
Origins and local status
Lopez and Sean Stockham began playing music together as kids, around age 12 or 13, treating it as something they did for fun rather than a business.[1] They have a documented playing history stretching back at least to a rehearsal tape dated 1996.[2] Around 2000, while still teenagers, the two were in a band called Leisure, which secured a record deal straight out of high school and relocated to Los Angeles; neither identified strongly with the project, describing it as "an outlet to play shows with and be part of the scene."[1] Leisure was signed to DreamWorks Records and disbanded in 2003 after a revolving door of band members and creative differences with their label resulted in two albums recorded and two albums shelved.[4] Lopez later framed the experience as building a "failed dream" in L.A.[1][5]
Lopez's Sacramento origin is stated explicitly and repeatedly across the corpus: MC Rut is called "the native Sacramento band,"[1] Lopez and Stockham are "Sacramento natives,"[2] and Lopez is described as a "Sacramento local."[3] This places him firmly as local by origin, not merely as a band that played the region. (Confidence: high.)
Middle Class Rut
Forming Middle Class Rut was, in Lopez's framing, a return to their roots after the Leisure detour.[1] After Leisure dissolved, Lopez and Stockham briefly operated under the name Strangler before renaming the project Middle Class Rut.[6] The duo played their first official show as MC Rut at the Capitol Garage in December 2006.[1] By 2008 they had released two EPs they nicknamed "The Blue One" and "The Red One," the second issued in May 2008.[1] Early tracks included "New Low," "Busy Bein' Born," and "I Don't Really Know"; "Busy Bein' Born" found traction in the UK while "New Low" served as the more straightforward U.S. single.[1] The band's name reflects a recurring theme in Lopez's lyrics: anxiety about the monotony of middle-class, 9-to-5 working life.[1][5]
The "New Low" break and KWOD
In late 2007, Lopez mailed a three-song demo — including "New Low" — to KWOD 106.5's Andy Hawk, who added it to the station's rotation of local bands; it became one of the station's most-requested songs by year's end.[3] At the time the song broke, MC Rut had just been dropped by major label Island Def Jam, which had been sitting on that recording.[3] Lopez has credited Hawk's commitment to giving local bands airtime as the catalyst.[3] The band got radio play on KWOD 106.5 before the station changed formats.[5]
In October 2008, according to Wikipedia, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe named "Busy Bein' Born" his Single of the Week; the band recorded a BBC One live session at Maida Vale Studios in November 2008, and NME profiled them in its Radar section the same month, describing the duo as "epic noise alchemists."[7]
Albums and lineup expansion
MC Rut signed with Bright Antenna, an Oakland label for which they were the first signed band, describing the relationship as more "family" than prior major-label deals.[5][3] Their debut full-length, No Name No Color, was self-recorded and self-produced and released in 2010, anchored by "New Low"; the CD release show was held at the Boardwalk on October 8, 2010 and was promoted as one of Radio 94.7's "$9.47 shows."[5][2] The sophomore album Pick Up Your Head followed, released by Bright Antenna on June 25, 2013.[2] For Pick Up Your Head, the band — long known as a two-piece — expanded its live roster, adding a bass player, second guitarist, and percussionist to tour as a five-piece, debuting that lineup in Austin, Texas.[2] As early as 2012, MC Rut had already brought Sacramento musicians Eddie Underwood and Bob Lander of the band Lite Brite into their live setup.[8]
According to Wikipedia, the band appeared on the 2011 Vans Warped Tour and, starting in February 2012, co-headlined a US tour with Chevelle and Janus.[9]
Lopez and Stockham described two distinct sides of their songwriting: a guitar-and-drums rock approach built by jamming in a room, and a beat-driven, hip-hop-influenced production approach where songs are assembled around percussion (as with "New Low," built up on a toolbox over a day).[2] Pick Up Your Head leaned heavily into the beat-based side.[2]
Hiatus and return
The band toured heavily through the No Name No Color and Pick Up Your Head cycles. On September 18, 2015, Lopez announced via the band's Facebook account that Middle Class Rut was on an indefinite hiatus;[10] just before a final hometown show, their gear had been stolen from their trailer, and already burnt out and reluctant to commit to another album cycle and contract renegotiation, they took it as a sign to step back.[3] Lopez returned to work as a contractor in Sacramento, while Stockham did carpentry work in Boise, Idaho (where Stockham had moved before the second record).[3] During the hiatus Lopez built a recording studio in Sacramento and put out two records on his own.[3] In early 2018 MC Rut released a collection of old demos titled Strangler Days, and recorded a new album, Gutters, funded entirely by a Kickstarter campaign successfully completed on September 9, 2017 (Stockham's idea), recording instruments live in one room while Lopez tracked vocals at his home studio.[3][10] Gutters was released on August 3, 2018, on independent label Geldof Records.[11]
Sacramento scene presence
MC Rut became "a Sacramento staple," headlining sold-out hometown shows and opening for touring acts passing through Northern California, including Social Distortion, Alice in Chains, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Them Crooked Vultures, and The Bronx.[5][3] Lopez referenced the local scene directly, lamenting that there was "no central place" downtown compared to "the old Sacramento scene," and recalled hanging out at the Flame Club.[5][8] Stockham recalled the band's early days playing the Boardwalk as a poorly treated opening act before later headlining there.[1]
The band has a recurring relationship with Sacramento's Concerts in the Park series at Cesar Chavez Park/Plaza, run by Play Big Sacramento's Andy Hawk. They performed at the 2012 series opening on May 11, 2012 (alongside Lite Brite, Horseneck, and DJ Whores),[8] played the series again on May 10, 2013 (with Jonny Craig and others),[2] and headlined for the third time on July 20, 2018 (with Black Map, Dark Signal, and Blackheart).[3]