Free Moral Agents is a collective of musicians brought together by Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (keyboardist from The Mars Volta) as a means to expand the sounds of what started as a solo recording project. in the spring of 06' the band in its present and permanent line up started playing shows around long beach and Los Angeles. Upon the exit of spoken word artist J Mendee Ichikawa took control of the mic and a more electric noise based sound took over. The group is currently finishing its 2nd full length entitled "the honey in the carcass of the lion" for Gold Standard Laboratories.

Ikey Owens

Isaiah "Ikey" Owens is the keyboardist in The Mars Volta, and was a member of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's side project, DeFacto (band). He has also performed as a member of the Long Beach Dub Allstars. He has done session work with Shuggie Otis, The Aquabats, Blowfly, Barrington Levy, Waling Souls, Radioinactive, Heavens and poet/spoken word artist Saul Williams.

Since 2002, (on his own solo album) he's been writing and recording under the moniker Free Moral Agents, releasing a vinyl-only EP on Pete Records, as well as the recent GSL split 12” with Subtitle (rapper). They released their full-length "Everybody's Favorite Weapon" in 2004.

There was a time, before I put the record out, that I wasn’t playing in Mars Volta anymore, and I had just bought a bunch of recording instruments. I’d always wanted to record my own record but never did, so [Free Moral Agents] really started with just me. I knew J, who was actually my girlfriend at the time’s brother-in-law, who did poetry and sang and stuff, so I got together with him. This is before the vinyl. I was working at this record store and started talking to my friend Jeff Harris, who it turns out, was really good with ProTools, so I added him to the group. He’s really a producer and doesn’t really play with us live, but he’s very much responsible for the sound of the record. I knew Mendee [Ichikawa] for several years, and we had worked on and off, but I knew we needed a female element to the group, so that’s basically what Free Moral Agents is right there. As far as the music goes, it started as my project, but these people who I know I can trust, really bring it together.

Ikey has also joined up with 2Mex to form the Hip-Hop/Jazz duo the Look Daggers.

Ikey produced and mixed the first full length by Dusty Rhodes and the River Band entitled "First You Live".

He also played with the Ska/Jazz/Funk band Pocket Lent, and was a member of OC's Power Pop group Teen Heroes. He played organ on My Superhero's Cheesy Love Ska.

Ikey appeared on the latest album, Blood Mountain, of Atlanta metal-quartet, Mastodon.

Ikey also appeared on Bob Forrest's debut solo record, Modern Folk and Blues - Wednesday, released on September 19, 2006. Alongside him, Josh Klinghoffer, and Mars Volta guest members / Chili Peppers Flea (musician) and John Frusciante were featured on many of the tracks, half of which were cover songs, the other half being original Bob Forrest compositions.

He's currently with the Jehovah's Witnesses according to bandmate Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

While performing a show with The Mars Volta in October 2003 at The Quest Club in Minneapolis he was hit in the back of the head when the mic stand that Cedric was throwing around came apart.

Free Moral Agents' live show has included Dusty Rhodes and the River Band members Dustin Apodaca and Andrea Babinski.

J Mendee Ichikawa

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Everybody's Favorite Weapon First full length album.

1. Everybody's Favorite Weapon 2. Lay Down 3. Underwater Reverb 4. Omar On A Swing 5. What's Your Bloodgauge? 6. Gem From A Broken Rock 7. I Travel 8. Talk Show Host 9. Disjointed Lovesong 10. I Travel - (remix)

• Free Moral Agents Official Site
• Interview with Isaiah in Modern Fix