Hector is Puertorrican, born and raised on the island. He began playing bass around 1992, inspired by Metallica's Cliff Burton. Years later he discovered Jazz thanks to Jaco Pastorius, and then into pretty much everything except bubblegum pop, rap, and country. A couple of years ago Hector began writing songs for the first time, and he is still trying to form a band (as of January 2011).

Name: Hector Rodz
Age: 35
Years Involved in Music: 18
Favorite Genre's: Jazz, death metal, funk, latin

What instruments do you play?
Electric bass. I also play fretless acoustic bass guitar. Not an enitrely different instrument, but different enough, yes?

Are you self taught or did you study music privately, in an institution, or both?
Well, both, more or less. I have a degree in music from the University of Puerto Rico. It was focused on general music theory and history. I wasn't taught my instrument at all. I learned by working through bass method books, listening, and playing with other people. Good ol' trial and error.

How would you describe your music for the public audience if they have never heard or seen you before?
Yikes. The music I write is pretty odd. It's a mixture of death metal, funk, and latin, and who knows what else. The bass will be front and center in my band (there will be no guitar.) And there will be both growled vocals (done by yours truly), and clean female vocals. Imagine old Metallica, Theatre of Tragedy, Primus, Mr. Bungle, and Cachao put in a blender. That's the best way I can put it.

What can people expect to see at your live performance?
As of yet, I've only performed my own original music once. I've played live with death metal, jazz, and punk/hardcore bands in the past. As far as my current project, it's not completed yet. But, this might give you an idea:

If you had to describe your music what would you call it?
Eclectic Metal.

Give us some details about your group and solo project.
Like I said, my group is not completed yet. I envision a trio. Me on bass and gruff vocals, a female vocalist, and a drummer. Yes, just bass and drums. I use chords, both arpeggiated and strummed, tapping, and various effects courtesy of a multi-fx pedal. So, I cover a lot more ground than your average bass player. Why no guitar? To be honest, in every band I played, the guitarists were always TOO f-cking loud. And trying to get them to turn down a notch was impossible. Their guitar had to cover and drown everything. I'm sick of that, and I don't want to deal with that in my band. Secondly, I don't think I've heard a heavy metal-influenced band using just bass. There's Clatter (a bass/vocals, drums duo), and they're great, but their sound is alternative/indie/funk. But I haven't seen that concept utilized in a heavier context with fast double bass drumming and growled vocals. If you know someone who's done it, tell me!

How long have you been performing live? Tell us about the process.
I performed live for the first time in 1995 with a death metal band called Selfless. It was nerve-racking at first. But, after the intro, I convinced myself there was no reason to be that nervous, and I just got into it big time. The hardest part is getting to that point where you're relaxed yet alert, confident but not too cocky, and 100% percent focused on the music.

What do you feel distinguishes an artist from a musician?
Well, I have high musical standards. I don't think anyone that can barely get through a tune is a musician. But, an artist would be at a much higher level than just being a musician. When I think of musical artists, I think of innovative instrumentalists that also write/compose, and that sound like no one else: Tori Amos, John Coltrane, Paul Masvidal, Charles Mingus, Les Claypool, etc.

How much creative control do you have over your own music?
Utter and absolute control. Isn't that the point? It's sad when a record label gets a say in what goes in an album. I'm not dealing with any of that. I write freely, exploring whatever tickles my fancy. If no one likes it, so what? I don't care.
You've heard of the term starving artists before, how do you cope with major obstacles? I work a lame 40 hour a week job. Yep. Sad but true. So, I don't starve, but that also means that my musical pursuits could be seen more as a hobby. I just cringed.

Thinking back to the very beginning of your musical career, how do you feel about your performance today and is it much different for you now than when you first started performing?
It's basically the same. Hopefully I'm a bit wiser now, and obviously better as a musician. But, I still get butterflies in my stomach and such. I'm still working on that.

Your opinion of digital and social media and how it has impacted a positive change for musicians and performers.
Oh, boy. This is a touchy and potentially long one. I think it's both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, artists are no longer at the beck and call of the media. They can promote themselves. This benefits the fans, also. They're free to search the almost endless sea of music out there, with little to no interference. I do have a problem with illegal downloading. Even legal downloading seems to me to be a sub-par experience compared to owning the actual CD or LP. I'm a collector. But, I understand that most younger people have no interest in that. It's sad, but it's true.
So, overall, I think it's a positive development, but one that opens the door to some rather negative things, especially for the artists.

Are there any behind the scene secrets, tips, or additional information you would like to share with our viewers?
Just be prepared before going out to play. If you play an instrument, bring spares of pretty much anything you can. If anything can break, it will at some point. That's just basic advice, but maybe a brand new musician could benefit from it. I'd recommend taking an honest look at yourself, your weaknesses, your strengths. Determine whether you have something original to offer. You don't have to break new musical ground, or change the course of music history. But, if you sound enough like another artist, to the point where you could be easily confused with him/her, then you're better off giving it up. Harsh? Yes, but there are just so many derivative, borderline clones clogging the airwaves...it makes me sick.
If you're ok just doing covers on weekends, that's perfectly valid. Embrace that. If not, make sure you can offer something truly unique, otherwise, don't bother. We don't need any more clones. Oh, and 3 words: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Benefits of having your page in The Next Great Singer or The Next Great Musician vs. faceboook, myspace, or youtube.
That remains to be seen. I'm not a singer (I don't count death metal growls as singing, even though I love it), but I'm looking for one. So, that's why I joined TNGS. So far, I haven't found a singer, but that's hardly the site's fault, right? I'm looking forward to The Next Great Musician.

Without music, I would be probably dead.

Music is the wings to my soul, the air in my lungs. I couldn't live without music.

My music makes me feel exhilarated, and amazed that I can play it, as it's pretty complex. Ha, ha.

I write songs because I feel I have something different to offer. I make a good effort of combining my VERY eclectic influences into my writing. My songs tend to jump from one thing to the next in unpredictable patterns, making for a wild, unexpected ride. At least that's the way I see it.

Support music because without music the world would be unbearably dull.

Social media is important because it allows people to connect, no matter where they are in the world.