Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link.
Who? His full name is Mario Alberto Rodriguez Beltran, and he is 25 years of age. A proud Houstonian whose parents hail from Mexico City. Mario was blessed with one sister and three brothers. He credits his Mexican culture and family roots for giving him the backbone to pursue his passion for music and art for the past ten years.
His love, time and entire soul is solely directed to his growing family, his girlfriend Elizabeth, and his musical endeavors. Rodriguez is known for his roles in Tax the Wolf and Bang Bangz, but what many people may not know that he is also a producer and audio engineer. He plans to launch a new record label by the end of 2014 titled Wonky Power Records.
Home Base: "I currently practice at my home or my studio, which are both near downtown Houston" says Rodriguez. "I've performed at various venues around the city such as Warehouse Live, Fitzgerald's, Boondocks, Mangos, and Walters."
Why Do You Stay In Houston? "Houston is home to me and it always will be," he says. "All of my beautiful and horrible memories are here, and I'm sure that if I leave this place, the smell would be strange and they wouldn't have my mom's home cookin' or even Moontower Inn. I'd just rather stay here."
Music Scene Pet Peeve: "Our city needs to more support our music scene somehow," offers Rodriguez. "Maybe there could be a nice tax break for professional musicians or more city wide festivals that can include our music scene's efforts."
Story continues on the next page.