About Me
Radio of Fear
Add to My Profile | More VideosFrontman Billy Hector has twice received the Best Guitarist Award from music critic Bob Makin of the East Coast Rocker who states, "Billy plays with guts and displays some of the best chops you'll see anywhere."Billy and his band shared billing with Bonnie Raitt at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Tribute to Muddy Waters". Raitt afterwards said the beauty of Hector's sound brought tears to her eyes.Billy recently took home 3 Asbury Park Music Awards for "Best Guitarist", "Best Blues Band" and the "Living Legend Award".Early on in his career, Hector identified himself as a versatile player with a smooth and a dynamic style all his own. He began playing in The Shots, The Stone Pony's R& B houseband. Hector then went on to form Hot Romance, a band whose original songs received airplay on New York radio station WNEW-FM. As lead guitarist for The Fairlanes, a 5 piece blues rock band, Hector co-wrote and released 3 independant recordings on the Blue Jersey label which received both a healthy amount of airplay and critical acclaim. Regrouping as a power trio for the past six years, the BILLY HECTOR band includes drummer Rich Monica, and bass player Winston Roye. With twenty-five years of performing under his belt, Billy Hector is recognized as one of the hottest guitarists and songwriters playing the original circuit and serves up what more than one reviewer has called "one of the best shows you'll ever see".Last February 25th, The New York Times caught up to Hector's act in a feature article that captured Hector's fame-resistant, artistically pure approach to music with the headline: "It's a Living;Working 250 Nights a Year, Winning Fans One by One". In the story, Hector describes leaning toward blues when he realized as a youngster that The Rolling Stones, one of his favorite bands, sounded like Muddy Waters. Before long he developed a unique sound that led some less innovative minds to question how to classify his music. They figures he was too much blues for rock 'n' roll and too much rock 'n' roll for blues. With the release of his eight self-produced CD on the Ghetto Surf Music label, Hector makes no apologies for not imitating the rest of the pack.Billy Hector began playing guitar over 30 years ago at the age of nine. His influences include Freddie King, T-Bone Walker, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. A 1974 Stratocaster is this fret-master's main guitar powered by an "an old Bassman". For slide work he uses a Telecaster and a Gibson Firebird.Mr. Hector has shared the bill with B.B. King, Billy Preston, Bo Diddley, Coco Taylor, Johnny Winter, Ronnie Earl, Johnny Copeland, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds to name a few.As co-author of the band's original material, Billy released two live CDs on the Ghetto Surf label in 1994. Ghetto Surf proudly announces the release of his latest CD entitled, Undertow. The new recording features fourteen original tracks, six of which are recorded live with the Acoustic Armada and eight studio recorded.Two songs from Hard To Please are featured in the soundtrack of the movie One Way Out, now available on home video.On March 13, 1999 the movie Hellhounds On My Trail featuring Billy Hector and Sonny Landreth will be premiered at the Alamo Draft House And Cinema for the South By SouthWest Festival. This was filmed during a Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Tribute to Robert Johnson.Other reviews of Billy Hector Band:
Pat Fallon, a writer for MusicHead, A Pocono Monthly wrote this reminiscent artlcle about the Billy Hector Band called, "Billy Hector, Power, Mystery and Hammer of the Gods."Asbury Park Press staff writer Kevin Coyne I Came To Play Press-dated Sunday, August 24, 1997
Tri-State Blues Magazine featured Billy Hector
