Marcellus Rodríguez-López (born September 29, 1983) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician and younger brother of Omar Rodríguez-López. He is best known as the keyboardist and percussionist of

the Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...

and the drummer for

Zechs Marquise Zechs Marquise was an American psychedelic rock band, formed in El Paso, Texas in 2003. History The band was formed in the fall of 2003 by members Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Marcel (keyboards/percussion), Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez (bass), Marcos Smit ...

. He also produces electronic music under the moniker Eureka the Butcher and has performed with De Facto since 2024.

Biography

Marcel has been noted as to playing the

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

Maraca A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s, keyboards and

shekere The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. There are multiple ways to produce sounds with the instrument. It can be shaken or ...

. He formerly played in the band Thieves of Always, which was led by Ralph Jasso, who was a member of

(led by his elder brother Omar) on tour in 2002. Marcel joined the Mars Volta mid-tour in October 2003 at Omar's request as a percussionist. Since then he had been a constant member of the Mars Volta and the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group until TMV's dissolution in 2012, contributing percussion and keyboards. He was also a founding member of El Paso band

, which included his brothers Marfred on bass and Rikardo on keyboards and trumpet; he initially played keyboards and percussion but switched to drums after the band's original drummer left. Marcel also played live with the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

in 2006 during their North American tour (for which the Mars Volta was the support act), contributing bongos to " Hump de Bump" and congas to "Charlie". On the final night of the Amputechture / Stadium Arcadium tour, November 5, 2006, Marcel and the RHCP were joined onstage by Omar for the outro jam which went on for over 15 minutes. Marcel then appeared along with the band for the

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

tour, playing nearly every song of the set, starting with the Dallas show, January 13, through the Sunrise, Florida show on January 31, 2007. Marcel also played

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

during performances of "Warlocks" which was originally played by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

on the studio recording of Stadium Arcadium. In addition Marcel has acted in his brother Omar's film '' The Sentimental Engine Slayer''. Omar Rodríguez-López spoke out about the relationship with him and his brother:

Discography

Solo (as Eureka the Butcher)

* ''Music for Mothers'' (2013) * ''Foreshadowed With Shakes And Cracks'' (2016) * ''¡EUREKA!'' (2017)

With the Mars Volta

* '' Frances the Mute'' (2005) * '' Scabdates'' (2005) * '' Amputechture'' (2006) * '' The Bedlam in Goliath'' (2008) * ''

Octahedron In geometry, an octahedron (: octahedra or octahedrons) is any polyhedron with eight faces. One special case is the regular octahedron, a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex. Many types of i ...

'' (2009) * '' Noctourniquet'' (2012) (credited but appears only on live bonus track) * ''

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...

'' (2022) * '' Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazón'' (2023) * '' Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacío'' (2025)

With Omar Rodríguez-López

* '' Omar Rodriguez'' (2005) (drums and percussion, gong, keyboards) * '' Please Heat This Eventually'' (2006) (drums) * '' Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo'' (2007) (drums and percussion, synths, clavinet) * '' Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Lydia Lunch'' (2007) (drums and percussion) * '' The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange'' (2007) (drums, percussion, keyboards) * '' Calibration (Is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far)'' (2007) (drums and percussion, synths, clavinet) * '' Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fungus'' (2008) (drums) * '' Minor Cuts and Scrapes in the Bushes Ahead'' (2008) (drums) * ''

Old Money Old money is a social class of the rich who have been able to maintain their wealth over multiple generations, in contrast with new money whose wealth has been acquired within its own generation. The term often refers to perceived members of th ...

'' (2008) (drums and percussion, synths, clavinet, keyboards) * '' Megaritual'' (2009) (drums and percussion, synths, piano) * '' Los Sueños de un Hígado'' (2009) (percussion) * ''

Xenophanes Xenophanes of Colophon ( ; ; – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer. He was born in Ionia and travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early classical antiquity. As a poet, Xenophanes was known f ...

'' (2009) (percussion, keyboards) * '' Solar Gambling'' (2009) (synths, piano) * '' Sepulcros de Miel'' (2010) (drums and percussion, synths) * '' Tychozorente'' (2010) (Mellotron) * '' Cizaña de los Amores'' (2010) (drums, keyboards) * '' Dōitashimashite'' (2010) (keyboards) * '' Un Escorpión Perfumado'' (2010) (synths) * '' Octopus Kool Aid'' (2012) (drums, engineering) * '' Woman Gives Birth To Tomato!'' (2013) (drums) * '' El Bien Y Mal Nos Une'' (2016) (synths) * '' Weekly Mansions'' (2016) (synths, mellotron, percussion, programming, co-writing, production, mixing, recording) * '' Some Need It Lonely'' (2016) (percussion) * '' A Lovejoy'' (2016) (live and programmed drums, synthesizer) * '' Ensayo de un Desaparecido'' (2017) (keyboards) * '' Azul, Mis Dientes'' (2017) (live and programmed drums, synths) * '' The Clouds Hill Tapes Parts I, II & III'' (2020) (keyboards) * '' Live at Clouds Hill'' (2024) (keyboards) * '' Is It The Clouds?'' (2024) (drums)

With Zechs Marquise

* '' 34:26'' EP (2006) * '' Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare'' (2008) * '' Getting Paid'' (2011)

Guest appearances

* ''

Terra Incognita ''Terra incognita'' or ''terra ignota'' (Latin "unknown land"; ''incognita'' is stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or d ...

'' by

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...

(2009) (clavinet, synthesizer, percussion) * '' The Golden Age of Knowhere'' by Funeral Party (2011) (keyboards) * '' A Raw Youth'' by

Le Butcherettes Le Butcherettes is a Mexican Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band formed in 2007 in Guadalajara by Teri Gender Bender. History Le Butcherettes was created by vocalist/guitarist Teri Gender Bender, who later recruited drummer Auryn Jolene ...

(2015) (Moog bass, Moog synthesizer, percussion) * ''

Halo Orbit A halo orbit is a periodic, non-planar orbit associated with one of the L1, L2 or L3 Lagrange points in the three-body problem of orbital mechanics. Although a Lagrange point is just a point in empty space, its peculiar characteristic is th ...

'' by

(2016/2017)

References

External links

Official Zechs Marquise page

Official Eureka the Butcher page

SIGHT/SOUND/RHYTHM interview 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez-Lopez, Marcel 1983 births Living people Maracas players People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican musicians Puerto Rican percussionists The Mars Volta members Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group members De Facto (band) members