Jason Eli Becker is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer.
At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend
Marty Friedman.
They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988.
Cacophony broke up in 1989 and Becker began doing solo work, having released his first
album Perpetual Burn in 1988.
He later joined David Lee Roth's band and recorded one album with him.
However, Becker's success was hampered by his then-diagnosed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
and he was given three to five years to live.
In 1996, Becker eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes
via a system developed by his father.
Despite his disability, he continues composing by using a computer and has since released
Collection, a "best of" album of his favorite songs and three new songs.
Biography and career Hometown, birth place, school and early years
Becker was born and raised in Richmond, California, by his parents, Gary and Patricia Becker.
He was born in Richmond Hospital on 23rd Street in 1969.
His maternal grandfather was actor Wayne Heffley.
Becker graduated from Kennedy High School where he performed Yngwie Malmsteen's Black
Star with his band at a talent show.
[1] While still in high school, Becker was introduced to Marty Friedman.
He was exposed to the guitar at an early age because both his father and his uncle were
guitar players.
He absorbed all kinds of music from around the world and melded different aspects of
each style into his playing.
He practiced to Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Uli Jon Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and many
others.
[2] Cacophony and solo career
Becker started out playing alongside Marty Friedman in the Mike Varney-produced duo,
Cacophony.
Together, they put out an album, and toured Japan and the U.S.. While they never went
mainstream in the U.S., Europeans embraced their music and they sold out almost everywhere
they went.
[3] In 1989 Becker left to pursue a solo career, having released his first solo album titled
'Perpetual Burn' in 1988, and has since released Perspective and Collection, as well as two
albums of demos, entitled 'The Raspberry Jams' and 'The Blackberry Jams'.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis At the age of 20, he joined David Lee Roth's
band, replacing Steve Vai, who had joined Whitesnake.
In 1989 Jason won the coveted Best New Guitarist award from Guitar Magazine for his work on
Roth's A Little Ain't Enough. [4] While preparing for the subsequent tour, Becker began to feel
what he called a "lazy limp" in his left leg.
He was soon diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and was given three to five years
to live.
He finished the recording using light gauge guitar strings and other techniques, which
made it easier for him to play with his weakening hands.
Although he managed to finish the album, which was released in 1991, he did not join the
supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage; former Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe
Holmes took Becker's place on tour.
Due to his illness, he eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with
his eyes via a system developed by his father.
Although his ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually
even to speak, he still remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer, continues
composing.
In the back of the Perspective CD case, Becker states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind."
His medical condition has remained stable since 1997.
In 2003, Becker posted on his website that he was feeling better and had gained some
weight, while the folder for his 2008 album Collection also mentions an upcoming book.
Perspective and the Berry Jams In 1996, Becker released an album entitled
Perspective, an instrumental album composed by him.
The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely crippled his abilities.
By using guitar, and, later, when he was unable to use both hands, a keyboard, he continued
to compose while his disease worsened.
However, when Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music
producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program that reads
movements of his head and eyes, enabling Becker to continue to compose after he lost control
of the rest of his body.
Several years later, Becker released Raspberry Jams and Blackberry Jams; the first contained
various unreleased demo-tracks, and the latter contained demo-tracks and alternate versions
of songs that were later reworked and published into other albums.
Two tribute albums to Jason Becker have been issued.
Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature
guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley,
and Mattias Eklundh.
The album profits were sent to Becker to help him with his medical finances.
Collection
On November 4, 2008, Shrapnel Records released a new Jason Becker album entitled Collection.
The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings and features Marty
Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.
New album On August 20, 2010, Becker declared that he
is considering releasing an album of music he recorded when he was in his teenage years.
Musical style Considered a virtuoso guitarist and one of
the top players of his time, Jason Becker studied the works of violinist Niccolò Paganini
and was a playing partner with Marty Friedman.
He later arranged Paganini's 5th Caprice, performing it during an instructional guitar
video.
Becker's compositions often include high speed scalar and arpeggio passages—trademarks
of his 'shred' style of guitar playing.
Often incorporating advanced techniques such as sweep picking, alternate picking, artificial
harmonic accenting, and tapping; he was among the leaders of the field during the technical
'shred' guitar and Neo-Classical Metal trend of the mid to late eighties and is still respected
and honored by his musician peers today.
The song Serrana appearing in the album Perspective, is an example of his sweep-picking skills.
[5] He demonstrated the arpeggio sequence during a clinic at the Atlanta Institute of
Music.
A video of this performance first appeared on his Hot Licks guitar instructional video.
Equipment Becker's first guitar was a Franciscan acoustic.
Prior to joining Cacophony in 1987, Becker worked his way through the Franciscan, a Takamine
acoustic, a Fender Musicmaster, and finally, a black Fender Stratocaster "Dan Smith" model
with a DiMarzio Steve Morse humbucker in the bridge.
On his message board, Jason said "I recorded SMS [Speed Metal Symphony] with my Strat."
For his next guitar, Jason says on his message board "Mike Varney got Hurricane to endorse
us after we recorded Speed Metal Symphony.
I liked how they were like Strats, only beefier."
On Perpetual Burn, Jason says on his message board: "I used my white and black Hurricane
guitar for everything.
For clean tone I went direct.
For dirty tone I used a 100 Watt Marshall with a Boss Super Overdrive pedal."
The Moridira Hurricane guitar he used is called a Limited Edition LTD.2 model, believed to
be made in Japan.
His LTD.2 was a "strat copy" as Jason says, but with a HSS pickup setup, a 22-fret rosewood
fingerboard, and unique Floyd Rose where you don't have to cut the strings.
For pickups, Jason said on his message board: "I just used the stock pickups it came with."
The pickups were Japanese-made pickups.
On the cover of Perpetual Burn he is pictured with a blue Hurricane guitar.
He did not use this blue guitar on Perpetual Burn.
Differences on this guitar from his first Hurricane include DiMarzio pickups, a maple
fretboard, and 24 frets.
For the 2nd Cacophony album, Becker switched over to Carvin gear, utilizing 2 DC Series
models, one in a trans blue finish with flamed maple top, and another one in a solid burgundy
finish.
Both have double cutaway bodies, Kahler locking tremolo systems, 6 in line machine heads and
2 Carvin humbucker pickups.
He used these up until he was diagnosed with ALS in 1989.
During the sessions for A Little Ain't Enough, Becker used various Carvin, Ibanez, ESP and
Valley Arts guitars, as well as a Les Paul on some tracks and a Gibson acoustic for select
things.
Jason has also been pictured with a few Hamer superstrats as well.
From 1989-1991, Becker used various guitars, most notably a Peavey custom model with the
numbered fretboard markers.
Also used were an Ibanez Custom Shop guitar, a custom from Performance Guitars, a couple
of various unknown Strat style guitars and a black Hurricane with 3 single coil pickups.
As of very recently, Becker has allowed Paradise Guitars USA to release a Jason Becker signature
guitar.
It is similar in appearance to the numbered Peavey but with a different headstock shape.
Becker used various types of amplifiers in his music.
Before joining Cacophony, he used a small Peavey Studio Pro 40 with the older style
Peavey vertical silver stripes on the grille cloth.
During his early days Jason was also seen with a red Marshall JCM800 head and 4x12 cabinet.
For the first Cacophony album, Becker used an ADAMP1 preamp.
Perpetual Burn was a borrowed '70s Marshall half stack and a BOSS Super Overdrive and
Cacophony second album was a Carvin X100B stack.
For the David Lee Roth album A Little Ain't Enough, Becker used "eight different Marshall
amps."
He also used the SX300H head at some point during that era.
After Cacophony Becker used various amps, including a "Fender M80", an unknown Marshall
amp, an ADA Preamp and possibly the aforementioned Peavey combo.
Becker typically used Dean Markley and SIT strings [6]
Paradise Guitar In 2008 Paradise Guitars worked with Becker
to design a Jason Becker signature guitar.
The design is based on the Peavey with colored number fret inlays.
Features include an alder body, maple neck with steel 2-way truss rod, maple 16" radius
fingerboard, 24 jumbo thin frets with colored number fret marker inlays, black Floyd Rose
Pro Style floating Tremolo with Floyd Rose Tremolo stop, Sperzel red satin tuners, 14
degree tilt-back headstock with black Paradise logo and matching tremolo and electronics
plates.
The pickups are DiMarzio pickups; a P.A.F.
Pro-Custom in the neck colored yellow and red, a DP116 HS-2 in the middle colored green,
and a Tone Zone-Custom in the bridge colored pink and blue.
These colored pickups complement the colored inlays and seem to give the guitar a rainbow
effect.
There is also a red 5-way switch and purple 1-11 volume knob.
Carvin Tribute Guitar In 2012 Carvin worked with Becker to design
a Jason Becker Tribute guitar that is modeled after the original DC-series guitar he used
toward the latter part of his career.
The guitar features an Alder body with flamed maple top, maple neck with a flamed maple
fingerboard, a Floyd Rose tremolo, jumbo frets, 2 humbuckers, active electronics, and comes
standard in a transparent blue finish.
Documentary film A feature-length documentary film about the
life of Jason Becker entitled Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet, was released in 2012.
The film includes interviews with Becker, his family and friends, and the various musicians
he's worked with, including Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Richie Kotzen, and
Steve Hunter.
The film was generally well received by fans and critics and won many awards.
Clinics Atlanta Institute of Music
Year: 1989 Gear: Carvin DC200, Marshall Amp, Alesis quadraverb
Japan Clinic Year: 1989
Gear: Carvin DC200 Discography
Cacophony Speed Metal Symphony
Go Off!
Marty Friedman Dragon's Kiss
Solo Perpetual Burn
Perspective The Raspberry Jams
The Blackberry Jams Collection
Boy Meets Guitar, Vol. 1 of the Youngster Tapes
David Lee Roth A Little Ain't Enough
The Best Joe Becker
Short Stories Other works
Richie Kotzen Compilations
Guitar Masters, 1989, Roadrunner Records Metal Guitars - High Voltage Instrumentals,1998,
Disky Communications Shrapnel's Super Shredders: Neoclassical,2009,
Shrapnel This is Shredding, Vol. 1, 2009, Shrapnel
This is Shredding, Vol. 2, 2009, Shrapnel Tribute
Warmth in the Wilderness: A Tribute to Jason Becker, 2001, Lion Music
Warmth in Wilderness 2: Tribute Jason Becker, 2002, Lion Music
Jason Becker's Not Dead Yet!, 2012, Primal Events
Instructional Hot Licks - The Legendary Guitar of Jason
Becker Films
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das
References
External links Jason Becker's official website
Becker's MySpace page Documentary film website
http:abclocal.go.comstory?section=news/assignment_7&id=6528617