At the vanguard of the
neo-classical metal genre in the 1980's was the singular
Jason Becker, a young guitarist who was known for his
progressive compositions (slyt) and
technical prowess (slyt; yes, that's a yo-yo; yes, he's yo-yoing and playing guitar at the same time). Following a stint in
Cacophony with
Marty Friedman and the release of his solo album
Perpetual Burn, Becker was recruited by
David Lee Roth to replace the departing
Steve Vai on the upcoming album
A Little Ain't Enough. Just one week after joining the band, Becker's meteoric trajectory was reversed in dramatic fashion with the diagnosis and sudden onset of
Lou Gehrig's Disease.
His condition rapidly deteriorated and he soon lost the ability to play the guitar, walk, or speak; he is now confined to a wheelchair and
communicates via
eye movement (slyt). Despite these limitations, he continues to compose music with a specially modified computer program, and has since released
Perspective (1996),
The Raspberry Jams (1999),
The Blackberry Jams (2003), and
Collection (2008).
Becker is still widely respected by his contemporaries, who have produced two benefit albums (
Warmth in the Wilderness I;
Warmth in the Wilderness II) and
continue to hold concerts to help him with his medical costs. A
documentary (
trailer [slyt]) about Jason's life, entitled
Not Dead Yet, is tentatively set to be released in 2012. Until then, sate yourself with
this mini-doc (slyt) and its
followup (slyt) by a local news station.
Visit his
official website (which cannot be deep-linked) for interviews, videos, galleries, memorabilia, news, donation information, and other goodies.
And now, without further ado, here is Jason Becker in all his glory
(all videos slyt):
posted by chavenet at 3:28 AM on September 21, 2011