Guitar Spotlight: Jason Becker

Unfortunately, in real life the heroes aren't always the victors. Strange, unexplained and horrible things can happen to even the best of people. The world of rock music and rock guitar players is no stranger to such tragedies. Jason Becker, co-founder of the short lived rock group Cacophony, came along in the mid-1980s as a true master in the art of guitar shredding, only to have his incredible talent taken away from him. Becker was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), popularly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," in 1989 at the age of 20, but his talents were already evident. It's a shame that a guitarist with such a high level of skill would not only be robbed of his gift, but go largely unnoticed in the world of rock music and even among fellow guitar players.



This video from Youtube is an excellent piece of evidence for showing the precision and speed Becker demonstrated on the axe. Here he's covering his own transposition of Paganini's 5th Caprice at an incredible tempo. Back in these days, there were very few guitar players who could effectively shred on guitar at this level. He picks every single note and I'm having big trouble trying to find where he misses one. It's quite a remarkable performance in this video. As a craftsman of his instrument, he could be put on par with Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert for his era.


Becker came aboard David Lee Roth's solo act to be a part of his band. It looked like he was well on his way to becoming a worldwide rock hero. We've seen what being part of a popular singer's act can do for guitar players, like the previously covered Randy Rhoads and now Zakk Wylde with Ozzy Osbourne. It was around this very time, in 1989, that Becker began to feel familiar symptoms of a degenerative muscle condition. Not too long after being diagnosed with ALS, Becker lost his ability to use his arms and legs, and eventually speak. Upon initial diagnosis, he was given three years to live. Remarkably, he was able to finish his first studio album with Roth, which went gold. And thankfully, ALS only affected his muscles and not his brain. He still communicates with his eyes through a system developed by his father, and not only is still alive today, but is still composing music. His last album, Blackberry Jams, was released in 2003. He has a website at jasonbecker.com.


Like every guitar player I spotlight in this blog, I urge viewers to check out as much as they can on Youtube of this exceptional guitarist. The fact that he has not only lived nearly 20 years after being given three months, but continued creating music without the ability to move or speak, is truly remarkable. I am doing all I can to make sure this incredible person doesn't go unnoticed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thought I'd check in after a 5-day absence, that okay with you? In all seriousness, it's been yet another hectic week full of job interviews and serious work deadlines in some classes, including a midterm paper and one final exam. I have, however, have had some time to play guitar, and I'm hoping to put a version of Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" up on Youtube sometime this weekend.

This month has been more about increasing my library of song knowledge than creating my own works. The guys at 1474 Tremont have been going home a lot on the weekends, too, which has hampered our ability to jam on a regular basis just like last month. We did set aside some time last week to jam, though, it was myself, Justin and Mike. It was a pure acoustic guitar jam, which can be really fun if we get on a roll. Justin and I still have great chemistry playing together, and it was no different as we jammed for about 45 minutes straight. Mike laid down some nice tunes on the piano, which I plan on covering for my final project in JRN525 really soon. His talent is at a very high level and he's acquired it in a pretty short amount of time. When I interviewed him he had a little trouble taking it seriously at first (we're close friends), but once he realized how seriously I was taking it he went along with it. Be prepared for some audio samples to go along with pictures of him playing. He is a talented player who deserves notice. You can check out his videos on Youtube, just search for "Mike Tibaudo."

That's all for today. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and now we can look forward to the holiday season and December vacation!

Guitar Spotlight: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Blues is a universal musical style and institution of rock. There are so many great musicians in the style of blues it is difficult to even keep track of them. But when it comes to blues on the guitar, a special group of individuals can be selected from the pack to be included in the pantheon of guitar legends. Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, Jimi Hendrix...But all these guys paved the road and formed the mold for the man who would go on to become the single greatest to ever play the blues, the man to the left, Stevie Ray Vaughan. That is obviously an arguable point, but what is totally inarguable is the sheer talent, precision, tone and emotion Vaughan presented in his music. Many thought it was impossible for someone to set the bar for blues even higher than Jimi Hendrix, but Vaughan inched him out. His Fender stratocaster was his weapon, his guardian, his soulmate and his voice. He never wasted a note, he never lacked charisma, and he never failed to entertain and amaze his audience.

His tragic death in 1990 deprived us of what surely would have been another two decades of blazing blues riffage. He, like Jimi Hendrix before him, effectively combined lead and rhythm guitar into a hybrid style that served to his blues tendencies and allowed him to amass a prolific career as a guitarist. If you want a quick lesson on how to add character to your blues playing, just listen to one of his songs. If you want a quick lesson on putting together simple yet effective blues licks, go buy one of his CDs. Simply put, he took all blues players around at his time to school.

What mainly set him apart from other blues players of his time (and many of the best all-time players) was his tone. He always had the distortion as far as it could go, and like Jimi Hendrix before him, he made excellent use of feedback. He used fat strings to get the chunky sound he gets out of his notes, which makes it even more amazing how much he was able to shred at constantly-overdriven levels.




This is a video clip from his album "Blues at Sunrise" of Stevie playing one of his classics, "Texas Flood." It is a simple 12-bar blues tune, like most of his songs, but what made him so special is his simultaneous riffage of three-note rhythms and blistering solos. Not many guitarists can pull that off, let alone pull it off and have their own touch to it. Unfortunately, the video isn't complete, but here's another one of him covering his idol, Jimi Hendrix.




If you've heard Hendrix's version of "Little Wing" (shame on you if you haven't!), then you'll notice all the added dimensions Vaughan threw into this version. He made it all instrumental. He was so great at guitar that he often didn't have to sing. He could solo for several minutes straight and keep his audience engaged.



That's the look of Stevie's most popular and oft-used guitar, the custom SRV stratocaster, first introduced in 1992. It has a thicker neck than usual, to make better use of the fat strings SRV tended to use, and its sunburst finish is complemented very nicely by the black pickguard with the SRV signature logo on it. I'd highly recommend this axe if you want a thick, chugging sound for your blues playing. Several hundred replicas of Vaughan's actual original guitar are in circulation; I'm uncertain as to how high the price has gone at this point.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was tragically killed in a helicopter accident in late 1990. He was two years removed from fully recovering from a serious cocaine and alcohol addiction that could have taken his life then if he failed to check into rehab. He managed to put out two albums and do several tours before his death, but the world was robbed of a truly legendary guitarist. He'd be elevated to God status by now even if he was still alive. His aura lives on in all blues guitar players nowadays, and anyone looking to learn how to play blues lead effectively need not look any further.

Movie Review: No Country for Old Men

The film I have anticipated more than any other this year has finally been released, and I am giving a special review of No Country for Old Men. It only made me anticipate it more after seeing the amount of raves coming in from critics, and I have to say the Coen brothers have hit a home run. They took Cormac McCarthy's modern classic novel and created a western/crime drama/thriller hybrid that defies and embraces conventional film storytelling, and just might be the best thriller to come along in years. Upon one viewing, I find no major flaws in the technical and intangible aspects of this film. Joel and Ethan Coen may have created their best work in their 23-year two-headed directing career.

I can also say the narrative is very close to the novel, so the points at which the storytelling is conventional or unconventional largely depend on the structure of McCarthy's novel. It follows the intersecting stories of three men who are all involved in the aftermath of a severely botched drug deal. Llewellen Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the dead bodies, stash of heroin and $2 million cash, and his decisions, which he admits could be bad, set off a catastrophic chain of violence behind which local Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) finds himself.

Moss is being chased by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who has entered the film world as one of the most calculating, psychopathic, ruthless villains in years, possibly decades. He usually kills people who are simply in his way; but he also decides the fate of innocent lives with the flip of a coin, just as you'll see in a memorable scene between himself and a gas station owner. Javier Bardem has turned in a magnificently terrifying performance. He was cast absolutely perfectly for this role; his deep voice and cold, stoic stare chills and grips the audience in every scene he's in. His tactics in the film seem primitive compared to today's crime world, but please note this film takes place in West Texas in 1980.

There are great performances all around. Bell, the true moral center of the story, is played nearly to perfection by Tommy Lee Jones. The pain of an old, tired officer in his voice through most of his scenes, including his opening monologue, can really be felt. The old-time veteran actor and former Academy Award winner surprised a lot of people with this role, but his performance could ultimately be overshadowed by Bardem's. Kelly MacDonald of Scotland is great as a young Southern trailer park wife, and Josh Brolin is also great as Llewellen Moss, as he carries the bulk of the narrative. He's on a recent hot streak, but this performance is too ultimately overshadowed by Bardem, who is the front-runner to land major awards for his role.

The Coens have reaffirmed themselves as master storytellers with this film. They were on a recent cold streak with some highly stylized comedies that seemed more like cheap Coen knockoffs, but this time they have returned to form. They once again got fantastic cinematography by Roger Deakins, who captured the dark atmosphere of the whole picture perfectly. Much of the credit for the atmosphere needs to go to the Coens though, who know and get exactly what they want from their vision. They rely much more on real sounds rather than background music, as there is very sparse orchestration and one diegetic source. Minute sounds like the unwrapping of a peanut wrapper and the turning of a screw serve to heighten the tension of the actions of all the characters, something that would be more subdued and less believable with non-diegetic background music.

Right now, I'd say this film is easily their best since 1996's Fargo. Whether or not it tops the modern classic remains to be seen. I'm a staunch believer in multiple viewings of films to get the true appreciation of it. I've seen this film once and have already felt its power. I am eager to see it again to dissect it and appreciate its completeness and boldness as a story. Please do not miss this one. *****/*****

This satisfies assignment #5.