Music still central to life of ex-guitarist with ALS
By Alan Fackler
CORRESPONDENT
Article Last Updated: 10/25/2008 04:31:17 PM PDT


By Alan Fackler

CORRESPONDENT

Jason Becker's whole life is in his eyes.

A grayish shade of blue, they are constantly on the move, whether to take in his surroundings to satisfy his spiritual, curious nature or to communicate with those he loves.

The 40-year-old Richmond resident, who once had a bright future as a rock 'n' roll guitarist, is in the advanced stages of ALS — or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease has taken away almost all of Becker's muscle control and left him unable to speak.

Yet music remains central to Becker's life: A new collection of his work is scheduled to be released in November.

His career began at 16, when he was drafted into a band called Cacophony with longtime friend and fellow guitar player Marty Friedman of MegaDeath fame. Becker studied the works of violinist Niccolo Paganini and incorporated high speed arpeggios passages to create his hauntingly beautiful distinct neo-classical metal sound.

By 20, his expansive knowledge of shred guitar landed him a spot as lead guitarist for David Lee Roth's band, replacing Steve Vai, who went on to join Whitesnake. Already an accomplished, world-touring musician, Becker's future seemed unlimited.

"It was a surreal experience," said Becker, who communicates with eye movements through a system designed by his father, Gary Becker. "The members of the band were so cool,

so down to earth. And Dave was very patient with me, though some days he would call me a genius and others he would just yell at me."

He smiled as he remembered Roth's reputation with women.

"He was a horn dog but would ask my advice on how to get nice girls," he said.

Shortly after he joined the band, while preparing for a 1990 tour with his new bandmates, he began to feel numbness in parts of his body and leg weakness. He was diagnosed with ALS and given three years to live.

He canceled his plans to tour and was just barely able to finish recording "A Little Ain't Enough" with Roth. To play the guitar, he used thinner strings, but it was still exhausting.

"He (David Lee Roth) cried when I couldn't tour with him," Becker said. "But he was always very cool to me, very understanding of my disease."

The years after would prove to be even more difficult. Becker slowly lost his ability to move, speak, and eventually, walk. But he has long outlived doctors' original predictions and has even had some recovery periods, with the help of longtime friend and caretaker Serrana Kassamali — and of course his father, who came up with the unique communication method.

"I was having trouble understanding him, and I need to know how he feels at all times," said Gary Becker, surrounded by photos of his son adorned in various rock get-ups with his guitars.

The elder Becker took a small sheet of plastic and divided it into six squares, then wrote letters of the alphabet in each square. With his father watching, Jason communicates by making an initial glance to select the grid, then a second glance to select the particular letter of the word he wants to communicate.

Getting out complete sentences, as Jason did during a recent interview, can be time-consuming — but Jason and his father have been at it long enough that the elder Becker can usually figure out individual words before Jason finishes spelling them.

"We've spent a lot of time and have it memorized well," Gary Becker said. "His eyes are like a joystick in space."

Kassamali said her job is to help Jason carry out all of his daily life functions, at a very slow pace. After his body function declined, he had to learn to rebuild his passion for composing, finding alternative ways to make music.

"There wasn't really any pain, just weakness in my hands," he said. "It got to a point where my hands would just fall off the guitar. My next step was getting a computer with orchestral sounds, which was great because I had always wanted to write an orchestra."

By that point Jason had only vague feeling in his right hand, which he used to play and record music on his keyboard, one note at a time. This led to the evolution of his first original self-composed album, "Raspberry Jams," named after his favorite jam flavor.

His father, an artist, stopped practicing his craft full time to help his son, lending his talent to design an album cover in 1997.

"I did 30 drawings, and he would like different parts of each," Gary Becker said. "He wanted symbols, things that conveyed emotion."

"It just fit the music," Jason Becker said. "The fire represents the ripping guitar, the heart represents God dripping down to earth. The om (an Indian form of spiritual music) is what I heard during my near death experience in 1997."

That experience proved pivotal. He was hospitalized due to difficulty breathing and nearly died.

"The doctor asked me if I wanted to live," Becker said. "I said, 'Hell yes.' "

Today, Becker is looking forward to the November release of "The Jason Becker Collection," (Shrapnel Records) which will feature some of his best work and three additional bonus tracks.

He worked on the compilation with rock legends like Steve Vie, Friedman and Joe Satriani.

"Hopefully I will get known to more than just guitar fans," Becker said, his bright eyes darting in all directions. "I think my story and music should be known and taught to the whole world."

To see a video of Jason Becker playing the guitar, please visit BandsOftheBay.com and click on the homepage video viewer. To see a multimedia piece of Jason in his home today, go to contracostatimes.com.



http://www.insidebayarea.com:80/oakl...ws/ci_10816154