Richmond musician living with ALS launches non-profit to help others
An upcoming fundraiser and launch party for The Jason Becker Creative Care Project — a new non-profit created to support those living with neurodegenerative conditions — promises to be a celebration of Becker's music and a rocking good time for a good cause.
The Jason Becker Creative Care Project is a nonprofit created to support those who struggle to provide or receive long-term care for ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Born and raised in Richmond, guitarist Jason Becker is one of the city's many musical success stories, but just as his career was taking off, a surprise diagnosis of ALS brought everything to an astounding halt. Perseverance, a positive outlook, and the love of his family and friends have all kept Becker going, outliving by decades the estimate doctors initially gave him.
The event will be held at the Baltic Kiss on November 9 and will offer performances from Kehoe International, Danny Jones, and George Cole, along with featured artists Sam Fairless and Kim Olof Asberg, who will be performing the music of Becker and Cacophony.
Cole and Jones are well-known in the Bay Area as musicians and for their time teaching music to throngs of locals. Cole is a Bammy Award winner whose list of former students includes Jones (who recently released an album), Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt of Green Day, and a litany of others.
The event will also be a listening party for Becker's new release, Strawberry Jams, and a raffle of gear from Kiesel custom guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups, and Dunlop.
All funds raised from the raffle will go directly to support the non-profit.
President of The Jason Becker Creative Care Project Serrana Pilar said, "This is an important moment for us; we are introducing this nonprofit to the world with its unique mission."
The project utilizes Jason Becker’s 35-year survival of ALS as a roadmap to help others obtain the elements needed for optimal at-home care, resulting in longer and happier lives when living with a severely debilitating chronic or degenerative medical condition.
Local guitarist Danny Jones said the event is going to be a lot of fun and hopefully raise some money.
"It's going to be a great event. I just heard about it a few days ago, so I don't have a lot of information yet, but I think it's going to be big. The Baltic is kind of small, so we might spill out into the parking lot," Jones said.
Jones said he first met Becker years ago at a music event in El Cerrito."It was a jazz band thing, and we were the only rocker kids there," Jones laughed.
While still in his teens, Becker partnered with established guitarist Marty Friedman; the duo recorded under the name "Cacophony" and released two albums on Novato-based Shrapnel Records in the late 1980s. After a successful European tour, Becker embarked on a solo project, recording "Perpetual Burn" before being tapped to join David Lee Roth's solo band in 1989.
Just as he and Roth began work on the first album together, Becker, then 22, was diagnosed with ALS. Doctors told him he had at most five years to live – if he was lucky. While Becker lost the ability to play guitar, walk, talk, and breathe independently, his desire to live and create music remains unwavering.
ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, often called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When these motor neurons die, the brain's ability to initiate and control muscle movement is lost, causing people to lose the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe.
Today, Becker communicates through eye movements with a system developed by his father, Gary. This system spells out words and musical notes, which are then put into a computer. He continues to compose music using this system, which produces written music that is then recorded with the help of other musicians.
JASON BECKER Fundraiser Show
Saturday, November 9 · 2 - 6:30 p.m. PST. Doors at 1 p.m.
Baltic Kiss 135 Park Place Richmond, CA 94801
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