If you want an easy life with a stable paycheck, music is not for you. Go work in a bank or become a doctor, a lawyer, or a supermodel.

Since this is my first blog, I suppose I will start at a beginning of sorts. When I was a little kid, I somehow got the notion that great singers were just born. All they had to do was open their mouths, and magically, this wondrous sound came from within to thrill us mere mortals who were born, alas, with no gift. I have no idea where this idea came from exactly, but I think you will agree that most singers do little to dispel the grand illusion that they possess a ‘gift.’

 

A gift. This is an interesting way of looking at a person’s ability to sing. On the one hand, it anoints that person with mythological power. Cue the Spinal Tap scene: “I am a Golden God!” on the balcony of the Riot Hyatt on Sunset. We all know where that attitude leads….

 

But on the other hand, it diminishes how hard that person worked to develop this so-called ‘gift.’ As a result, the emphasis is on the greatness itself. Forget about the hours of vocal work, the voice lessons, the trial and error, the terror of not being able to trust yourself to repeat what you do on your good nights. So the process of achieving that greatness becomes overshadowed by the greatness itself. This makes a compelling story arc for VH1’s Behind the Music, but in the end, it allows for too little credit to the artist’s involvement in the process. Oh yeah, and this is usually where the tragic fall of our lead singer occurs due to drugs, booze and scrapes with the law...

 

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March 3, 2012 marked the world premiere of the feature film, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet from director Jesse Vile. The film chronicles the amazing life of Jason Becker—child prodigy, genius musician, and 20-year survivor of ALS.