Becker, The Metal Guitarrist Of Life.

Becker was born and raised in the city, Richmond, California. Jason was taught how to play by his father, a visual artist and classical guitarist who had trained under a student of Andrés Segovia.
At age five, Jason received his first guitar and began learning Bob Dylan songs. (Both Dylan and classical music were already the youngster’s favorites.)
By nine he was playing Eric Clapton, JimiHendrix, Jeff Beck, and Roy Buchanan as well.
His mastery of “Further On Up the Road” was so impressive for a 13-year-old that Jason’s parents found the money to buy him a black-and-white Fender Stratocaster, just like Clapton’s. As a freshman in high school, when Jason heard Van Halen’s debut album, he was so blown away that he spent hours every day trying to decipher Eddie Van Halen’s guitarsolo, “Eruption,” as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan’s song “Lenny” – both of which inspired him to begin writing his own pieces.
In 1986, at the age of 16 he meets to Marty Friedman, whom Jason calls “the greatest and most original guitarist I had ever Heard. They formed the band Cacophony, and over the next several years recorded the albums, 'Speed Metal Symphony' and 'Go Off!'.

Considered avirtuoso guitarist and one of the top players of his time, Jason Becker studied the works of violinist Niccolò Paganini and was a playing partner with Marty Friedman.
At the age of 20, he joined David Lee Roth's band, replacing Steve Vai, who went on to join Whitesnake. While recording the 'A Little Ain't Enough' album in 1989, and preparing for the subsequent tour, Jason began to feel what he called a"lazy limp" on his left leg. He was soon diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also know as MND and Lou Gehrig's Disease) and given just three to five years to live. He could barely finish the recording, using low-gauge (thin) guitar strings and other techniques, which would make it easier to play with his weakening hands. Although he managed to finish the album, which was released in1991, he did not join the supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage.
Due to his illness, he eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father, Gary Becker. Although his ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually even to speak, he still remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer,continues composing. 
In the back of the 'Perspective' CD case, Jason states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind." His medical condition has remained stable since 1997.

As of 2010, Jason is feeling much better and has gained over 40lbs. He is still writing music and is working on a book about his life. The documentary film, 'Perpetual Burn:The Story of Jason Becker', is currently in production and is scheduled for release in 2012.  
In 1996 Becker released an album entitled 'Perspective', an instrumental album composed by him (with the exception of Bob Dylan's song "Meet Me in the Morning"). The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely crippled his abilities. By using guitar and later, when he was unable to useboth hands, a keyboard, he continued to compose while his disease worsened. However, when Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program which could read the movements of his head and eyes enabling Becker to continue to compose after he lost control of his entire body.
Two tribute albums toJason Becker have been issued. Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert,Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh. The album profits were sent to Becker to help him with his medical finances.
‘NOT DEAD YET: The Story of Jason Becker’ is a new feature-length documentary film about...