JASON BECKER Announces 'The Strawberry Jams' Collection Of Songs, Demos And Musical Ideas

Legendary guitarist and composer Jason Becker, who has been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease) for 35 years, will release the official music video for "Crip Tone Night", a new song from Jason's upcoming effort "The Strawberry Jams", on Saturday, February 14 (Valentine's Day). The following week, all of the music from "The Strawberry Jams" — described as "a collection of songs, demos, and musical ideas straight from the man himself" — will be made available on Bandcamp for free downloads.

Becker's team explained via social media: "We're sharing it this way as a heartfelt thank-you, out of deep gratitude for the incredible love, kindness, and generosity you've shown Jason and all of us at Team Becker over the years. Every one of you has made a difference, and we are truly grateful.

"If you feel moved to support Jason, you can donate directly to his medical trust fund here. Everything goes directly to Jason to help with his ongoing care and to give him the resources he needs to continue living his best life, creating music, and inspiring others.

"Thank you for being part of this journey with us and for standing by Jason all these years.

"We can't wait for you to hear what's coming."

Becker's story is one of brilliance, talent, determination, adversity, and, ultimately, triumph. A child prodigy on guitar, Jason rose to prominence as a teenager when he was one half of the technical guitar duo CACOPHONY, with his great friend Marty Friedman. In 1989, at only 19 years old and after wowing audiences all over the world, the young virtuoso became the guitarist for David Lee Roth, following in the huge footsteps of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. He wrote and recorded on Roth's third solo album, "A Little Ain't Enough", and was poised for superstardom when a nagging pain in his leg was diagnosed as Motor Neurone Disease (MND),also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),or Lou Gehrig's Disease, the same condition Stephen Hawking lived with for over five decades. It is a fatal condition with a life expectancy of maybe five years. Maybe. That was three and a half decades ago. He lost the ability to play guitar, walk, talk, and breathe on his own. But never lost his will to live or his desire to create music. Communicating through a series of eye movements with a system developed by his father, Jason spells out words as well as musical notes and chords. He imparts his musical vision to his team who then can input the notes into a computer, edit the parts to his exacting standards, and then generate charts for session musicians. His inspiring music and life story have been the subject of countless news articles and magazine cover stories.

Becker's latest album, "Triumphant Hearts", was released in December 2018 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. The disc features guest appearances by a who's who of six-string gods, including Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Neal Schon, Steve Morse, Paul Gilbert and Joe Bonamassa.

A documentary film, "Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet", was released more than a decade ago. The film follows Jason through his life and creative career with ALS. It is a truly inspirational tale of overcoming the odds and creating music no matter what curveballs life throws your way.