JASON BECKER'S NOT DEAD YET! FESTIVAL

Guthrie Govan

Stuart Hamm

Michael Lee Firkins

Mattias IA Eklundh

Kiko Loureiro

Marco Sfogli

Atma Anur

Daniele Gottardo

Stéphan Forté

Andy James

Joop Wolters

Marcel Coenen

Barend Courbois

Timo Somers

It's Showtime Band

Jason Becker came to prominence with his exciting partnership with fellow musician Marty Friedman and their band Cacophony. Like  Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, and Yngwie Malmsteen, both were signed by the prestigious Shrapnel label . Jason Becker and Marty Friedman success   lead to Jason getting the  lead guitar job with David Lee Roth, taking over from Steve Vai. However, whilst recording Roth’s 1991 release, A Little Ain’t Enough, Jason became ill and he was diagnosed with ALS.

Jason was just 20 years old and he was given three to five years to live. The disease has left Jason paralyzed,  unable to speak, but it’s now more than 20 years later and Jason is still alive! Jason’s father Gary Becker attributes this to Jason’s mission in life, his continued desire to achieve. Jason Becker continues to write and has been awarded the Guitar Player Lifetime Achievement Award, and there is also a special Jason Becker Courage and Creativity  Award. Jason Becker is soon to star in a movie,  a documentary about Becker’s extraordinary life entitled Perpetual Burn: The Story of Jason Becker.

The Jason Becker's Not Dead Festival Amsterdam takes place on November 13, 2011 follows on from the successful San Francisco show. Proceeds from the evening will go towards medical supplies for Jason as well as a trust fund to provide for his future security. For those unable to attend the festival, donations can be made via PayPal at pat.becker@intres.com. Your support is greatly appreciated!

About Jason’s  Special Guests for the Amsterdam show:

Guthrie Govan: Described as the saviour of Shred Guitar by Guitar Magazine, Guthrie Govan, Suhr Guitars artist,  is one of the most expressive guitar players on the planet, always inventive and with a boat load of crazy licks you never heard before. Guthrie will be flying in fresh from his first dates with world beating rock fusion band The Aristocrats. Guthrie Govan’s stunning, critically acclaimed, Erotic Cakes remains a firm favourite with guitar fans and musicians alike!

Mattias IA Eklundh: Hailing from Sweden, Mattias first began playing guitar at age 13, and he injects his zany sense of humour in both his writing and his playing, with wild vibrator driven guitar noises to ultimately controlled harmonic squealing.  Those skills have left Mattias as a firm favourite with guitar fans in clinics and rock fans with his popular band Freak Kitchen.

Michael Lee Firkins: was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1967 and started playing guitar at the young age of eight. In 1990, Michael released his self titled debut album on Shrapnel Record to great critical acclaim selling over 100,000 copies. Firkins won the Edison Award, Holland's version of a Grammy Guitar and was described by Guitar player for the Practicing Musician as "One of the most influential players of the next ten years!"

Daniele Gottardo was born in Rovigo in 1983 and started playing guitar at the late age of 14. was 14. At the age of 19 he released his first instructional DVD whilst attending an Italian Music Academy. His skills earned him a gig with pop singer Alexia. After appearing in the Guitar Idol finals in 2008 and 2009. After this success  Daniele has gone on to release his critically acclaimed instrumental album “Frenzy of Ecstasy".

Stuart "Stu" Hamm was born in New Orleans in 1960. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he met Steve Vai. Stu Hamm has performed and recorded with Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Joe Satriani and many other well-respected guitarists and released a number of solo CD's. Stu Hamm is a well respected musician who is loved by guitar fanatics for his incredible bass playing technique.

Atma Anur is a british born drummer/producer currently living in Krakow, Poland. Atma's credits include cds with many guitar greats on shrapnel records, favoured nations, geffen and jvc. Atma is best known for his work with Jason Becker, Tony Macalpine, Richie Kotzen and Greg Howe. Atma has also recorded and toured with many other commercial artists including Greg Allman, Third Eye Blind, Journey, Joe Satriani and David Bowie.

Kiko Loureiro was born in 1972. His brilliance with guitar allowed him to study with the master guitarist Mozart Mello. Kiko went on to achieve great musical acclaim when he joined the classy Brazilian Band Angra releasing many highly respected albums and touring extensively in South America.  Kiko has gone on to release a number of creative instrumental albums and educational DVD's and reamins a firm favourite amongst progressive guitar fans.

Joop Wolters was born in a Middelburg, Netherlands in 1971. Joop is fast gaining a reputation as one of Europe’s finest new breeds of virtuoso guitarists. Having been involved in the music scene on a recording level since 1995 with numerous solo albums and band projects under his belt, Joop’s trademark style is fast gaining a solid fan base around the world. His latest virtuoso guitar opus entitled "False Poetry" is further strengthening his position in the guitar firmament.

Marcel Coenen was born in the Netherlands in 1972. He began playing guitar at the age of 11. His burgeoning guitar talent earned him many gigs and CD releases with bands like Speedica, Aura, Lemur Voice and Sun Caged. Marcel also released two solo albums and a Live DVD for Lion Music. The first album Guitartalk was fully instrumental and was recorded with minimal equipment. The second solo album Colour Journey was released in February 2006. Guitar fans are drawn to Marcel's melodic phrasing and state of the art chops.

Marco Sfogli was Born in 1980 and he received his first electric guitar as a gift, which enabled him to start playing along with his heroes. Later he started to study the drums which helped him immensely adding a new dimension to his musical creativity and rhythmic knowledge. He returned to guitar in 1996 with an ever growing interest, learning tracks from his favourite and like Dream Theater’s Images and Words. His skills have left him as a much in demand session player, composer and  arranger. His skills landed him the lead guitar role for James LaBrie's third solo release titled 'Elements of Persuasion' in 2005.  Marco Sfogli went on to release his critically acclaimed solo record titled 'There's Hope' which has cemented his place amongst fans of melodic guitar. He’s currently touring with Creation’s End and working on his second solo release.

Andy James was born in the UK May 1981 and started playing guitar when he was only 12 years old.  His early influences included Nuno Bettencourt, Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert. Andy was besotted with the instruments, shredding morning noon and night! Andy studied Music Business, Performance and Music Technology. During the study Andy formed the band named Fallen Ikarus and worked on his own solo material releasing two solo albums called 'Machine', 'In the Wake of Chaos' and 'Kaos 7'. These albums show cased Andy’s super melodic abilities and his much revered, state of the art tapping guitar licks. Andy is also a guitar tutor working for Lick Library on popular shredding guitar lessons with a tens of video lessons to his credit. The albums and video work  lead him to get the role of  lead guitarist for the band Sacred Mother Tongue. Gaining significant radio coverage in the UK, Sacred Mother Tongue went on to release the critically acclaimed 'The Ruin of Man', leading to a number of successful festival appearances. Andy has recently released his new self titled album 'Andy James'.