I must admit that I'd never heard of Jason Becker but I must have bought some guitar magazines with his face in them at some point in the early nineties. Becker played a style of guitar that I am not really a fan of but he was a talented young guitarist. He had signed up with David Lee Roth when disaster struck. At the age of 20 Jason Becker was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Somehow he is still alive.
I'm a neurologist. I've met a lot of people with motor neurone disease. It's a terrible disease, one of the worst diseases I know of. Very few people live for a long period of time. Through luck, excellent family support and good resources Jason Becker is still alive and still making music.
Through a mixture of family photographs, super 8 cinefilms, concert footage and interviews we hear Jason's life story. He should have been Stevie Vai or Van Halen but his body betrayed him and now he communicates with his eyes. Based on the film he has shown amazing resilience and focus. Most people couldn't do that. The only other person that I can think of who has survived so long with a motor neurone disease is Steven Hawking.
This film is worth seeing. It interests me as a doctor and as a music fan. I'm not a fan of 'shred' guitar but it's great to see one man keeping on despite the odds.
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