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First off I want to thank everyone for the warm response to my Twitter EP giveaway. My apologies for taking so long to get back to everyone, but I wanted to make sure you all had a chance to participate. The results were amazing… I’ll let my buddy Jon step in here to share some of the highlights…

With a giveaway such as this the whole point is to introduce JB to new friends… determining how effective we were can be challenging… but here are some numbers we watched and found really encouraging:

• 141 = # of new twitter followers
• 2085039 = # twitter users received the re-tweet (# heavily skewed by 1 users followers… guess who?)
• 9 = # who joined twitter just to tweet about JB’s EP giveaway
  
• 14 Times = # of times retweeted by 1 person (Thanks @YoungZMusic you get the MPRT Award! (most prolific re-tweeter))
• 60 = # of new people who joined JB’s email list
  
• 1130 = # of unique visitors to www.jbeckl.com
• 54 = # of countries visitors came from
  

The big picture is that, with your help, thousands of new people got exposed to my music. This is how it’s done these days – one to one, word of mouth, real people sharing real music with each other. So it means a lot to me… and as another thank you Read the rest…

Photo by Jliba

I am thrilled to announce a couple shows in the Northeast. I have never… repeat NEVER played my solo material in the Northeast so it is a real treat to finally be able to share my music and make some new friends in that region. I will be doing 3 shows: Two shows at the Stoner Mansion in West Harford CT October 8th & 9th, and one show in the Empire City (NYC for the uninitiated) on October 10th. I want to make these all a blast and get a chance to hang with you all. Please invite your friends to the show… it will rock! (I guarantee it) And if you aren’t in the Northeast please let your friends who do live there know about it. I want maximum friend making potential!

HERE IS SOME INFO ABOUT THE SHOWS:

OCT 8th (Friday) & 9th (Saturday) 2010: I will be performing with special guest Aubrey Wood at the famous Stoner Mansion in West Hartford CT. These two shows will be to benefit Unified Theater. United Theater is an an amazing organization which serves to enable students with disabilities, who are often marginalized, the opportunity to discover and express their theatrical abilities. Truly an inspiring organization that I am thrilled to be able to help support their work. Aubrey Wood will also be performing.. Aubrey who? what can I say? Remember that name… she is an amazingly talented musician, singer, songwriter who is as yet undiscovered…  she is going to be a HUGE success… and I had the honor of producing her first self titled EP (More on that later…) This is a 2 times in a lifetime event that is not to be missed… not to mention it benefits an outstanding cause.

***FRIDAY OCTOBER 8th (West Hartford, CT)***

Click Here to Get Tickets

***SATURDAY OCTOBER 9th (West Hartford, CT)***

Click Here to Get Tickets

OCT 10th (Sunday) 2010: NYC is one of my favorite places on earth and it is also one of the only places I can say that I have never performed any of my solo material! This had to be corrected so with the help of some dear friends in the area I am putting on what we hope will be an amazingly powerful and intimate acoustic show in the heart of the city. Seating is extremely limited so you may want to get your seats now.

***SUNDAY OCTOBER 10th (New York City)***

Click Here to Get Tickets

photo by Yuki

Photo By Bobby Aazami of ourfavoriteday.com

I travel a lot and find myself playing in solo or duo formats much of the time, so it’s no surprise that the acoustic side of my material has plenty of chance to blossom over the last few years. A lot of people have asked me why I don’t have a recording of some of these songs, so as I make the transition from studio rat to performer, an EP of stripped-down acoustic tracks seemed to be a natural place to start. I’m proud to give you my first recording as an artist – ‘Sparks.‘

The EP consists of three songs of my own and three covers, performed with acoustic guitar, vocals, bass and drums – and a few other subtle elements thrown in. The musicians were members of my longtime band that gigged around LA for years as Heliotrope, so the musical chemistry between us was as relaxed and intuitive as ever.

THE SONGS

‘Unseen Hand,’ (endearingly referred to as ‘Unsigned Band’ by a fellow band mate) is a song I wrote back in 1997 as I made the first steps to getting off the road as a sideman and focusing on my songwriting career. I’ve never gotten tired of this one, because it came from a real place in my life… I was going through a huge transition and the song seemed to help me through it. Whenever I sing it during my shows it seems to strike a similar chord with the audience.

‘One Of These Days’ is a song I wrote with KC Porter and Carlos Santana for the 2002 Santana album ‘Shaman.‘ It’s a cool story – I was in a deep Nigerian Afro-beat phase at the time, and I noticed Carlos had every Fela Kuti album on vinyl. So rather than try to write Carlos the proverbial pop hit, we went for something much more raw, political, and in line with the Afro-beat feel. We even had the guys from Ozomatli come down and lay down the bass, percussion and horn parts, which created a pretty monstrous sound. Our song was a bid for a large 6-minute chunk of real estate for a commercial Santana album… and the record company hated it! The only reason it made it onto Shaman was that Carlos loved it so much he went to bat for us, dug in his heels and insisted it stay on the album – with my vocals! So for this EP it only seemed fitting to re-imagine it and come up with an acoustic version which I could perform on my own (sans 12 Piece Afro-Latin Band). It definitely acquired a unique vibe through the process of acoustification… I hope Carlos digs it…

‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ is one of my favorite songs of the 1980′s, which while I admit to being my least favorite decade of all time musically and otherwise, still had some great songs. So when this bluesy groove came out of my guitar one night, I figured it was time to let the healing begin. Obviously nobody can mess with Annie Lennox, but I think I snuck through by being a guitar player… and a dude. Girl, you know it’s true.

‘May This Be Love,’ usually known as ‘Waterfall,’ is from the first Jimi Hendrix Experience album. There are a lot of versions out there, and as a HUGE Hendrix fan, I’m always glad to see Jimi get his due as a songwriter (in addition to being the Greatest Guitarist Ever). It’s a gorgeous song that is about daydreaming, or love, or spirituality or whatever that ‘waterfall’ may be. My version is inspired by Brazilian guitar music — through my Euro-Canadian hands, of course.

‘New Creation’ is a recent song that comes straight from the overwhelming feeling I get when I contemplate the Unknowable Creator of Everything Ever (including quasars, blue whales, the Grand Canyon etc.). I’ve always had a hard time imagining myself being transformed by Divine forces, but… that’s the whole point of life, right? Anyone who’s ever stopped to try and deal with that, especially as a flawed, floundering human being, might relate to this tune. (Anyone else can imagine it’s about cooking.)

Lastly, my take on the old Johnny Mercer tune made famous by Frank Sinatra: ‘Summer Wind.’ I first heard it as a teenager in the movie ‘The Pope Of Greenwich Village,’ and it’s been in my head ever since. I wanted my version to carry a sort of haunting feeling to it so I married the lyrics to these dark, romantic chords that remind me of a faraway place… it’s one of those songs I wish I’d written. So I did the next best thing!

Next Episode: The Sessions…

***UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. YOU CAN FIND OUT THE RESULTS BY CLICKING HERE***

I’m thrilled to announce the official launch of Sparks, my acoustic EP. It’s taken a long time to get this far, and it feels great to finally share it with you today. I want to get Sparks into as many people’s hands as possible… but in order to spread the word, I need your help. To reward those who dig my music enough to share it with their friends, I’m giving them my new EP for FREE! All you have to do is log into Twitter and tweet the message you see below (or click the message to do it automatically):

I just listened to @JBEckl ‘s new EP and it is awesome! Time to share the love: Retweet this to win a copy! http://su.pr/2VMgz1

Because this might get a bit overwhelming (i.e. massive amounts of retweets) I have to limit it to those who extend their effort early on… so:

The first 50 tweets will receive: A physical CD of Sparks.
(Mailed to their doorstep)

The next 50 tweets will receive: A Digital Download of Sparks
(Emailed within 72 hours)

My team & I will be tracking the posts so if you tweet it we should see it… We will post all the winners below once the giveaway has ended. If you don’t see your name listed below within 72 hours of tweeting (and you know you’re among those who tweeted it)… please leave me a comment below. We’ll check the time of your tweet posting to see if it qualifies, and update accordingly. Make sure to follow me @jbeckl so I can DM the winners of the contest. Good luck, Thank You, and Happy Tweeting!

P.S. Take a minute to join my email list (in the left sidebar) so I can contact you directly once the giveaway is complete… Lets stay in touch!

There’s no other way to say this. I need to change.

According to every spiritual tradition I’ve ever come across, the point of life is to transcend the selfish, animalistic side of human nature and become a different order of being – service-oriented, humble, compassionate, accountable and tuned into the mystical, unseen side of life. In the presence of this type of transformed person, the human spirit is naturally magnetized and attracted – it hums with recognition and says ‘that’s it – I’m home.’ Even the most damaged, corrupt person has that subtle tuning fork somewhere inside them that knows what’s up.

No matter what’s happened in my life, I’ve never lost that attraction to a higher reality. My disillusionment with the Church as a teenager didn’t manage to snuff out my intrinsic sense of wonder and curiosity. Neither was my total lack of a responsible father or male role model quite enough to embitter me towards all authority… almost, but not quite. I still knew I wanted an Obi-Wan Kenobi in my story. I still had at least the desire to believe in something – the future, a sense of purpose, something Good.

That flicker of desire has led me into some incredible mentorships and experiences – artistically, personally etc. I’ve made huge efforts to cultivate and make space for this stuff. But when it comes down to it, where the rubber hits the road, my idealism hits a hard limit. And the limit is ME.

As Woody Allen once said: “I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.” And no matter how much I want to be Bob Marley, I’m actually more like Woody Allen. Isn’t that a bitch?

But it’s true. I can imagine incredible things – the transformation of consciousness on the planet, the culmination of all prophetic vision, the evolution of humanity into a highly advanced race of Mother Theresas spreading goodwill throughout the universe… as long as I’m not involved. No matter how well-developed my imagination is, and no matter how far my adventures take me, my knee-jerk reflex in the arena of spirituality is to be an observer, a spectactor – a fanboy of the Divine. I’m the guy who hikes all the way to the lagoon and then doesn’t get in the water. “No, you guys go ahead. I’ll just be over here, in my knee-socks.”

Examples: Meditation. Does it make sense? Heck yeah; the whole world would probably change overnight if people would actually sit down and reflect for 15 minutes a day on what they’re really about. I encourage anyone to try it and watch what happens! Do I do it? Nope. Never have.

Therapy/12-Step etc: Does it help? Of course; there are countless stories of people overcoming insane obstacles through counselling of all kinds, including trauma therapy and AA, which if my Dad had stuck with it, I’d still have a Dad. So where do I sign up? Ummmmmmm….

Last one – health & healing. Is food medicine? Are we really what we eat? Are there ways to bring the body into balance, freeing up energy and resources for a longer and more fully-lived life? You betcha! Not only that, but if we were concerned about our holistic well-being, 3/4 of the world’s most evil industries would be brought to their knees, starting with tobacco, alcohol and genetically modified food. What’s not to like? Now can you point me to the nearest KFC??

We could talk about finances, organization, healthy boundaries, you name it. My point is, it has come to my attention that this pattern is creating serious dissonance in my life. Being in the bleachers isn’t cutting it anymore. And as I enter the realm of bringing my music and creativity into the world, developing friendships with far-flung folks everywhere and trying to share something authentic, my capacity for small-talk is almost nil. Especially in a blog. So here it is: the messy truth, me in the frying pan of the soul, trying to work it out. I’m sure I’ll still find time for the occasional random comment about what’s on TV or a 5-page treatise about the merits of a certain guitar or amplifier – but the truth is, that’s not the real story here.

I need to change, in order to believe in change. And I need to believe in change.

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Hey out there… just thought I’d post a general update before kicking things up a notch in general in this here site.

First of all, the album has been mixed. The past year has been a major re-adjustment back to LA life – even though we’ve been living in the woods – and the various gigs and situations around here have taken a front seat to getting my own thing together. Of course, you eventually realize that this process could go on Forever. So you just stay up late and do whatever it takes to focus on your love project.

Thanks to Jon Rezin for staying on my case, and getting me closer and closer to having my work out there where it belongs. Jon and I have gotten things sounding nice and fat, and in the next few weeks I’ll start previewing material and working on some YouTube action for your consideration…

So, summer in LA. I wonder if this is the last normal summer of my life. At this time of year, for people who actually have a finished project to promote, there are 50 places you could be on any given day, among lots of sweaty people with a guitar in your hand. That sounds great to me. Onwards & upwards!

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Eric is visiting us in our Topanga hideaway for a week. On the weekend we played a conference in San Diego, last night a bunch of neighbors came over for food and music, and tonight we fleshed out a song that’s been sitting around since we were in North Carolina last spring. At this rate, we should have some good things happening by the weekend!

During my time in LA, I had the pleasure of forming some musical partnerships that will be around for a lifetime. Looming tall among them are the members of my band, Heliotrope, which went through several incarnations but always included bassist Pancho Tomaselli and drummer Paul Gonzalez. Together we explored radically different kinds of music, pushing each other into uncharted territory where rock, funk, electronica and world music collide. At our gigs you were as likely to hear an obscure Stevie Wonder cover, a high adrenalin Latin jam, a sample-fueled, Portishead-inspired modern pop song, or a Hendrixian guitar blowout. After we included Colombian percussionist Shangó Dely, there was a much stronger African element in the mix, and Eli Brueggemann brought layers of deep texture and searching jazz sensibility with his virtuosic keyboard playing.

Whether playing ambient instrumental music in Woody Harrelson’s “O2 Bar” on Sunset Blvd while patrons got high sucking on hookahs – of oxygen – or doing our full-band thing at the über-eclectic Temple Bar in Santa Monica, we always found a way to win over audiences with our telepathic band interplay and our sheer love of music.

It was always our strength and our weakness: we wanted to play everything. But each of us agrees that it’s some of the best fun we ever had, and always look for any opportunity to play together again.

So… why “Heliotrope?”

Well for starters, it’s the name of a street in my old neighborhood of Koreatown. Every time I passed the street sign I thought, that’s a band name right there. (Many would later disagree, chiding us with alternate names like Helicopter, Hovercraft, Hello kitty and so on. We stood our ground of course.) But the actual meaning of the word is even better: A heliotrope is a particular flower, but more generally any plant or flower that follows the sun across the sky, literally facing it and turning as the sun moves… then turning back around at night to wait for it to rise again. What could be cooler than that?

Anyway, I eventually had to get out of LA to get some perspective, but the more time goes by, the more I feel it’s important to get this music out there. I’ve assembled the recordings we made together and made them available as an mp3 album download here on the site (click the music tab and look for Heliotrope). Hope you enjoy the tunes…

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Well, it’s raining in Portland, but it’s great to be back with my family. I look forward to bringing them down South to meet all the good people that made Eric and I feel so welcome and cared for over the last week… and I do believe we’ll be timing that trip in winter, to conveniently skip some of this gloomy Northwestern weather.

And now for my List of Highlights.

(1.) Most amazing culinary experience
Dumplings, by Eric’s aunt Faye. I don’t know what they’re made of, and I definitely don’t know what the sauce was (it made the most decadent Alfredo in Little Italy look like watered-down rice milk), and it’s probably best if I don’t know. All I do know is that it brought me close to weeping tears of joy. And it was very probably the first time in that kitchen that a white boy did a George Jefferson dance in front of the stove.

(2.) Second most amazing culinary experience
Sonny’s BBQ in Chattanooga, which was recommended in reverent tones by Eric’s cousin Veronica. You can’t see it from the road, so someone needs to tell you about it. Unfortunately when we went, the place was closed, no cars parked anywhere… in fact we wondered if they’d gone out of business. But Eric’s Mom was on the phone, and she said, “Just Knock. He’s there.” We looked at each other and knocked. Sure enough, the door opened and a scent wafted out into the dirt parking lot, pulling us inside. Sonny was indeed there, in a BBQ-smeared apron, and he said ‘Whatcha want?” Well, I got what I wanted: sweet Southern BBQ that I had envisioned since before we left for the trip, and as Eric and I sat by the Tennessee River and pigged out, it was so good I had to offer some to the old men sitting at a picnic table nearby.

(3.) Most ridiculous moment
At the last show, at a coffee house in Durham NC, I gave into an instinct to do a fake harmonica solo in the middle of ‘Mornin’ Train’. Some people thought it was a real harmonica for a minute, but it devolved quickly into a scream-fest tempered only by the wah-wah effect of my hand over my mouth. I’m starting to feel I owe these moments to Eric, where his very ideas of propriety and dignity are tested and new (low) benchmarks are set. Of course there was a real blues aficionado in the house, a radio DJ, who still managed to like our set but was visibly relieved when I told him that I’d be bringing a real harp next time.

(4.) Brush with the law
Eric did most of the driving on the tour because he knows his way around the region. All was going well. Then I took the wheel for all of FIVE MINUTES and we were pulled over by NC’s finest. “What’s the trouble, officer?” “Tail gating, sir.” Tail gating?? The truck in front of me was going about 35 in a 60mph zone, and I went around him as soon as I mustered up the courage to do it in front of a cop. Oops. So anyways…

(5.) Sound system trauma
Nothing too noteworthy on this trip; nothing like our gig in Texas where a component burned out and they had to evacuate the whole building in the middle of our show. The worst thing on this trip was when I broke a string in the very first song of our Nashville gig, with no backup guitar, and had to play with no low notes in front of 500 people for 40 minutes. But sound-wise, we really didn’t have ‘one for the books’ on this tour.

(6.) Worst decision
No backup guitar. And no electric guitar.

(7.) Best decision
Staying in Bakewell between shows whenever possible, where we ate home-cooked food and walked down country roads at night.

(8.) Unexpected highlight
Eric bought an accordion. An accordion!!!

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