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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 and to help continue the good vibes I want to offer you the option to let me send your friends a free download. Simply send a tweet introducing @jbeckl to any of your friends’ @names, and I will send EVERY ONE OF THEM a couple tracks as a free download.

Thanks again.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

COMPACT DISC: (Mailed to their doorstep)

@HearTheWritings @aaronryates @kevin122184 @aaferg93 @Adeeb246 @greenfroggy2117 @DigInfinity @somebadi @BDInfluence @copong @mesbahamin @KathDataTweets @natalienoodley @caelilohr @curtiscorwin @Jessica_Eluskie @prema @dnjensen @jaromematthew @cristyathan @neysn @epeli95 @mitkowebsage @bfriendstranger @aidinb @Chucklhed @jonrezin @ParisaMichelle @faranrowhani @aryab @kcporter @YoungZMusic @CollisionBody @jeffio @annavibes @tmennillo @monetsilva @kellysnook @lovehound @heckyeahhcarly @bloominoctober @lmrader @4dRiAn0 @RobertColom @brian_felix @jenefer3 @mlschmidt @colourmeamy @hairmark @heart4isagenix

MP3 DOWNLOAD: (emailed)

@gatgatgatmetz @Snitsnit @joewoz65 @utfan1192 @mbenson510 @annebrookins @NortherlyWind @WeAreBillandBob @flyingv24 @rainnwilson‎ @danorley‎ @kulfifoofi‎ @kikispunkymunky @Shaub6‎ @slappypyne‎ @joelburgher‎ @NikAF‎ @easy2beloved‎ @bamanda‎ @bclwood‎ @HippyCannibal‎ @brianafrica @rosemarryan @jethrobob‎ @MichaelHeister @Beattie_Studios @myselfasme @MelodyAfshar @edrandall79 @FashEarth

P.S. if you haven’t gotten a message from me on twitter please check your twitter direct messages… I sent you all messages… if you still can’t find my message… make sure you are following @jbeckl and send me a DM with your real name, email and mailing address. We are trying to get in touch with you! Enjoy…

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):

@JBEckl+'s+new+EP+and+it+is+awesome!+Time+to+share+the+love:+Retweet+this+to+win+a+copy!+http://su.pr/2VMgz1" target="_blank">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!

It seems like months since my whirlwind tour of the Northwest… oh wait, it has been months.

It’s been a hot, syrupy summer in Topanga Canyon. My time has been divided between the following: (1.) Enjoying the energy of having a new baby on the way, (2.) Getting the flu and being knocked out for a week or something, (3.) remembering how to draw (see picture above), (4.) working on my mobile recording/performing rig, and (5.) preparing my acoustic EP, Sparks, for release.

We had some pre-release CDs available for sale on the tour, and there’s been some very positive feedback… but when Jon Rezin & I returned to LA, we decided we had no choice but to go all out and re-mix the EP from scratch, send it to the best mastering engineer we know, and do some tweaks on the artwork – in other words, get it ready for Prime Time (that would be your iPod or car stereo). After all that extra effort, the difference is… pretty huge! Those of you who bought CDs on the road, you MUST contact me for a free digital copy and hear the difference.

And the rest of you guys? All I can say is, make sure you’re signed up for my mailing list — there will be seriously cool rewards in the next few days. (Cool enough to reduce the temperature by a few degrees this weekend?? Only time will tell…)

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Even though I haven’t been able to write about every show on the tour, they’ve all been great. Even on days when illness or lack of energy had me dreading the performance, there was always something that woke me up and made it easy to give 100%. I’ve never gone out and played this much without the feedback and interplay of other musicians, but even on my own with an acoustic guitar, the music seems to have a life of its own.

The show Saturday night was very cozy, at a home that felt like a real community hub in Philomath, Oregon. We had a good turnout. I was happy to see a lot of friends there, and we ended up singing together late into the night. The whole experience of rushing through Oregon is difficult for me, because I literally want to spend days in each area – getting to know people, getting lost in nature etc. – but this tour is more of a whirlwind, just laying the groundwork for for future visits. Eugene, Beaverton, Ashland, Vancouver, and Bellingham will all be down the road.

Sunday’s show in Medford, close to the California border, was the last one of this leg. Once again, awesome hospitality and a nice full room… and we sat and sang afterwards again. I’m impressed with the efforts of hosts to bring their community together around music this way, and it bodes well for future tours. Bigger & better!

Today, we’ll head back home for a few days of downtime, and then go up to the Bay Area for a couple of shows on the weekend. I’m ready to chill out a bit, and not have anywhere to go. I’m sure by Saturday I’ll be ready to rock again.

The basic reality has set in though: this is the lifestyle of a performer, as opposed to a producer, writer etc. Travel is the norm, and my musical family is expanding every day. I’m sure there will be times when I’m craving a more stable environment, but for the forseeable future, I belong to the road!

Onwards….

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Tonight’s show was in Hood River, Oregon, in the inspiring and fabulous Columbia Gorge. Outside the big living room window of the Hannigan residence was a perfect sunset view of Mt. Hood, which looks like what should be under ‘mountain’ in the dictionary. I felt like I was about to watch a Paramount Picture.

Mt. Hood is a good metaphor for tonight, because this gig represents the peak of the tour… the Gorge is one of my favorite spots on Earth, a lot of the people here are like family to me, and my hosts, the Hannigans, have done a fantastic job putting it all together. It also doubled as a send-off party as their family prepares to move to Brazil in a few weeks.

I know I’ve said this before, but my heart is still in Oregon. I don’t miss the constant drizzle, but what you get in return is unbelievable: gushing waterfalls, crazy ferns, green clovers, yellow moons, orange stars, blue diamonds… oh no, wait, that’s Ireland.

Anyway, I simply need to be up here more often. I feel like my whole biorhythm just clicks into sync. Can’t wait too see the mountain lit from the East in the morning, and check out the breakfast situation in town.

Onwards!

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Tuesday night’s gig was what I call a whole ‘nother thing. I got off my flight from New Orleans and we drove straight from Seattle to Portland, getting there just in time for the show at Burdigala Wine Bar. I was introduced by phone a few weeks ago to the owner, Didier Sudre, by my friend Yohannes, who felt he and I were going to get along famously. Well, I could tell that was true as soon as I walked in the door. Didier welcomed us warmly and made us feel very much at home, and he had my posters all over the bar, inside and out. Gotta love it.

I did my acoustic set, followed by something special that I haven’t done in ages: an open, free-form jam session with a couple of great instrumental improvisers. On piano and organ (with a real Leslie speaker!) was Brian Harris, who I’ve gigged with before and is always awesome, and on bass, his friend and bandmate Gary Fountaine, a longtime fixture on the Portland music scene.

The acoustic set went really well, and I told a few more stories than usual (it was a wine bar, after all!) to a very attentive and good-humored crowd. But I was impatient to grab that electric guitar, which I haven’t touched in over a month, and plug in. So the second set was the real treat for me.

We started out by playing literally whatever came to us – no songs, no formal structure, etc. – just letting the music write itself and trusting the moment. These are musicians who really listen and trust each other, and what resulted was a very open, ambient soundscape that evolved effortlessly. I was inspired to sing some wordless melodies, recite some verse – a quote from Bahá’u'lláh’s Hidden Words – and even write a few bits of songs on the spot, in real time.

We couldn’t do that all night though, so some blues made it in there, and a couple of de-standardized standards. But I think everyone, myself included, was most turned on by the improvised stuff. There’s something cool about being there at the moment something is created.

At the end of the night, a party atmosphere took over, so we did the right thing and played ‘Groove Me’ by King Floyd. All in all, probably the most diverse set of music I’ve played in my life! Can’t wait to come back up and do this again – next time, with drums.

Onwards!
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Photo By Caeli Lohr

It’s been a surreal 32 hours. Flying out to New Orleans at midnight from the middle of a tour, meeting a whole group of Kelly’s best friends and learning a choral arrangement with them right off the plane… soundchecking, playing the opening set, watching Imogen’s amazing show and singing the choral piece in the middle of it… getting to sleep at 2AM and getting up at 5:30 to fly back to the Northwest.

One of the strangest parts is how long I feel I’ve known all these people. It feels like we did a whole tour, not one gig… yet I barely learned everyone’s names. They all did a killer job onstage last night, especially MJ Cyr who opened up the show with me and knocked us all out with her song ‘Afterglow.’ What a song – beautiful. You are onto something there, MJ.

By the way, the highlight for me may have been the ovation I received for my solo during MJ’s song – an iPhone solo. She talked me into playing an improvised synth part on an app called BeBot, sliding my finger on the iPhone screen to move the pitch around. It sounded like a cross between a Theremin and a distorted guitar. The crowd loved it.

I always forget how much I love the South. People are unbelievably responsive here; you couldn’t dream up a better environment for a musician. I felt like they were on my team last night before I played a note, and when I started digging in it was just awesome. The audience felt like an enormous vibrating drum… and they were there to see someone else!

By the way, I’m at a coffee place in the airport, and they have a ‘soft rock’ radio station blasting. In the last 25 minutes I’ve heard ‘Summer Of ’69,’ ‘Easy Lover’ and ‘Livin’ On A Prayer.’ I feel like I’m in a donut shop in Alberta, not New Orleans (adding even more to the sleep-deprived weirdness of the moment). I’m definitely ready to zone out on the plane.

It’s hard to come down here and not have time to explore and soak it all in. For me this place is Disneyland for the soul. But the bottom line is: we rocked the House of Blues, and my host Carl Fravel served me both jambalaya and red beans & rice. Check, check and check!

Onwards…

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My peoples, you’re not gonna believe this. After today’s house concert in Olympia, I’m taking a redeye to New Orleans… to open for none other than the lovely and brilliant Imogen Heap.

As most sentient beings know, Ms. Heap is one of the signs of life in the music scene today. Her producion and writing talents are awesome, her voice is gorgeous, and she is a no-compromise artiste who keeps a very close relationship with her fans around the world. I’ve been a fan since Frou Frou, and I listened to her new album ‘Ellipse’ for the first time while going through a car wash. What else can I say?

I can say this: “I get to open her show tomorrow!” That, and perform in Imogen’s actual set, singing her song ‘Earth’ with an ad-hoc choir comprised of a few good friends, @Kelly Snook and @Christopher Faizi among them. It all happens tomorrow night at the New Orleans House of Blues, which I haven’t played since my days with WAR in the ’90s.

What an honor to make first contact with Planet Imogen. And what an insane couple of days this is going to be. Just to give you an idea: I leave for Chicago around midnight tonight, change planes at God-knows-when, and arrive in New Orleans at 10 AM. I will then put 4 Altoids in my mouth, go and learn Kelly Snook’s new arrangement of ‘Earth,’ and play the show. By 2pm the next day, I’ll be back in Seattle, driving down to Portland for a gig at Burdigala Wine Bar.

How this will all come together – and what kind of shape my voice will be in by then – is a mystery right now, but in 48 hours I’ll be back in the RV with the gang. This is my life!

Onwards…

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