Cacophony was an American heavy metal band formed in 1986 by guitarists Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, and signed to Shrapnel Records. They released two studio albums and remained active until 1989, after which both guitarists forged their own solo careers and joined other bands.
Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and played in Zappa's band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists such as Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Polyphia. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, and the Experience Hendrix Tour, as well as headlining international tours.
David Lee Roth is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints; from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2012, Roth and Van Halen released the comeback album A Different Kind of Truth. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
Jason Eli Becker is an American composer and guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988). Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut Perpetual Burn. He later joined David Lee Roth's solo band and recorded one album with him, A Little Ain't Enough.
A Little Ain't Enough is the third full-length studio album by David Lee Roth, released on January 15, 1991, through Warner Music Group. It was certified gold on April 11, 1991. Produced by Bob Rock, the album featured the lead guitar work of Jason Becker, a then up-and-coming guitarist who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis a week after joining the band. He managed to finish recording the album, but was unable to tour in support of the album, as his condition left him with little strength in his hands.
So Much So Fast is a documentary film written and directed by Academy Award nominees Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan. It premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and won the Audience Award at the Boston Independent Film Festival.
Collection is an album by Jason Becker released by Shrapnel Records on November 4, 2008. The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings. It includes many musicians and features guitarists such as Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.
Heart of Stone is a 2009 documentary film about Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey, the United States, directed by Beth Toni Kruvant, with Zach Braff serving as executive producer. The film relates the struggles of Principal Ron Stone and the rest of the school's administration, plus students and alumni to return the school, working with African American and Jewish alumni, to its previous glory in the years before the 1967 Newark riots.
Paul Nelson is a Grammy award winning American blues and rock guitarist, record producer, and songwriter. He has played and or recorded alongside artists such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and members of the Allman Brothers Band. He was the hand picked guitarist to join Johnny Winter's band in 2010, performing on and producing several of Winter's albums, including the Grammy Award-nominated I'm a Blues Man, Roots, and Step Back, which won the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart for Blues Albums, and Independent Albums, and debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking the highest spot in Winter's career. Nelson is also a Blues Music Award recipient for Best Rock Blues Album, and has been inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the KBA award from the Blues Foundation. He received a Grammy nomination for his work as producer and performer on Joe Louis Walker's, Everybody Wants a Piece.
The David Lee Roth Band was Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth's backing band, formed in Pasadena, California. Originally featuring a supergroup lineup of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette, the band released numerous popular songs and albums from the mid-1980s until the late 1990s. Other well-known musicians in the David Lee Roth Band have included guitarist Jason Becker, guitarist Steve Hunter, guitarist John Lowery, bassist Matt Bissonette, drummer Ray Luzier, and keyboardist Danny Wagner. The backing band's well-known songs include "Yankee Rose", "Goin' Crazy!", "Shy Boy", "Just Like Paradise", "Stand Up", "Damn Good", "A Little Ain't Enough", "She's My Machine", and "Slam Dunk!".
Jeanne Jordan is an American independent director, producer and editor. She was nominated for an Academy Award and has received the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival among many other awards.
Warmth in the Wilderness is a tribute album to guitar virtuoso Jason Becker. It features many artists such as Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Mike Campese, Anders Johansson, Lars-Eric Mattsson, Paul Nelson, Jeff Pilson and other groups as well. A second tribute album was released in 2002, with the title "Warmth in the Wilderness Vol. 2 - A Tribute to Jason Becker". Many songs were originally written by Jason Becker and David Lee Roth, before Becker was stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease.
No Evidence of Disease is a feature-length documentary film about N.E.D., a rock band of six gynecologic oncologists who seek to bring more attention and awareness to women's cancers. The film tells the story of the band members - their personal lives as doctors and musicians - and also takes a look into the world of GYN cancers, where patients struggle to fight the disease and advocacy groups and activists seek to raise awareness and research funds for gynecological cancer research and funding. The documentary is from Spark Media, directed and produced by Andrea Kalin, and distributed by Candy Factory Films.
The Square is a 2013 Egyptian-American documentary film by Jehane Noujaim, which depicts the Egyptian Crisis until 2013, starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 at Tahrir Square. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards. It also won three Emmy Awards at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, out of four for which it was nominated.
Finding Vivian Maier is a 2013 American documentary film about the photographer Vivian Maier, written, directed, and produced by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, and executive produced by Jeff Garlin.
The Manhattan Blues Project is the fifth studio album by guitarist Steve Hunter. Released in 2013, the blues guitar album features instrumental interpretations of New York City. It is particularly notable for its all-star lineup of guest musicians: Phil Aaberg, 2Cellos, actor/musician Johnny Depp, Marty Friedman, Michael Lee Firkins, Tommy Henriksen, Tony Levin, Joe Perry, and Joe Satriani. The album also includes a composition by Jason Becker, co-founder of Cacophony.
Gleason is an American documentary film which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It covers five years in the life of the former New Orleans Saints football defensive back Steve Gleason, who has Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a rare incurable neurodegenerative condition associated with the former New York Yankees baseball star Lou Gehrig, who died from the disease in 1941.
Roger Nygard is an American director, editor, and producer. As a director he has worked on Tales of the Unknown (1990), High Strung (1991), Back to Back (1996), Trekkies (1997), and Suckers (2001). He also directed For Whom The Belt Tolls and What Would Jason Do?, episodes of The Bernie Mac Show, and Grief Counseling, an episode from the American television comedy series The Office.
Triumphant Hearts is an album by American musician Jason Becker. Though paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Becker is able to compose new material with a computer-assisted system. In October 2016, Becker launched a campaign to fund the album, which was initially estimated for release in July 2017. The campaign raised more than $100,000. The album was released on December 7, 2018.
Daniele Gottardo is an Italian guitarist and composer. He received recognition in 2009 as a winner of Guitar Idol, an international guitar competition. Gottardo was mentioned by Steve Vai as one of the brightest talents in modern electric guitar. As a solo artist, he has released three albums, Frenzy of Ecstasy, Non Temperato (2014), and INkBlot (2022). He is also a music educator for Jamtrackcentral. In 2018 he was mentioned in the article "10 Contemporary Guitar Virtuosos You Need To Hear" by the British magazine Guitarist. He has performed in major international guitar festivals including Malibu Guitar Festival, Guitare En Scene, Ziua Chitarelor, Jason Becker Not Dead Yet Festival, Eddie Lang Jazz Festival.
