About Me
"With commanding yet understated vocals as strong as his finger-style and slide guitar playing, Beckman crafts a quietly compelling set."
Tom Hyslop - Blues Review
The dust-filled wind sweeps steadily down and across the flat, arid plains of Woody Guthrie's America. Beginning many hundreds of miles from Portland, Oregon it carries with it the hopes and dreams of those who have gone before… the dreamers and seekers. It whispers a birthright to the singular voice of a modern compatriot-in-arms …singer/songwriter Thad Beckman.
A professional musician for more than 20 years, Thad Beckman has paid his dues on these same dusty roads which run from California to New Jersey and points in between. His finely-crafted original songs are the story of life, the voice of modern America...from the growling delta blues of the Deep South to evocative contemporary folk...bound by the common thread of experience gleaned from the road . You can hear it in his voice....he's been there.
From an admittedly non-musical family, Thad started out as a teenager playing in Portland, Oregon high school bands, joined the Air Force during Vietnam and ended up studying classical guitar in Florida. One day the blues got a hold of him and have yet to let go. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Gatemouth Brown, Buddy Guy, T - Bone Walker, Freddie King and Albert King have all left their mark on Thad's early development as a guitarist. You can feel it in his playing. His soulful "...guitar is exquisite, which should come as no surprise to anyone who's seen him perform"(Joel Davis, Times-Standard).
Moving from Portland to northern California in the late 1980's, Thad was quickly recognized by music promoters as an exceptional talent. As a guitarist, Thad Beckman has been hired by Bo Diddley, The Shirelles and Earl Thomas. As a bandleader he soon found himself sharing the stage with such renowned artists as B.B. King, Albert Collins, James Cotton, The Band, Emmylou Harris, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. During this time, Thad also recorded three self-produced album projects, all of which received outstanding local press.
Realizing his natural talents lay in painting tapestries of lyrical narrative, Thad moved to Austin, Texas in 1993. Quickly rising to the top of the burgeoning local acoustic live music scene, Thad began performing with Dave Heath, (Robert Earl Keen) and Merel Bregante, (Loggins and Messina) and recording his all-original CD "Carry Me Back" (1998) with Dave and Merel acting as co-producers as well as his live band. His writing blurs the lines in "...dusty increments between Steve Earle and John Hiatt" (John T. Davis, Austin-American Statesman) and he received critical local acclaim as a songwriter in a songwriter's town. The real thing is hard to find, but as Jim Beal Jr.of the San Antonio Express-News says, when it comes to Beckman, "...Woody Guthrie would be proud".
Thad returned to his hometown roots in Portland, OR where he is a popular guitar instructor and continues to perform locally, abroad, in the midwest, Texas and California. In 2002, Thad released his CD "Thad Beckman" which also received critical acclaim. His new project "Blues Gone By" was just released and features Thad only in a tribute to many of his musical heroes as well as two of his original songs.
Click on the album to find Thad on CDBaby
