Musical guest: Miss Becky

Raised in small town Minnesota, Becky moved to Portland Oregon in the 1980’s and began singing back-up vocals in various bands and eventually fronted her own country cover band there. Along came a husband and kids and eventually a move back to Minnesota followed by a divorce and grown up kids. In 2007, after a long hiatus from music, Becky began teaching herself to play the guitar that sat in the corner of her living room. She knew only a few chords which she played repeatedly in different combinations and rhythms until much to her surprise, melodies began to emerge and then somewhat magically, lyrics attached themselves to the melodies. She recorded 12 of those songs with old friends in Portland Oregon for her first record titled “For Now”. Sometimes plaintive and spare, sometimes humorous and lively, the songs capture the essence of a particular time of life and the frustration and heartache of unrealized dreams. Since the 2012 release of that record she has continued to write songs and morph her style from folk to her true love, classic country. “I’ve always loved country music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I love the earnestness of the words and the deceptively simple melodies and the songs I’m writing now reflect that love. Plus I’m a sucker for the kick-ass guitar playing on so many of those old records and it’s fun to be able to hear that on my own songs.” Becky’s back up band “The Fat 6” features Paul Bergen on guitar, Ray Barnard on bass and harmony vocals as well as other rotating musicians. A new record is in the works and is slated for release sometime in 2017.